Survey Says: Art Deco is Hot

Art Deco cabinet. Photo: Getty Images Every year, the research staff at Asheford Institute of Antiques surveys its community of more than 2,470 current students and past graduates who are actively employed or working within the antiques, collectibles, and vintage marketplaces to gauge current market trends in the United States and Canada. The 2023 Decorative […]

Tuning In for Catalin Radios

Escaping the Great Depression, and with another world war looming, Americans were looking for something to make their days cheery and bright in the late 1930s. They found it with Catalin radios. Catalin is an early, clear plastic made from phenol formaldehyde resins developed by the American Catalin Corporation in the 1930s. Catalin could be […]

From Cartier to Costume, The Unmistakable Beauty of Fruit Salad Jewelry

There are lots of nicknames costume jewelry collectors have given their favorite styles over the years. None are so fun, perhaps, as “Fruit Salad.” This term pertains to adornment made by one of the giants in the costume jewelry business to imitate a particular type of Art Deco era fine jewelry. And, as with many […]

The Magic of Clarice Cliff

The 20th-century British ceramic artist Clarice Cliff (1899–1972) has always commanded good prices for her colorful prewar pottery. That was certainly also the case at a recent Ripley auction in Indianapolis. Of particular interest were two pieces from Cliff’s famous Art Deco-inspired Bizarre line. Initially conceived in 1927 and produced until 1936, this line employed bold hues […]

For Love of Loetz

Loetz glass was founded in 1840 in Austria by Johann Lötz. For 107 years, the company has produced art glass, glassware and vases. It is best known for its gold glass, which is like Tiffany. A recent Treadway Gallery auction in Cincinnati had 46 lots of Loetz glass. The most notable years of Loetz production […]

Modernist Jewelry

The Modernist jewelry trend was most popular from the 1930s through the 1960s. It was a rejection of ornate Victorian jewelry, elaborate Art Nouveau pieces and strictly defined Art Deco style. Modernist jewelers felt they had more in common with painters, sculptors, and other modern artists of the day. Their ambitious goal was to create […]