Influences « Kristen Kieffer

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Signature Style

Published January 5, 2010 Influences , Studio 29 Comments
Tags: ceramics, cone 6 electric, handmade, Influences, kanthal wire, porcelain, pottery, Workshops

There are a handful of questions that I am asked at every workshop: “How do you know when to dart?”, “How do you make your feet?” and “How do you get the stamping to line up?!”, for example. The answers to those are fairly straightforward: practice, carving and practice.

I’m teasing with the one-word answers, but alongside those simpler, technical how-to questions are toughies like “How did you find/get/develop your style?” I love deep questions in workshops, the ones that are about being an artist. Those conversations are a big part of why I enjoy teaching. Workshops are a great forum for learning techniques and discussing quandaries like personal style, not for picking up “style tricks”. There is no sincere short answer to the style question during a workshop or in this blog (though “practice” is part of the answer).

A few years ago, while attending a national clay conference (NCECA), I heard a lecture* that essentially encouraged the current generation of makers to look not to the former generations’ work for ideas, but rather to their influences. He stated that the prior generation, the WWII-era makers, looked at things (nature, gesture, history, architecture) not other people’s pots. He expressed wonderment at a potential future in ceramics with artists referencing only the preceding generation. This observation was profound to me.

To oversimplify with an example, if I like Linda Sikora’s work, rather than imitating her forms and surfaces, I could begin to develop my own voice by researching what has influenced her work. By delving into the handfuls of objects, cultures and periods that have defined her style, my own work could become unique rather than simply referential. Who I am as a person and maker will affect how I respond to the exact same historic European porcelain pitcher that inspired her. That’s not to say I can’t appreciate, admire and buy her work, but I am more likely to find my own voice by looking at what is behind her pots rather than just looking at her pots.

So that is one of the anecdotes I tell in a workshop to begin to explain how one might develop a style. I honestly think if an artist sets out with style as the goal rather than as a byproduct of making what he enjoys based on what inspires him, he will fail. (Though I’m sure there are artists who receive recognition this way, I don’t think they are happy, respected artists.)

Style is the amazing culmination of everything an artist has experienced, loves and is, manifested in an object. I touch on the wide range of things that have shaped my own work (and style) throughout this blog**, and also discuss them in my Bio and Statement.

The images in this post represent some of the details—based directly on my influences and interests—I feel make my work unique, my style signatures: slip-trailed shapes that look like rolled fondant; ornate stamping; two-part cup handles; and Kanthal wire as form. Forms like my Corset series, surfaces like my satin color palette, and even an actual signature, like my name stamp (below) are also part of that design “signature”. The best compliment I receive about my work is, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” What I bring to the pots is something no one else has: my touch, my eye, my mish-mash of interests and my passion. That’s style.

* I’m sorry to say I don’t remember the speaker for that 1998 Dallas/Ft. Worth NCECA slide lecture. If someone knows, please drop me a note.

** You can click “Influences” under “Search My Past Posts by Category” in the right column, or here to see and read more about mine. Note that this post will come up first, so scroll past it to read others.

C O L O R

Published December 10, 2009 Favorites , Influences 10 Comments
Tags: architecture, art, color, crafts, design, historical pottery, industrial design, Influences, painting, photography, pottery

First row, left to right: Mark Rothko painting No. 22, 1949, 1920s Chicago Transit Authority poster, and Bev Hisey Reflective Folk Cushion; Second row: autumn leaves, Andrew Zuckerman bird photograph and my warm-toned glazes; Third row: Berlin Festival of Lights, Dave Jordano Storefront Church photograph and a Sevres potpourri vase; Fourth row: Andrew Zuckerman Masked Lovebird photograph and my cool-toned glazes; Fifth row: Hindu (Holi) Festival of Colours, JollyBe Chrysanthemums wedding cake, and peacock; Sixth row: Cole & Son Dorset wallpaper, botanical print and Felissimo’s Colored Pencil Set; Last row: KiBiSi chairs and a Viola Frey figure.

Oh, how I love color.

I suppose most everyone enjoys color, but if there were a 1 to 10 rating for color love, I would be at a 9 or 10 on the scale. I envy synesthetes and think about color throughout my day, in and out of the studio. I have a similar response to color that others do when they eat a piece of chocolate—that little butterfly feeling of yum.

Darks.

These tumbler images (above and below) represent the myriad of ways the nine colors in my palette can be placed together to give a completely different color feel.

Lights.

