THE VINTAGE BAZAAR IN DEVIZES, WILTSHIRE

The Vintage Bazaar at the beautiful Corn Exchange in Devizes

We're in the middle of a lot of building work on our cottage. it's been like the Mad Tea Party with electricians, plumbers and plasterers all in my kitchen. It is difficult to make tea with the water and electrics turned off! Perhaps putting in a new bathroom and kitchen whilst replacing the roof on the back of your house is not advisable. We are making progress but I've not been out much during all of this.

However, I could not resist attending the Vintage Bazaar at the end of August in Devizes. It's a very old market town in Wiltshire which is always a delight to visit. There is even a castle! The bazaar was brilliant, sadly my expertise with my new camera was not, so you will only get a few photographs from me for the day. Fortunately a lot of other bloggers have posted theirs so you can have a look at those to pick up some of the glamour and excitement of the day.

The venue was exceptional - the perfect setting for vintage goods. The Corn Exchange is a very beautiful building. The stalls were all laid out so well and I had to contain myself from having a buying frenzy! There were a few celebrities there, including Marc Allum and Lisa Lloyd of the BBC Antiques Roadshow and their magazine Homes & Antiques. Liz Van Hasselt had a stall there and is one of the co-ordinators of the Vintage Bazaar. Homes & Antiques featured her in the September issue of the magazine. You can read their post about the Vintage Bazaar with great photographs from the day HERE: 



Liz's stall with some of her collection of religious figurines.

Although I came home with lovely goodies, the highlight was meeting fellow blogger and vintage dealer Ted and Bunny who had a stall there.  I've loved her shop for years and it was such a pleasure to finally meet her. Her blog is always inspirational and I want her handsome horse Bruce!



The cute logo of Ted and Bunny
their blog is here;

I bought this wonderful old book from her with illustrations by Leslie Brooks. 

Vintage American quilt from Ted and Bunny

But this is the one that got away. This antique American quilt was peeking out from under her trolley and caught my eye the minute I saw it. It's made from old feed sacks and is absolutely gorgeous! Elaine told me that she had to wear it as a kind of shawl to get it on the plane home from the US. With all the work on the cottage I am bereft of monies or I would have snapped this up. It's worth every penny of the £150.00 she is asking for it. My photo simply does not do it justice and these quilts are real collectors items.

Here is a small collection of items from the day which somehow ended up in my shopping bag. None of these are destined for sale, although the lace may adorn some wool and tweed coats I am working on to sell in the shop in Hungerford.

Gorgeous old red glass necklace




All at £1.00 each! From a box of fabulous antique lace treasures.

 

I was so excited to be there and had limited time to wiz round to see everyone that I failed to get details of who I bought items from. This stall was tucked in a far back corner and had tons of vintage fabrics, lace and  thread.  I could have spent hours just with her! If anyone knows what she is called please let me know and I will update this to credit her.

Anyone who knows me will know that I have spent my whole life being obsessed with everything  pre-Raphaelite. Just as I was leaving some very pretty fabric remnants neatly folded on a table display caught my eye. I had already decided not to buy anything else ..... but surely these small tokens would fit into one of my bags?

The first one is large enough to make two cushions if I use a border and a backing. I think it is probably 1960s or 70s and is a heavy weight velvet upholstery fabric. It's beautifully coloured with deep rich blue, coral and green. I got this for £2.50!!!!


Remnant of a William Morris print on Liberty velvet
 

The kind lady who could probably tell that I really wanted these by the way I kept stroking them let me have this teeny remnant below for a mere £0.50 pence!

It is really small, but so exquisite. I do not recognise the fabric, and have a bit of research to do yet, but believe it to be William Morris from the early days of his fabric designs.

It is faded and yet still rich with it's red background and pastel blue and pink flowers and trailing green stems and leaves. I don't know what I am going to do with this one. It would work well as a top on a jewel box, or a tiny lavender filled cushion. I might frame it, although being able to touch it is part of the it's appeal. 


A tiny fragment of a REAL Arts and Crafts fabric

I was so thrilled that I forgot to find out who I bought these remnants from. So, if the lady who sold me these is reading this let me know, I'd love to credit you. And find you at the next Vintage Bazaar!

