Merry (Christmas)-Go-Round

This intricate example of German woodcraft is called a Christmas pyramid. Each of the graduated tiers is centered around a rotating axel, with a multi-bladed fan atop. When the candles are lit, the warm air causes the fan to rotate and the miniature figures turn as if on a merry-go-round. These pyramids, called "weihnachtspyramide," trace their origins to the Erzgebirge region of Germany, which has a long tradition of woodcarving, including the production of toys. Some historians think that the Christmas pyramid predates the Christmas tree. The ancestor of the Christmas pyramid was the 18th century lichtergestelle ("light stand"), constructed of four poles and decorated with evergreen boughs, which were tied together at the top, and lit with candles. As the lichtergestelle was eventually replaced with the Christmas tree, Erzgebirge artisans refined the lichtergestelle, crafting it from wood, decorating it with tiny scenes, and adding a spinning motion.

The Christmas pyramid incorporates scenes from the nativity. On the top tier, angels herald the birth of the Christ child.

On the next tier, the first of the rotating levels, an angel appears to the shepherds watching their flocks, One kneels in awe while the his fellow shepherd follows the sheep.

The third tier depicts the shepherds journeying with their flocks.

The bottom tier depicts the arrival of the Magi, bearing gifts as they circle Mary, Joseph, and the baby in the manger.

In Germany, outdoor Christmas markets may feature a giant Christmas pyramid, but you don't have to travel all the way to Germany to see one. Every year, Fredericksburg, Texas displays a 26-foot high version during the holiday season.

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

230-9787

 

A Kiss on the Hand. . . .

May be quite continental,

But diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949)

And ladies, your new best friend is waiting for you at Next-to-New! The antique Edwardian ring has been tested as 14 carat white gold (shout out to Ricky Wilson Jewelers!) and is set with a sparkling white diamond. 

This pretty petite ring has a delicately detailed openwork shank.

For its dainty size, this elegant antique ring makes a substantial statement. 

Diamonds

Diamonds

I don't mean rhinestones

But diamonds are a girl's best 

Best friend!

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

12482-1582

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. . . .

"Sea-Fever," John Masefield, 1902

Looking at this extraordinary painting portraying a sun-lit harbor with ships sitting serenely under a misty sky would give any viewer the desire to go down to the seas.

Entitled "Harbor, San Pedro, N.M.," it was painted by Ovanes Berberian (the plaque appears to have misspelled his name!). Born in Russian Armenia in 1951, Berberian first received his art education under his father, who was a member of the Armenian Artists' Society, as well as a theatrical set designer and college art professor. In 1977, following his father's death, Berberian emigrated to the United States. He was awarded a scholarship in 1981 to study with master painter and noted teacher Sergei Bongart. Berberiam became a nationally renown plain aide (open air) artist, as well as a respected teacher and mentor to younger artists. He founded the Berberian School of Fine Art in Idaho, where he gives regular workshops. Known for his confident and bold impressionistic brushstrokes and harmonious use of jewel-like colors, his works are found in numerous public and private collections, including The Forsthye Group, Jack Nicholas, and Palm Springs designer Steve Chase.

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

16263-2

 

Next to Nouveau

This beautiful bronze-colored vase features two graceful art nouveau nymphs in flowing robes and streaming tresses. Art nouveau was an artistic movement from the 1890s through 1910s that looked to nature for inspiration and is exemplified by undulating and sinuous lines, giving the feeling of movement. Art nouveau was a reaction against staid academic art and the overdone and eclectic Victorian decor that jumbled together influences from disparate cultures and eras, from Middle Eastern harems to Gothic cathedrals.

This antique artwork was created by the Judd Manufacturing Company in Wallingford, Connecticut. From the early 1910s the the late 1930s, the company produced a decorative line of fine-quality castings in bronze, brass, and iron, including book ends, doorstops, and vases. Of substantial weight, this piece may be bronze.

The piece originally had a glass insert for holding flowers.

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

3-11614

Sitting Pretty

This lovely lady seated in quiet contemplation is an original watercolor by Israeli artist Patricia Govezensky. She is best known for her stylized watercolor studies of elegant women in private repose against a background of vivid colors.

The painting is signed in the lower righthand corner. Govezensky was born in Tel Aviv in 1961 and raised in Jaffa, Israel. She took courses sponsored by the Tel Aviv Museum in lithography, engraving, photography and sculpture and graduated from the Avni Institute and the Art Academy at Ramat Hasharon, two of the most highly regarded art academies in Israel. Her works have been exhibited not only in Israel, but at expositions and galleries throughout the United States, and internationally in Hong Kong and Japan. 

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

16263-3

 

Just Dishy!

Inside this box featuring a photograph of two charming children from yesteryear playing tea party . . .

. . . .is a complete set of darling diminutive dishes from the Akro Agate Company. This type of vintage opaque vintage glass colored in streaks or swirls is known as slag glass by collectors. Here the set is swirled with vivid jade green and white. 

Founded in 1910 in Akron, Ohio, the Akro Agate Company originally repackaged marbles from another firm, but soon began manufacturing its own marbles. It moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1914, making marbles, caster balls, and glass balls used in lithography. By improving its machinery and manufacturing process, Akro became the major manufacturer of marbles in the world. In the 1930s, Akro expanded into other lines, introducing colorful glass products for the home, including ashtrays, cold cream jars, toothpick holders, trinket dishes, vases, and powder boxes. During WWII, when Japanese toy exports to the United States were cut off, Akro began producing children's dish sets in a wide variety of colors and patterns. However, after the war, Akro was unable to compete with the inexpensive plastic toys entering the market; in 1949, the company stopped production, although it continued to sell off its remaining inventory, with a final auction taking place April 24, 1951.

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

16346-54

Pulling Out All the Stops

"To pull out all the stops" means to use all the resources at one's disposal to achieve a goal. And you might want to start pulling out those stops to obtain this magnificent antique oak organ with its accompanying stool. In fact this idiom originally refers to the physical stop knobs of a pipe organ.

This elegant organ is just what you might need if you want to re-enact your own version of "Phantom of the Opera" or get a Handel on your Bach (both George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach composed music for the organ). It is of vividly striped "tiger oak," a process of milling that produced oak patterned like a tiger's pelt. Although popular from the 1800s through the early 1900s, furniture manufacturers stopped using tiger oak because the milling process wasted a lot of valuable oak and was no longer economical. 

The organ proudly displays two brass plaques of the  Imperial Organ & Piano Company, Ltd., an English manufacturer established in 1902. It was known for its high quality instruments, which included upright and baby grand pianos and organs for both home and church use. 

If you are wondering where the foot pedals are. . . 

They are tucked behind a folding oak panel, which unlocks with a key (included!).

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

 9813-346