Saturday, October 01, 2011
RANDOM 341 OBJEC
BIZARRE 1947 Vintage OIL PAINTING Morning Glory SUNDIAL Landscape Signed JURNEY-$261
Elizabeth Jurney was a woman who painted boldly with nonconforming flamboyance and an active sense of unfettered creativity. One early morning around 6:45 a.m., she sat herself down and tried to capture what appears to be the mother of all sunrises. The year was 1947, and that’s about all I know. All the above except her name and the date are pure conjecture, but I think we’d all come to the same conclusions. If enough of us agree, it becomes fact.
Maybe she consulted with Georgia O’Keefe by phone. Georgia said, “Put some great big morning glories in the painting. When I do that, they sell like crazy.”
After the conversation, Elizabeth thought to herself, “I’d better make notes before I forget.”
A few hours later she pulled out her notebook: “Note to self: Georgia said to put a great big sundial in the picture.”
Overall, including the frame Elizabeth picked out = 25 ½” by 31 ½”
Oil painting on Masonite panel backed with Elizabeth’s leftover wallpaper = 22” by 28”
It just occurred to me that Elizabeth may have been sitting on her sun porch, which overlooked a small lake somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley. Then again, she may have been in a home and simply painting what she remembered from an imaginary life with her strapping young husband, Buck, and her two perfect children: Nora and William Jefferson “Buck Jr.,” both of whom had perfect skin and made straight A’s all the way through school.
That stuck-up Whitney family lived directly across the lake in a home much bigger than they really needed, and that’s all Victoria Whitney ever talked about – that house and how she just must put new draperies throughout. “Afterall,” she’d say when she cornered someone down at the Piggly-Wiggly, “they’re almost three years old and so yesterday.”
Elizabeth still shuddered every time she thought about the day she came “just that close” to whacking that woman with a one quart glass bottle of concentrated grape juice . . . right there in aisle 6. But she’s over it now, now that Buck put that sundial in the backyard – it’s gnomon giving the finger to Victoria and Mr. Whitney and both their bratty little kids. It tickles her every single time she looks out her window.
Elizabeth kicks herself whenever she remembers how stupid she was to take the advice of some yingyang who wrote an article about redoing your kitchen in red and white check wallpaper in The Modern Virginia Home. Buck now called her kitchen “the checkers room,” even when friends were visiting.
For five or six years after she hung her painting in the living room she’d thought about writing a letter to that Van Gogh fellow over in the Old Country, but then she heard on radio he’d been dead for over sixty years. “Poor thing,” she mused. “I’ll bet that ear stump got infected. He should have put some sage, dried honeysuckle root and Mercurochrome on it.”
RANDOM ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
FABRETTI, RAFAEL(1618-1700)- celebrated italian antiquary. destined to pursue law, took degree of dr. at 18. when in rome studying for the bar, he attracted notice of cardinal imperial, who employed him on important + difficult political affairs in spain.. named treasurer + auditor of the papal legation in that country, where he stayed 13 yrs. during all this time, however, his favorite classical + antiquarian studies not neglected;+ returning to rome w/ the legate, bonelli, who had been made cardinal, he was able on the journey to make important observations of the relics + monuments of spain, france, italy, + converse w/ eminant scholars of hose countries who later corresponded w/ him. at rome, appointed judge of appelation of the capital, which he left to be under legate, auditor of legislation. 3 yrs after returned to rome, on invitation of cardinal, vicar of innocent XI, a lover of antiques + learning, + now found that fullness of leisure w/ enabbled him to carry on those studies + produce works w/ made him famous. he examined w/ great care the monuments + inscriptions of the campagnay in his solitary expeditions. he always rode a horse w/ his friend nicknamed marco polo, who said it could sniff out hidden monuments. F was delighted by the name + used it. by innocent XII, F made keeper of the archives of the castle st. angelo, he retained til death. his book cleared up a number of obscurities as to the topography of ancient latium. his collection of inscriptions + monuments bought + placed in the ducal palace at urbino.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
Antique OIL LAMP, Pattern Glass Font, IRON BASE, Manhattan Brass Stem & Burner-$34
I swear, when a friend of mine found this 1883 lamp in an attic and brought it over to me, we both thought the pattern glass of the font was amber. But then I rinsed around inside with a little soapy water and found out the “amber” was simply kerosene residue. Dang!
I’ll probably fill it with soapy water and let it stand until you finish bidding it up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars . . . or not. You’ll probably still have to wash out the inside, but it’ll most or some of the “amber” out. You oil lamp people know how to clean them properly. I don’t.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
Folk Art ANTIQUE Scissor EXPANDING Hanging COAT & HAT RACK Maple, Cherry Inlay-$54
While ignoring the dust, you’ll need to look closely at this old turned maple hanging rack with deeply inlaid bands of cherry. I’ve never seen one made like it – not even close.
As seen in that photo, it is approximately 28” by 15 ½”, but it can be shorter or longer. It’s up to you.
There it is, just about maxed out at 40” long and 12” tall.
For storage, it gets way small: 6” by 18” with 3 ¼” posts for hats and coats. Each (except one) is capped with a white milk glass domed button. Out of the ten posts, only one of the little glass cabochons has turned up missing. That shouldn’t be too difficult to replace.
I had to jump ahead and show you the inlay. I’ll show you how it was done in a jiffy.
You can see the depth of the inlaid strip of cherry in the turned maple arms when you look at the ends. You’ll love this one; that’s for sure.