One of my grad school (MFA, Ohio U. 2001) professors, Joe Bova, recently commented to me that he believes “color is the most personal element in art”. I certainly took a lot of time considering my color palette when I switched from high-fire soda (a more limited inherently glossy palette) to mid-range electric where the options are delightfully and overwhelmingly limitless.

Fruity.

I spent several months testing glazes to find both the color and quality (“breaking” satin vs. glossy) that best suits my work and me. There were several determining factors. The first and most important is that since I spend more time around my work than anyone else, I wanted colors I enjoy. I also wanted colors that work well together, that compliment each other. Finally, I wanted a palette that gives my collectors options: some people prefer neutrals, some prefer brights, and I have both as well as what’s in between.

Autumnal.

Because my work is predominantly monochrome*, I don’t think it’s as recognized for its color because an individual piece isn’t particularly colorful (i.e. having multiple colors). Though I am currently running some new tests to add stripes and dots of patterned color, “colorful” in my pots comes from their proximity to each other. I love seeing which colors my customers pair, mix and match when they buy 2, 4 or 12 pieces.

Neutrals.

All of my glaze colors are warm-toned, meaning that even the cool colors (blue, purple and green) have yellow undertones. The names I have given the nine colors are Ivory (an off-white that looks almost like leatherhard porcelain), Frost (the super pale turquoise that looks a bit like a celadon), Honeycomb (a pale, warm yellow), Lime (a fruity yellow-green), Rosa (a salmon-y, mahogany pink), Cornflower blue (a rich lighter blue), Grape (a warm, plum-y purple), Caramel (a very yummy gold brown) and Blackberry (a deep wine, purple-y red).
Naturals.

On most forms, the satin glaze is the most visible, but the interiors are lined with a glossy version of the outside color, so I really work with 18 glazes. Some forms, like my bowls and serving pieces, reveal more of the glossy color. I like the contrast of satin to shine, so in addition to keeping the food surfaces functional with a glossy glaze, it is an aesthetic choice too.

Romantic.

Choosing glaze colors is not like picking out paint (potters will sardonically laugh and nod at that statement) because there is chemistry, elemental change and heat involved. Red and blue does not necessarily make purple in the clay world. My color palette came from having a sense of colors I wanted ( a green, a purple, a red—one of the hardest colors to “get” in ceramics, etc.) and then testing to match that expectation with the possibilities paired with my clay, cost of materials, firing temperature and application, not to mention aesthetic goals. As my husband would say, it’s tricky business.

Cools.

I gather inspiration for color from everywhere. There are my “usual” sources (period clothing, Art Nouveau prints, Islamic architecture, etc.), but there are also more obscure suggestions for color, like the images at the beginning of this post. Right now I’m liking the blue in the shadows of the snow, the transitional green from light to dark inside an avocado and I keep thinking of that orange that was in a room my husband and I stayed at in Iceland six years ago.

Festive.

I believe the color in my work is one of several elements which makes my pots unique. I agree with my professor that color is personal, a way to relay an emotion or spark a memory. It’s a fascinating subject.

*I tend to use one color or two similar colors on a piece because I feel this best shows off the form, where multiple colors tend to divide the form. Imagine a woman wearing a purple shirt, blue belt and yellow pants next to one wearing a purple dress.

My House is Filled with Birds

Published September 30, 2009 Favorites , Influences 2 Comments
Tags: bird, ceramics, crafts, design, etsy, handmade, Influences, painting, photography, porcelain, pottery, sculpture

Clockwise from top right: Bird magnet (Kathryn Finnerty pot in background); Robin candlestick (John Glick pot in background); Hummingbird from a French deco/vintage bird illustration calendar; and Owls on tandem bicycle tea towel.

I made my first bird stamp during a workshop I taught in spring of 2006 at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts in Asheville, NC. The idea of incorporating animals into my patterning had been brewing for a while, and a little chubby bird was the first to make his way around one of my pots. Since then I have made over 20 animal stamps, but birds are definitely the dominate animal in my stamp bin.

Clockwise from top right: Glass chicken from my Great Grandma; Beaded Hornbill by an African artist; Bird ornament; and a Kiwi (?) on a reclaimed brick from the Non Fiction Design Collective with a blue, glass bird from my Grandma.

The birds pictured in this post came from almost every room in our house. I don’t consider us collectors of bird items and imagery, but noticed one day how many keep us company. I did a post recently about pattern in our home and how those things we see every day happily creep into our creative minds. I imagine this bird menagerie has certainly influenced my work.

