Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Evergreen Antiques

I happened upon the website of Evergreen Antiques sometime during college, and it is still one of my favorites. The firm specializes in Northern European and Scandinavian neoclassical antiques, and I've decorated entire imaginary houses with its findings. Here are some current favorites:










On the left we have a Russian chair from about 1825. I love the 3-circle back and the arm rests raised on curved supports that end in little ebonized finials. The curved backsplats and legs are more typically neoclassical in style. On the right is a Scandinavian corner chair from the mid-eighteenth century, with its typical vase-shaped backsplats and ball-and-claw feet. I just love corner chairs in general, but somehow always imagine them being used as an end table rather than a chair.










Not everything at Evergreen is from the neoclassical period. This screen is Danish and was made in the 1940s. It reminds me of one designed by Charles and Ray Eames. On the right is a turned mahogany canterbury. It was made in England in the 1870s or 1880s. I'm not sure what a canterbury is, but this would make a great magazine rack.










Some things just look so Swedish. Here we have a late Gustavian (circa 1800) daybed with X-form supports resting on friezes decorated with sphinx. All the supports are made from turned wood, and the whole is painted that distinctive Gustavian grey. The step-back bookcase cabinet, circa 1830, shows the gothic influence typical of that period in its fairly elaborate pediment (are those corner overhangs evocative of gargoyles?) over glass doors decorated with pointed arches.










These chairs remind me of my mother, because the fret carved backsplats resemble owls, which she adores. Otherwise these are fairly typical painted side chairs from Norway, circa 1770. Those curved tapered legs are called cabriole legs and support an equally curvy frieze. This set of servewear is called a cruet set and its use of curvilinear floral decoration reminds me of the art nouveau style. However, it was made as early as 1812 in Copenhagen from silver, porcelain, and blue glass.

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