DECORATING WITH TAPESTRIES FOR THE COLD WEATHER

Finally the cold weather is coming, after the warmest and wettest December in recorded history. We have lots of new stock and the shop is looking great. Tapestries that have become a great love are in the window and hanging on the walls. They are the perfect wall hanging to  keep the cold out.  In the past they were a sign of prosperity as only the rich could afford them. They also  looked wonderful and were a reminder of warmer weather with their luxurious trees and plants,  and cavorting Gods from mythology; they also served as a barrier between the freezing cold walls of the unheated castles and grand houses of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Decorating many large houses, they are the grandest of decoration and no longer need to serve as insulation…..

Behind a later Empire period commode, an antique tapestry always adds grandeur and warmth to a room.

Here a late 17th century tapestry hangs behind a French Restauration period commode with a pair of Louis XV style gilt lanterns hanging in front

Here the same tapestry as above has a different look with a Louis XV period commode in front of it with a wonderful rococo gilt chandelier hanging above.

Here a large Louis XV Console de Gibier stands in front of a tapestry with a pair of early 19th century chairs on either side.


Here the 20th century is joined by the 18th century a wonderful tapestry by Jean Picard le Doux, in perfect condition hangs above a beautiful Louis XVI plumb pudding mahogany commode, the white background of the tapestry and the white marble of the commode seem to link the two pieces.
Where ever you hang a tapestry it adds warmth and character to a room they are a fraction of the cost of a large painting and bring with them a history and a grandeur from the past that is unparalleled……
See our collection of tapestries here.

A WEEK END IN THE COUNTRY

The road to the West Country takes you past Stone Henge in Wiltshire, one of those magic places still shrouded in the mists of time. Erected by an unknown people for an unknown reason.

There is still no motorway leading to Dorset from London, and so if you are not in a hurry you can enjoy the country side on the way down. The views are breathtaking.

Tea, an almost forgotten meal, complete with little cakes and in the excellent company of an intelligent and amusing old lady of 94 is followed by a week-end in Lillington near Sherborne. Sherborne Castle, built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594 is one of the many wonderful buildings in the area.

An old family friend Anna del Conte came to lunch on Saturday, a tremendous cook and writer of books about Italian cooking, she and her family lived down the road from us in Holland Park when we were children and in her book Risotto With Nettles: A Memoir with Food she talks of those happy days. A wonderful account of a childhood in Milan before and during the last war and then life in England.

There are so many cookery books now available by famous and infamous cooks, but Anna's books are the best on Italian cookery.
As Nigella Lawson says she should be a household name.











The signs of spring are every where, in the trees that from a distance are loosing their winter lack of colour for hints of green and orange................

Dorset is a county of dry stone walls

Ancient woodlands

and wild flowers............

Back to London where the hellebores in the garden are in full flower

New paintings arrived today and a late 17th century tapestry with glorious colours................