Clockwise from top right: Earthenware Rubber duck from Benjie Heu’s Trophy sculpture series; Female Mallard Duck painting by Andrew Woodward; Cockatiels in cage image; and Cuckcoo clock image.

There are three primary reasons I began to incorporate bird (and animal) imagery into my pots. One, by adding a bird into the layers on a piece, the surface is more than just a pattern: it becomes an environment. The second is my continuing interest in Art Nouveau pattern and decoration. There are many gorgeously rendered animals with flowing lines and curlicues I admire depicted in illustrations, textiles and objects from that era. A Nouveau bird as a repeated motif blurs into a lacey pattern and then re-emerges as a stately flock as our eyes choose on which lines to focus. The third reason is because they make me happy.

Clockwise from top right: Porcelain and fabric Kiwi by Roberta Massuch; Angry Bluebird fridge magnet; Soda-fired porcelain Bird by Joe Bova; and Glass Dove by Beth Lipman.

I developed the fascination for animals and plants from my family of ardent nature-lovers. From my fifth-grade science teacher Mr. Morton, the love for birds, their names and calls grew even more. (He could imitate any bird, and I thought that was super cool.) I have binoculars sitting on my desk by my computer to see “who” is flying through the trees in our backyard. I plant perennials to attract different species, and was ecstatic this summer to see gold finches treating our garden like their own private, gourmet hangout.

Clockwise from top right: Nuthatch in Gingko ink and color painting by Liang Wei; Blackbird toy; Hummingbird glass candleholder; and Wind-up caged bird.

I imagine artists are drawn to animal imagery for a variety of reasons. Aside from the long, long history of birds depicted in ceramics by every culture imaginable, the use of animals in contemporary ceramics imagery—and birds in particular—has become popular in the last couple of years. (I’ve indeed heard that “birds are the new fish” for pottery.) We see birds every day (fish, not so much). Their image represents everything from hope and history to peace and protection. In this era of technology and fast-pace, I wonder if makers now are drawn to nature and its animals for the same reason we hope the general public will continue to be drawn to handmade objects.

Clockwise from top right: Barn Owl photograph by Sharon Montrose; Toucans in a Guinness beer sign; Porcelain Bird Flock Man Bowl by Sandy Shaw; and postcard of Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds painting by Martin Johnson Heade.

“Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.” –Victor Hugo

Details from my work: Two Sparrows Flower Vessel (Corset series)
and a grouping of stamped bird cups.

My Sketchbook: Not Just for Sketches

Published August 3, 2009 Influences 1 Comment
Tags: art, Art Nouveau, crafts, design, furniture, handmade, haute couture, industrial design, Influences, painting, photography, sculpture, sketchbook

More than half my sketchbook is made up of gathered images, making my sketchbook as much an idea book as a place to draw. Collected images, often mashed-up and flipped around, have become an important part of my process and influence to my work. When I teach workshops, I usually pass out my last sketchbook because I think it is just as important to see how an artist develops an idea (the origination of a form, texture or sensation) as it is to see a demonstrated technique. I gather images from all over (magazines, catalogs, museum pamphlets, postcards, etc.) so it’s hard to know where an image came from or when, and while I’ve gotten pretty good at noting what is in the image, sometimes there are lapses, so if it’s not noted now, I didn’t note it before.

First row: This is my current sketchbook (‘08-present). I made it using coptic binding, sewn with black waxed thread, allowing it to sit flat when open. I use duct tape to strengthen and protect the corner edges and signatures for studio use and travel. The outside is collaged with sections from soap boxes. The second image has pictures of women’s and boy’s Russian munisak robes from late 19th to 20th century mixed with architectural details from a contemporary home. I put these disparate images together because I liked the highly ornate from one time period next to the minimal of another, and both carry ideas for pottery deco.

Second row: This first image is a mixture of writing and animal drawings of mine for stamps, collaged with animals from a catalog and Deerfield, a sculpture by Anne Lemanski. The second are notes I jotted next to a variety of industrial design objects and furniture I find influential for form and detail, including Devils wallpaper by Waterhouse for Brunschwig & Fils; Bluffer fauteuil by India Mahdavi for Ralph Pucci; wire birdcage candelabra by The Conran Shop; Variér Eight chair by Olav Eldøy; Now Isn’t That Lovely #7 sculpture by Stephen Johnson; and My Beautiful Backside couch by Doshi Levien for Moroso.

