Charles Greber and Art Nouveau I had to wrest this Charles Greber Art Nouveau jardinière from the “homme de ma vie” He thought it would make a good receptacle for storing his hazelnuts. Well, it has been a bumper year for hazelnuts this year, but even so… It’s a stupendous piece of French Art Nouveau stoneware…
Chatou antiques fair If you love antiques and you happen to be in Paris this weekend, you’re in luck: the Chatou antiques fair is in full swing. Thirty minutes from Paris, Chatou is fabulous for its sheer concentration of antiques, paintings and vintage collectables. Alongside traditional French finds, such as Medici vases, old linen, silverware…
Foxy cocktails Stylish barware from the age of Art Deco Who could resist the this dapper fox, with his paw on his breast, as he prepares to charm the cheese from the crow’s beak? This French Art Deco cocktail stick set perfectly captures the humour of one of my favourite fables by La Fontaine…
Few items sum up French mid-century style better than this beautiful hand-thrown pottery vase by Accolay. In the 1950s and 60s, a stop-off at the Accolay pottery studio was a ritual for Parisians driving down south to spend summer on the south coast of France.
Legras glass, the powerhouse of Pantin You can almost smell the crisp, wintry air. Forest scenes like this appear again and again on Legras glass. They recall the forests of the Vosges, where François-Théodore Legras (1839-1916) worked, like his father, as a woodcutter – before going on to build one of France’s great glassmaking empires. A…
Paris: The Bastille Antiques Fair – without the Bastille The Bastille antiques fair is a Paris institution – not least for its remarkable location. Held in May and November, the antiques fair straddles the Port de l’Arsenal, a delectable little pleasure port, smack in the heart of the city. Sadly, this year might be the…
You’re never too young or too old to be fascinated by France’s transatlantic ocean liners. The luxury, the glamour, the style, the spirit of adventure or the technical prowess… there’s something to seduce everyone.
In the last century, the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (also known as The French Line) operated some of the finest passenger liners in history. Among them, the Normandie and the France were legends for their fabulous decor, the last word in French decorative arts.