Lastly I did buy this to sell. It is an old Athena print of a Burne-Jones painting called 'The Beguiling of Merlin', created between 1872 and 1877. The print is a good one but I think that the mount and frame could be improved upon. I intended to reframe this and put it in the shop. Really I did .... but then I carried it upstairs to get it out of the chaos of the building works and it looked so perfect against the blue walls and carpet of the bedroom.

The Beguiling of Merlin
Edward Burne-Jones

 

Detail from the print
 

It is an amazing painting with an interesting history.  Burne-Jones was inspired by the late medieval French 'Romance of Merlin' to portray Nimue as a femme fatale whose spell proves too powerful even for the sorcerer Merlin as they walk together in the forest of Broceliande. I like the way that Nimue having subdued him, is reading from his own book of spells and how Burne-Jones has imagined her as having serpents in her hair reminiscent of Medusa. He is a master (like Lord Leighton) of painting the diaphanous folds of her dress and creating a play of light by using highlights of another colour. 

Boreas by john William Waterhouse

I also love the grey blues which he has used in this, which remind me of Waterhouse's 'Boreas'  painting. A previous owner of our cottage adored blue and the carpets and tiles throughout are a mid-blue. I do like this colour but it has been hard to work with having blue underfoot in every room. This print picks it up nicely and will help tie in the bedroom's colours. And it was a bargain at Oxfam for just £6.99!

A CHELSEA HOUSEBOAT

Wanted. Serious lottery win to buy
Chelsea Houseboat. Please.

 

I've had a lifelong love affair with the river Thames. A map of it adorns our hall wall. I read about it and dreamed of it for years before being overjoyed to dip a toe into it.  It has never disappointed me and I fully understand how that the Pre-Raphaelites fell in love with it and why they chose to live beside it on Cheyne Walk and later at Kelmscott Manor the Cotswold jewel that William Morris found and at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith. One who was perhaps the most romanced by The Thames was John Atkinson Grimshaw who moved to London in the 1880s and began to paint the river often.  For me he captured it better than anyone, even Turner or Whistler.




John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893­)
Reflections on the Thames: Westminster



In my youth I toyed with the idea of living on a houseboat on The Thames. We lived in a small terraced house in Twickenham, across from the river with only an old ice rink and an alleyway to walk before being right on the river front. We could watch Richmond Bridge from an upstairs window, but plans were afoot to convert the whole sight to a housing estate and block all of our views. We looked at some boats for sale in idyllic spots along The Thames, but never really settled on one. Would our 4 cats take to living on water? Would the Parrots fly off? Did the pipes freeze in winter? And how would we ever afford a mooring on a desirable part of the river? It is amazing to think that back then I was probably far more sensible than I am now.

Instead we moved to a 4 story artisan made Italian style villa in Isleworth, again just 5 minutes from the river Thames. And now I live a very long way from The Thames indeed, but I am quite neat the Kennet Avon. I miss The Thames and the idea of living on it haunts me still. I often wish that I had just done it.

Who could not fall in love with this bohemian abode just by the Cheyne Walk in Chelsea?

And the boat even has it's own story too, besides being in the middle of a Pre-Raphaelite and 60s rock star paradise for history, art and architecture lovers. Not to mention the King's Road being a mere 10 minute walk with stunning views all the way.

The estate agent said:

"A wonderful opportunity to purchase this historic vessel located on the coveted Cheyne Walk Moorings, Chelsea enjoying views towards Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge.

A bonafide war hero, having seen active service in WWII, 'mtb 219' has been converted into an atmospheric home exuding shabby chic and is comprised of 1013 square of accommodation including 3 bedrooms and a large deck area.

All houseboats at Cheyne Walk have the benefit of a night watchman, full maintenance team and CCTV for added security and are eligible for a Kensington & Chelsea parking permit."

Alas, as you can see from the photographs, it is now under offer. Good thing too, as it was totally out of my budget and though the family cats of old are long gone I doubt very much if Mrs Black and her Kitten would want to live with no garden even if the shops are nearby and it is bigger than our country cottage.

I hope that the lucky buyer appreciates that view and the gentle sounds of the lapping river as much as I would have.

