Articles

The Plight of Jewish Relics During WWII

The Plight of Jewish Relics During WWII

While it's often difficult to think past the sheer human loss of the Holocaust, it's still relevant and deeply saddening to think of...

The History of the Carousel Horse

The smell of butter, funnel cake, cotton candy, & chocolate hit your nose. The sounds of laughter, bells ringing, and that familiar voice sayi...

Nautical Myths & Superstitions

Of nautical and maritime superstitions, there are many. While many have no discernible origin (other than "believed to bring back luck"), there ar...

The Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket and the Canadian Fur Trade

Chartered in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company is one of the world's oldest incorporated companies. Based in England, it was a Canadian company that a...

Gargoyles

Gargoyles were a fixture of Medieval and Gothic architecture, both for practical water drainage purposes, as well as for aesthetics. While Egyptian...

Chinese Export Porcelain & Other Chinese Antiquities

When people think of Asian decorative arts, they most often think of what is known as Chinese export porcelain, wares produced specifically for a v...

The History of the Barber Pole

You see them, hanging on the exterior of a building, or maybe through a picture window of a store. The red white and blue stripes lit up, spinning...

Antique American Furniture, By Region - Part 2

Another set of holidays have arrived, and with it, opportunity anew to investigate your relatives' furniture! If you haven't already, or even if yo...

Origins, Evolution, and Iconography of Stained Glass - The Poor Mans Bible

While we typically associate stained glass with religion, it has been an art form since ancient times, with some of the earliest examples of color...

Antique American Furniture, by Region - Part 1

This Thanksgiving, while either recovering from that third piece of pumpkin pie, or perhaps milling about and making room for the first piece, you ...

Western Skies From Eastern Eyes : Frederic Remington

The Bronco Buster, a bronze sculpture of a cowboy riding a rearing horse. This sculpture and the history behind it plays an important role in the ...

The Long and Wonderful Life of the Peacock Chair

Scrolling social media, one may notice a resurgence of the iconic Peacock Chair. Typically constructed of wicker with a pedestal hourglass form bas...

Mark Tochilkin and Artist Repression in the Soviet Union

Artist Mark Tochilkin, born in 1958, was born in present day Ukraine, and grew up in the Soviet Union. While he displayed a propensity for art very...