Third row: The left image is a pairing in textures. I love the negative space in each, but I mostly enjoy the dense texture that creates each shape: Light of Tomorrow sculpture by Mimura Chikuho and Welcome the Cube black jacket by Giles Deacon for Fay. The second image is a collaged influence mixture of manufactured china by Calvin Klein, Paola Navone, Royal CrownDerby and Royal Copenhagen with a photograph I took of a painting in a window storefront in Berlin.

Fourth row: In the first image, the first page shows the dining room in Donatella Versace’s Milan apartment with murals of Chinese vases and jars on the walls. The second page is a collage of fabric and wallcoverings by Jakob Schlaepfer with Baccarat Apparat crystal cups and decanter by 5.5 Designers. On each page, I like the layering and the “real” mixed with its 2-D version. The second image shows my affection for lighting as influence. I have both these George Nelson pendant lamps and this Murano glass chandelier (I love the other colors it comes in too) in two different sketchbooks, I like them so much. They are purposefully flipped sideways and upsidedown to suggest other forms.

Fifth row: The first image is actually an old pairing I use in my slide presentation and had on my studio walls for years. I put the two together because both Art Nouveau advertising images and Haute Couture clothing are influences, and because their stance and gesture are remarkably similar. On the left page of the second image is a magazine ad with imagery that becomes tattoo-like, collaged over with a bird I cut out from a friend’s card. The layering and suggestion is something I would like to have in my work. The right-hand page is also a very old magazine ad that has been on various studio walls and in my slide presentation. I purposefully taped this upsidedown to change the context from a couture Miyake dress to the silhouette of a footed vase with striking shadows and pin-stripes. A reminder to play and change my perspective.

Last row: The left image features two well-known characters and actors. The costume/dress of both Wonder Woman (a childhood hero of mine) and Queen Elizabeth have been influences because of their decorative and structured forms. The contrast and similarity of these two pictures of strong women is both humorous and striking. The second picture is another interesting pairing that I have titled “yummy” in my mind. The shapes are curiously similar, but what I appreciate in each is their very different take on extravagance, decadence and compound form. A crystal chandelier on the left and a sculpture detail of Cherry Bodies by Nikki Renee Anderson on the right.

PS: A hazard of having a glass of (red) wine while doodling in your sketchbook is a spill that results in wrinkled and lavender-tinged page edges.

Home as Sketch & Vase

Published July 5, 2009 Influences , NEW , Studio 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, ceramics, design, handmade, illustration, Influences, pottery, sketchbook, vase

I first made a small house form (little, 4″h maybe) almost four years ago when we bought our home. It currently sits in a windowsill near our front door, reminding me of its idea. Though this little guy was not a vase, vase forms in general have interested me for years because I like the idea of beauty holding beauty, and there are so many possibilities for shape, form and scale. Our house purchase and accompanying sense of Home, gave me the idea to pair my interest in flower display with the new feeling of place, and that first little house sculpture was the beginning.

Three years later (!), when I was at Watershed in June of ‘08, I worked out an idea for a slab-built house form as a vase for three flower stems. It was related to both the tile forms I’ve been making, but a free-standing version with openings, and the flower bricks. The drawings, above left, are from Watershed (with the addition of a collaged-on bungalow illustration I found and liked). This last year I made more (above right; a detail of this grouping is also my current website header), and have been drawing new ideas since: salt-box and cottage style vases, different “door” and “window” decoration, various “roof” shapes and size concepts in relation to different flower types.

I’ve written before about how important my sketchbook is to my development of new forms. The sketches are like bookmarks for ideas, like the little house in my windowsill. I have one place where I record my brainstorms (even if I draw on random pieces of paper, they ultimately get taped into my latest sketchbook), and so can easily flip back through a current or older sketchbook to re-work or tackle an idea.

Though not all ideas become pots, my tendency is to draw, then make the form and then draw again to reassess what I learned from the first round. There could be a 24-hour or 4 year gap between those stages, but that’s a typical progression. So the drawings above are from the last six months after that first round. I still haven’t made the “compound” house form (above right), but did complete the pictured grouping of small (7″h) house forms yesterday that incorporate some of the different architectural styles I had been contemplating in the above image, left.

I will post these again after they have been glaze-fired, hopefully outfitted with some approriate posies. This round of houses was thrown on the potter’s wheel instead of slab-built which gave them a natural fuller form (kind of marshmallowy). I had to laugh when I finished the second or third. I scaled these down by a couple of inches and also experimented with a square “footprint” in addition to rectangular. The result for one in particular was a bit more outhouse than house, especially with the little window slit in the door. I do laugh a lot in my studio, but this is a good example of the unexpectedness that can materialize from translating two to three-dimensions (though I do 3-D paper and/or clay “sketches” too), how improvisation and scale can impact an idea, and that fun is really important to my making.

