The Hartford, CT Autumn Antique Show

I came got back from exhibiting at the Hartford, CT autumn antique show. There were some amazing antiques there... just amazing. I took a small booth but filled it quite well. The framed Bee folio pages Napoleon's Egypt campaign were a smash hit as were the French ceramic wine barrel numbers.

This display was not part of the show .... I made it as I was unpacking from the show.

If you like any of the pieces from the JCovington antique roadshow .... feel free to call or email.

Fabulous Putti

I have always loved old Putti and Cherubs... and the limewood carved ones are most Divine. I am going to start a collection of them for my store. Most of these are from 1700 - 1850. Some of them are from Churches, other are from private homes and collection in Europe.

Black Forest Carvings

AI've had a fascination with Black Forest animals for years. My favorites were the leash holders I found in English country hunting estates, followed by any carving that was not normal....for example, the bears. Which by the way, was produced in prodigious numbers and that keeps the value down...in my opinion.

Most experts believe the Black Forest school of carving did not originate in the Bavarian Black Forest in Germany, but in the 1850's by the Trauffer's, a family of woodcarvers in Brienz Switzerland. Prior to WWI there were 1300 cottage industries producing these carvings.

Black Forest carvings were introduced at various world fairs, including the London Great Exhibition of 1851, the Chicago World Fair in 1893 and the Paris exhibition in 1900.

The Rooster, basket and barrel carving was found in England and is a Cigar and match holder. Other images can be found here.



Sweet walnut carving of a lead and bird ink and pen holder.


The pieces are typically carved from walnut and linden wood and they tend to centered on animals and plants, most notably bears, deer, rabbits, mountain goats, wolves and realistic tree branches, twigs and flowers and other natural motifs for the tourist industry.

Polychrome Portable Statues

I think these Religious statues are amazing...the carving and painting skills alone are humbling. The first I found was a Saint George the Dragon Slayer from the 15th century. I spent 100+ hours researching it and my appreciation for these statues grew ten fold, not only as religious works of art but for what they endured over history. A dissertation written by a University of Maryland student, Tanya Jung in 2006, prooved to be one of the most enlightening and educating reads of the year! Stunning...and thanks Tanya...I did learn a lot.

Another site that was phenomenal for researching these statues in their respective museums was the Web Gallery of European Art.

A brief and incomplete sampling of these Statues would tell you they were first first carved in the late 1200's and early 1300's as Portable Religious figures...in Southern Germany, Italy, and Portugal before they found footing throughout Europe. They were often carved from well seasoned Limewood, also called Bass wood. Then they were painted with chalk - a gesso, to provide a smooth base layer for the paint (natural dyes) and gold and silver leaf. If you have not read A Perfect Red by Amy Butler, you really should. But I digress, many of the statues went from the Arabic style of a beautiful angelic carving to a more European use of fear (take a gander at Tanya's dissertation)...that is to make mankind humble of, and be afraid of God and Hell. I know this is a blunt take and there is much more, but I'll leave it here when the Protestant schism began and these statues were burned by the wagon load.

The Unknown History of an Antique

...is a alluring. I've always loved old things and old places and that magical je ne sais quoi moment when you first make eye contact with it. After the 'wow' moment and the 'is it worth something' hype fades into the 'I wonder who else it belonged to' and you find yourself just smiling...you know you're in love. And now for the fun part: Research. Ughh. Yep, good old sweet computer time. And that is how I found out this painting once was exhibited at the Louvre in 1930. Cool.