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Vanity and the Bluestocking

Vanity and the Bluestocking

Monthly Archives: February 2012

Auction feature: Edwardian and Art Nouveau jewellery

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Antiques

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Tags

Antiques, Art Nouveau, Garland Style, Jewellery

I’ve never really been a Tiffany sort of girl – waiting patiently for my one true love to give me diamond solitaires and bland little metal hearts. I buy my own jewellery, and I prefer things with a bit more age and character, handcrafted with care, not stamped out of a machine.

It’s a tough contest, but I think my favourite era for jewellery is the early 20th Century. There are two competing styles from that period, and try as I might, I can’t decide which is the most beautiful. In the blue corner is the classically inspired garland style – the advent of platinum jewellery (much stronger than gold) led the way to a much lighter and airier style. Garland jewellery is classically Edwardian – symmetrical, graceful and refined. The peridot pendant on the right below is a lovely example – the two pendants together are up for auction on the 15th of March, with an estimate of £70-£100.
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In the red corner is the Art Nouveau style – inspired by medieval craftsmen and the orient. It tends to be asymmetrical, heavily inspired by nature – all elegant whiplash curves – and handcrafted from much more offbeat materials. The brooch below is a good example, made by Liberty and Co. from silver, enamel and mother of pearl, it has been a bit bashed over the years but it still looks lovely. It’s up for auction on the 12th of March with an estimate of £60-90.
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Luckily for me, a lot of jewellery designers drew inspiration from both styles – these next two examples are light, symmetrical and made of conventional gemstones, but you can see the rebellious art nouveau influence in their whiplash curves…
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These are both coming up in an auction on the 15th. The lovely amethyst pendant is estimated at £300-£400, while the diamond and pearl one is up for £700-£900. I do wonder if the diamonds are set in low grade platinum – it was cheaper than gold at the time, and usually not hallmarked.

Images kindly provided by Fellows & Sons.

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Chocolate and Sour Cherry Cookies

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Recipes

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Tags

Baking, Chocolate, Cookies, recipe

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It’s been one of those weeks, so I thought I’d share the recipe for one of my favourite comfort foods. These cookies aren’t for the faint hearted – gooey on the inside and crisp at the edge, they’re as dark and rich and chocolatey as I could possibly make them. The inspiration came from a favourite cookbook of mine – Ratioby Michael Ruhlman. A wonderful book this – it gives you the tools to take almost any recipe and tweak it to be exactly the way you want it. It’s especially good for baking.

These cookies are really simple – 200g each of brown sugar and butter, 150g self raising flour and 50g of cocoa powder creamed together with an egg. Add about 75g good dark chocolate broken into big chunks, and 50g or so of dried sour cherries. Mix and chill until firm. The egg and the self raising flour add a little lightness – otherwise these can be overpowering!

Cut off pieces about the size of a table tennis ball, pop on a baking tray spaced ten cm apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 180 degrees, until they have spread a bit and crisped around the edges.

Let them cool a little or they’ll crumble when you try to take them off the tray, and enjoy! They’re nice cold too, but they probably won’t last that long….

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A Cheesy Valentine

18 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Food

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Tags

Cheese review, Fine Cheese Company, Food

The Renaissance Man is a troublesome creature – he most inconveniently has his birthday between Christmas and Valentines day, so by the time we get there I’ve usually run out of present ideas. This year I managed to surprise him though… He’s a big cheese fan, so rather than the usual chocolates or flowers I got him a box of lovely cheeses from the Fine Cheese Company. Here they are after we’d been attacking them for a while:

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On the top left is the Vacherin Mont d’Or, a really gorgeous, unctuous cheese wrapped in spruce bark. You can really taste the resin in the cheese around the edge, but the middle is much creamier which makes a lovely contrast. To the right is the Shropshire Blue – really intense and earthy, but with none of the harshness that blue cheese can have. Oddly, it goes really well with cinnamon biscuits. On the bottom left is the Crottin de Chavignol, probably my least favourite of the selection. It’s a nice, hard, well flavoured goats cheese, but the rind has a mushroomy flavour which doesn’t really work for me. The last one is my favourite – the cave aged Premier Cru Gruyère Von Mühlenen. It’s a fabulously intense and savoury flavour, but with a slightly nutty sweetness too. Complex and glorious – I can see why it’s been named world champion cheese three times!

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Wrapping presents

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Craft

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Tags

environmentally friendly, Wrapping paper

I’ve spent the last few hours wrapping presents – it’s the Renaissance Man’s birthday soon. I’ve been scouring the shops for the right kind of wrapping paper but to no avail – it all seems to be sparkly and a bit tawdry in the run up to valentines day – so I’ve had to improvise!

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I’ve gone for brown paper and silk ribbon, vintage lace and some old ribbon roses I cut off a dress a long time ago.

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Added bonus – since the brown paper was packaging that amazon sent me, I now have a smug feeling of environmental friendliness!

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Leda’s Coiffure

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by Beth McNally in Art

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Tags

Art, Leda and the Swan, Leonardo Da Vinci

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No prizes for guessing the inspiration behind my latest sketch – it is of course the enchanting Study for Leda’s Coiffure by Leonardo Da Vinci. I really enjoyed drawing this – it’s just a simple chalk on paper, but the complexity of the hairstyle made it really satisfying. Here’s the original:

20120204-235123.jpgIsn’t it just stunning? Would love to hear recommendations and suggested techniques from anyone else who’s had a go at this sort of thing….

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