Ceramics in Design

Published June 29, 2009 Favorites , Influences 2 Comments
Tags: ceramics, design, porcelain, pottery, vase

First row, from left: Vase Gauffré by Ionna Vautrin & Guillaume Delvigne for Industreal; Brasilia stripes cone vase by Jonathan Adler; Panier percé by Guillaume Delvigne & Ionna Vautrin for Industreal; Second row: Helix tall vase by Jonathan Adler; Hula Hoop by Cristiana Giopato for Industreal; Burano by Michele de Lucchi for Industreal; Third row: Blooming over cup by Mina Wu & Jan B. for Droog; Anamorphic cups by Ross McBride; Royal Delft vase by Marcel Wanders for Moooi; Fourth row: Grooveware by Ross McBride; Gravy boat and spoon by Eva Zeisel; Airborne Snotty Vase by Marcel Wanders; Fifth row: two more Royal Delft vases by M. Wanders for Moooi; Table Stories by Tord Boontje; Last row: Primavera tile by Tord Boontje for Bardelli; The Other Side Ceramics by Tord Boontje for Moroso; and Still Lfe: Black Bisque by KleinReid.

I’ve done a couple of past posts with wallpaper, furniture and home furnishings by designers I enjoy, so thought I should point out some ceramics too. (See past posts under Favorites and Influences.) I find these objects and the concepts behind them intriguing (most from the last eight years), and this group of designers are some of my favorites: Boontje, KleinReid, McBride, Vautrin & Delvigne, Wanders and Zeisel. There is a strong and curious connection between studio artists/potters and industrial designers: kind of a chicken-and-the-egg history with overlap and sharing (or co-opting). (Objects that weren’t simply white and black (and royal blue apparently) were scarce. There must be practical as well as design reasons for the lack of color.) I feel it’s important to be aware of what other artists in my field are up to, and awareness of form and concept for mass and high-end design markets feels equally important, especially as the lines between art and design have blurred. Ultimately though I agree with a friend and find these objects smart, appealing and inspiring.

Perennial Influence

Published June 19, 2009 Influences 4 Comments
Tags: Influences, photography

I couldn’t think of a subject for a new post, so posed the question (to myself), “What have you been thinking about?” I’m in a making cycle, bisqued last weekend, glazed all week for upcoming deadlines and commissions leading up to another firing, and have some new, big ideas, but what I’m really thinking about is my garden.

First Row: Agastache, Allium bulgaricum, Allium and Astilbe
Second: Baptisia, Barberry, Bugbane and Dianthus
I love flowers and trees, learning new things and being outside, but when we bought our home almost four years ago, my thumbs all but turned green. My Great Grandma, Grandpa and Dad were each avid gardeners (veggies and flowers), and I enjoy the feeling that I am continuing a family tradition in some small way. Other than the gorgeous results and insects and birds the perennials attract, my favorite part is the escapism. All I think about when I garden is the activity itself and “Ooooo, pretty, pretty.”

Third: Red-twig Dogwood, Echinacea, Blue Fescue and Fox glove
Fourth: Geranium, Hellebore, Heuchera bloom and Red-leaf Heuchera
I have discovered that I garden the same way I make pots: research and preparation balanced with a healthy dose of impatience and stubbornness. I wound up having little interest in planning, mostly choosing and placing plants together based on color, contrast and shape. As an artist, I seem to be drawn to unusual colors (loving deep purple and bronzed–leaf plants, for example, next to the chartreuse and limes), odd shapes (alliums and lupines) and rich textures. Gardening is the quintessential 3D design experience for me.

Fifth: Hostas, Pee-gee Hydrangea, Lupine flowers and Lupine leaves
Sixth: Japanese maple, Pentsemon, Sedum and Switchgrass
One of my goals with the garden—other than mental relaxation—was to attract butterflies and birds. I become giddy (yes, giddy) as new blooms bring big, clumsy bumblebees, darting ruby-throated hummingbirds, waves of monarchs, lazy tiger swallowtails and lone hummingbird moths (the insect I had never seen before having this garden). Because the garden is so close to the house, lining the entire front porch, I can stand at the door in the morning when I brush my teeth, or sit out there in the evening with a glass of wine in hand, surveying the scene.

