Amber Waves. . .

 . . .but of glass, not grain. This one-of-a-kind handblown vase seems to shimmer with its own internal light.

The vase carries the engraved signature of Todd Hansen and "AOF 07." "AOF" stands for Art of Fire studio. Founded in 1984 by Foster Holcombe and Theda Hansen, the studio moved to its current location, a re-purposed dairy barn in Northern Montgomery County, Maryland in 1999. Hansen joined the studio that year. He was not only a skilled glass artisan, but a teacher as well, giving classes in glassblowing as well as posting on-line videos about his art. Born in 1962, in Garland, Texas, Hanson died in 2025.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

Send in the Clowns. . .

But where are the clowns?

Quick, send in the clowns

Don't bothеr, they're herе. . . .

Stephen Sondheim, "A Little Night Music," 1973

And here they are, a trio of marvelous mid-century vintage clowns by the Universal Statuary Company. 

                    

The Universal Statuary Corporation was founded in Chicago in the 1930s by brothers Jack and Leo Lucchesi. Originally the company produced hand-painted plaster piggy banks, wall decor, plaques, and store displays. By the 1950s, the company developed a proprietary resin composite marketed as "FiberClad InFrangible," and produced iconic mid-century modern designs, such as lamps, often in matching male and female pairs. The company made a wide variety of decorative statuary, plaques, and book ends, including Western and Asian themes, circus characters, and children or animals, varying from elegant atomic-age design to cute and kitschy. In the 1960s and 1970s, its products were popular home decor, but the company was sold in the early 1980s.

The clown bust is also marked with the name "Glenn Richardson." Born in 1930 in Chicago, Richardson was a painter, sculptor, and product designer. Returning to Chicago in 1953 following his military service, 

he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and subsequently began his art career as a designer and modeler for Plasto Lamp Manufacturing Company. He also worked as a freelance designer and sculptor for a number of companies. In 1971, Richardson joined Haeger Potteries and eventually became their chief designer He also pursued his own art career, including painting and drawing. Richardson died in 2018. 

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

820-392, -393, -394

 

A Brooch Beyond Reproach

This big beautiful antique brooch in shimmering sterling is the epitome of art nouveau design, featuring a lovely lady framed by her flowing tresses and sinuous flowers. Art nouveau was an artistic movement from the 1890s through 1910s that looked to nature for inspiration and is exemplified by undulating lines, giving the feeling of movement. It was a reaction against staid academic art and the overdone and eclectic Victorian decor. The term, meaning "New Art," was first used in the 1880s, but was popularized by the opening in 1895 of the Maison de l'Art Nouveau, an art gallery in Paris. 

The brooch has a "C' clasp, so-called because the pin is held closed by a simple curved piece of metal; this type of clasp is generally found on jewelry from the 1850s through the 1910s, before the safety clasp came into wide use. On the back, the pin carries the intertwined "U" and "B" mark of Unger Brothers, surrounded by the words "Sterling 925 Fine."

Unger Brothers was founded by Herman Unger and his four brothers in the early 1870s. The company is renown for its intricate and beautifully crafted art nouveau sterling jewelry, as well as dressing table sets , perfume bottles, pocket knives, cigarette cases, belt buckles, and other luxury ware. Unger Brother was sold in 1919.