“How did I come to create such things? It was one and the same power that led me to dreams and silly pranks in childhood, later to sickness, and finally to art…Fantasy has put its hallmark on my existence, it is fantasy that makes me happy and makes me sad. I recognize it constantly inside and outside me.” Alfred Kubin, 1911
Each time we make one of these mise-en-scène, we regret having to disassemble it. We want to live in the fantasy for just a bit. That said, this is our favorite part of the whole business of Things: the narrative thread into which each object can be woven, for just an afternoon or for a lifetime. Let us know if you have questions about anything you see here. Wherever possible, we have provided links to an item’s page.
18th century English pewter chargers, Cordelia’s grandmother’s 19th century Chinese export porcelain, La Guiole knives on vintage linen handtowels, American pressed glass candlesticks, Venetian champagne flutes (not for sale–a treasured wedding gift).
Ebonized dining table designed by Pierre Gautier-Delaye, Louis XV side chair (we love to see a fine old chair in its underclothes), Rajasthani processional painting circa late 19th century…
The centerpiece is a layering of moss, bracket fungi, and Tillandsia species, all hunted down in New York’s 28th Street flower district, punctuated with oyster shells from Cordelia’s collection.
The sidetable is a substantial section of a petrified tree trunk. Opposite the Louis XV chair is a Biedermeier penwork-decorated side chair. Behind the Louis XV chair, just in the frame, a Senufo stool.
And, for your viewing pleasure, a couple of closeups:
Bon appétit.