All this happiness certainly feeds my studio time, and I’m definitely aware of wanting my slip-trailed shapes to be outlined like an astilbe leaf, a glaze the color of a penstemon leaf, a stamp the radiating shape of a lupine leaf with droplets of water, a vase shaped like the waterfalling grass…
All images courtesy of my garden.

Artist Favorites

Published May 24, 2009 Favorites , Influences 2 Comments
Tags: art, crafts, design, illustration, Influences, painting, photography, sculpture

From top left: Shepard Fairey, Mujer Fatal mural; Martin Puryear, Bower, 1980; Second row: Alphonse Mucha, Summer, 1896; Wayne Thiebaud, Boston Cremes, 1969; Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Dropped Cone, 2001; Third row: Charley Harper, Shadow Dancers, 1969; Chuck Close, Lorna Simpson, 2006; Shepard Fairey, Flowervine Red, 2009; Fourth row: Martin Johnson Heade, Brazilian Orchid, 1875; Charley Harper, Upside Downy, 1988; Kehinde Wiley, Encourage good manners and politeness; brighten up your surroundings with plants, 2007; Last row: Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror, 2006; and Piet Mondrian, Composition, 1936.

These are some of my favorite artists: disparate and similar, spanning over 100 years. The culminating traits I see here are: formal investigations of line, space and contrast; decoration; beauty; minimalism; poignancy; humor; attention to detail; and a desire for viewer attention and/or participation. There is overlap of two or more of these elements I enjoy, and hope to have in my own work, in the work by each of these artists. Good stuff.

Designer Wallpaper Influence

Published May 18, 2009 Favorites , Influences 2 Comments
Tags: design, Influences, pattern

Not a big fan of wallpaper for the walls, I prefer looking to it for ideas of pattern and color meshings on clay. The textures and designs on these hand-pulled and vintage papers sure spark some ideas.

First paper: “Blosson in Moss Green & Fuschia Pink” by Suzy Hoodless. Next six: “Selsby,” “Dorset,” “Opera,” “Selsby Flock on Foil,” “Woodstock Flock” and “Willow Garden” by Cole & Son. Last six: “Retro Op-Art Floral,” “Pretty Flower Pots,” “Dark Red,” “Oriental,” “Black Floral,” and “Mod Circles” at Rosie’s Vintage Wallpaper.

Favorites & Influences from the PMA

Published April 12, 2009 Favorites , Influences 1 Comment
Tags: art, ceramics, crafts, design, furniture, handmade, historical pottery, Influences, painting, pottery

After teaching my workshop last Thursday at a community college outside of Philadelphia, I spent a leisurely afternoon at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday. It was my second visit, and I highly recommend it. Larger images of the entire collection are posted at the PMA website (I could only snag the smaller to post here). These are some of my favorite objects, many of which I sketched and noted in my little sketchbook for future reference and influence.

From top left, first row: Animals in Diamonds (Dutch/Delft tiles) c.1585 Netherlands; Chest over Drawers, Pennsylvania c.1792; Compote, c.1846 France for President Polk; Second row: Vase, Chicago Terra Cotta Works 19thc. Illinois; Bird at Trough, c.1850 Pennsylvania German; Candlestick, c.1761 Sèvres, France; Coffeepot, c. 1800 Pennsylvania German; Coffeepot, c.1899 Rhode Island; Third row: Cylinder Desk and Bookcase, c.1800 PA; Document Box (painted tin), c.1830 PA; Dressing Table, c.1715 PA; Footstool, c. 1730 PA; Fourth row: Bird Tree, c.1810 Pennsylvania German; Still Life by Giorgio Morandi, 1946; Interior of a Café by Santiago Rusiñol, 1892; Jug, 17th c. Iznik, Turkey; Lilac Blossoms by Christiaen van Pol, c.1800; Fifth row: Orchids in a Jungle by Martin Johnson Heade, c.1870s; Pair of Candelabra designed by Louis-Constant Sévin, c.1862 France; Tabouret (Persian), early 13th c. Iran; Pillow, Song Dynasty (960-1127) China; Sixth row: Side Chair, c.1870 PA; Spice Box (Painted maple), c. 1870 PA; Two Hares in Moonlight by Cho Tai Eok, Chosòn Dynasty 18th c. Korea; Vase on Brass Mount (glass), c. 1910 U.S.; Vase with Lid, c. 1768 Sèvres, France; Wardrobe designed by Sir Ambrose Heal, c. 1910 England; Seventh row: Centerpiece (Surtout), Strasbourg faience factory, c.1729 France; Sofa (one of a pair) c.1725 England; Pillow, Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) China.