 

Footnote:  You can read more about John Atkinson Grimshaw and his paintings of The Thames on:

The Public Catalogue Foundation  website here

FLAMING JUNE OR ONE MIDSUMMER NIGHT

John William Waterhouse - Dolce Far Niente

I love iconic images and over the years have amassed a collection of those that continue to inspire me as if seeing them again for the very first time. They are old friends.

I have always appreciated literature, art and fashion.  The Pre-Raphaelites enchant me because the way they painted brought together these three in a wonderfully unique way. And the carved and gilt frames they created to hold their pieces have a magic all their own.

The dresses and interiors have equal billing with the ladies who pose languidly often looking as if they had been captured unawares. Even though history informs us that they posed for hours and long days on end. You can feel the softness of the silk on their skin, and smell the scent of the roses and the incense in the air.

I don't have an absolute favourite image either painted or photographed. I like to divide them into seasons and cherish them throughout the year.

A Midsummer Night's Dream was my favourite Shakespeare before the melancholy of other works overtook it. I still have a little print of Bottom by Arthur Rackham which I love and turn to every summer.



A Midsummer Nights Dream by Arthur Rackham

And who could resist Rackham's Titania? Delicate and haughty in turn.

Antique print of Titania circa 1860

But of all the images of June the one that I have loved best is Flaming June painted by Frederic, Lord Leighton in 1895.

Flaming June in it's fabulous original frame

You can see the painting here in his studio in Holland Park.  Photographed by Bedford Lemere in 1895.
http://www.englishheritageprints.com/lord_frederic_leightons_studio_bl13090_a/print/1471701.html

You either love it or hate it.  I got to see it in 2008 when it was displayed at The Tate in London. Although orange is not a colour I often wear and only use sparingly in my home I do like the energy surge which orange conveys and the immediate hit it gives your senses. The power of orange belongs more to sunrise, sunset and summer, and I am a twilight, midnight and winter person. This orange is almost overwhelming, but not quite. It is not an Autumn orange which is rust.  It's warmth envelops you, a sleepy summer idyll that brings back holidays abroad. Those we took and those we meant to take. It seems to say that the orange of it, glowing as it does, is her, the Goddess of June. The frame adds to the golden aura.

I like the idea that he never confirmed who sat for it and so it is left to our imagination to decide if there was a real live muse or if he was channelling an Olympian Goddess.   It adds a poignant note to this that although he painted so many Goddesses he never fund his own and died unmarried living all alone in his fabulous house in Kensington.

This work which Lord Leighton produced almost by accident has received a mixed reception throughout history. It failed to attract a bidder when it came up for sale in the 60s and probably had it's most popular period in the days of the Athena poster which adorned many student walls.  It even has it's own Wiki page where you can read more about it.

"Flaming June is a painting by Sir Frederic Leighton, produced in 1895. Painted with oil paints on a 47" x 47" square canvas, it is widely considered to be Leighton's magnus opus,  showing his classicist nature. It is thought that the woman portrayed alludes to the figures of sleeping nymphs and naids the Greeks often sculpted. The (toxic) Oleander branch in the top right, symbolises the fragile link between sleep and death.

Dorothy Dene, the actress, and Mary Lloyd, who was depicted in paintings by various Pre-Raphaelite artists, have been variously credited with modelling for the work.

Flaming June was auctioned in the 1960s, during a period of time known to be difficult for selling Victorian era paintings, where it failed to sell for its low reserve price of $140 (the equivalent of $840 in contemporary prices). Afterward, it was promptly purchased by the Ponce Museum of Art in Puerto Rico where it currently resides."

Flaming June resides at this museum

I was thrilled to see that it had survived and remained a part of modern culture when I caught a glimpse of it in an unexpected place - included on Paul Weller's Stanley Road album. It's behind him on the blue wall where he sits upon a bed. I wondered if her beauty and warmth had touched the Mod Father as much as she had others in her long life. 



Flaming June behind Paul Weller on Stanley Road

And as I am more a twilight-midnight person I quite like this painting by Diane Sellers which is an interesting take on Flaming June.

Midsummer Nights Dream by Diane Sellers

Tom Lubbock argues the defense for Flaming June in The Independant