Well hello again! It’s definitely been too long before drinks, er I mean blog posts…..so to ease back into it I thought I’d share a few photos of a new addition to our household, and no it’s not a pet, or a baby.
Feast your eyes on this curvaceous coffee table I purchased off eBay a few weeks ago.
Boomerang shaped coffee table!
As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be mine. The shape, the lines, the ‘floating’ glass top, the materials, all so appealing, and for what I thought was a great (read cheap) price.
The quality looks really good too. Beautiful Queensland maple? veneer and a really fine veneer edging, the hardware that helps secure the glass top is something that I haven’t seen before either.
With no visible markings to help identify a manufacturer it’s a little hard to accurately date, however judging from the design and materials I’m leaning towards the 1950’s. It’s definitely a keeper!
Following up from my last post, the original owner of the Kafka furniture sent through some more images which I was really grateful for.
All pieces are/were built-in which you can see below. The standout for me is the other half of the wall unit!
Custom built wall unit.Cocktail Cabinet
What a huge piece of cabinetry! It must be 7 meters + in width. Love the symmetry, and the inlay which on the left side features martini glasses and cocktail shakers! I’m sure it would of been the centre of attention on more than one occasion.
Another online find during the break was an advertisement that read “1950 Kafka wooden cabinets, bedside tables, desk”.
Located in Dover Heights, Sydney, there was so much furniture that an entire truck would be needed! Amazing hey? Unfortunately I was a little slow off the mark, and by the time I had contacted the owner most pieces were spoken for. I did however make sure to save the 2 images for reference, along with ask for a few pictures of the other items (bedsides/desk) which I’m hoping to receive soon.
High quality makers label!Interesting ‘musical’ inlay.
I find the wall unit’s inlay depicting a musical score pretty interesting. It’d be great to know more about the original owners background. Musician perhaps?
To find out about Paul Kafka, there’s a great excerpt at Design & Art Australia Online. It’s well worth a read, and you can find it here – http://www.daao.org.au/bio/paul-ernst-kafka/biography/ Particular interesting is how relevant the above piece/s of furniture are to the article!
Been a little quiet over the past 2 weeks due to the fact my 9 – 5 has required a few extra hours! However I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year!
I’m very happy with the way things have progressed throughout 2014, and although I’d love to have more time, we are slowly building towards something pretty significant, more of which you will see in 2015/16!
We will be taking a break from the online side of things for a few weeks, however will still be contactable via email & mobile (just may be a little slow in replying).
Take care, stay safe, and look forward to seeing you all in the new year.
Whilst browsing a recycle centre earlier this week I came across a piece of mid century furniture which had never, ever crossed my mind – a mid century styled cot.
Great mid century styled cot.
Manufactured from a teak/teak veneer and dating from the 1960’s I would have a guess that this cot would of been a custom made piece to fit in with the rest of the original owners home decor. With all the correct signs of a quality piece of furniture I could only imagine (and would love to of seen) what other pieces the original owner had!
Functional!
With a piano hinged door that revealed shelf space on one end,
Towel Rack
And a double towel rack to the other this cot was definitely made with practicality in mind, however style was not sacrificed in the process.
Mid Century styled cot
So did I buy it? Unfortunately, no. It was super hard to walk away from but due to the difficulty in regards to selling older style cots/baby furniture and whether they comply with relevant Australian Standards just isn’t worth the hassle…….Hopefully it’ll find a good home though and be saved from being turned into landfill.
In my last auction watch I shared an interesting single lounge chair manufactured by fler. Although the colour would not of appealed to everyone (and that’s being nice), I could relate seeing as I have the same lounge chair (apart of a 3 piece suite) currently in storage.
Fler Lounge Suite
Now as you can see, it has been reupholstered in that hideous floral pattern fabric. It’s lines and curves however what were originally attracted my attention.
Great curves!
Once I looked a little deeper (removed a cushion cover) I discovered a great, possibly original swatch of fabric which seemed to match the style of the lounge a little better.
Great fabric design.
I’m still not 100% sure though on the material above being what the lounge would of been originally covered in, it seems a little to ‘light’, and contrasts strongly to what the eBay listed lounge chair is covered in.
I guess if I could find an old advert on the said lounge online it would help out, alot! However there within lies the problem. I have searched reasonably extensively through trove and other online sources and came up with zip, hence my excitement at finally seeing another one online.
It’s style almost reminds me of Featherstons Numero 4/7 range (which dates from the 1970’s) so could of possibly had some influence on this style of fler lounge.
Base of Fler tub style lounge chair.
The fler lounge suite appears to have a fibregass inner shell, which is covered in a high quality foam. The white plastic base covers the bottom along with providing the ‘feet’ for the lounge/chair, and to be honest those lounge chairs are possibly the most comfiest chairs I have ever sat in! I imagine it feels like what sitting on or in a cloud would. LOL.
So can you help me identify the era and model of this groovy Fler lounge suite? Love to hear from you here.
Last week I shared 2 beautiful original oil paintings depicting a striking Australian outback scene. I asked the question at the end of the post if we knew who the artist was?
Artist Julius Szentleleky
Well, as you can see our artists name is Julius Szentleleky. So what do we know about him? Well, a google and trove search only yields 4 results with any relevance.
The earliest, from the Sydney morning herald and dating from 1952 reads –
Show By Julius
The small paintings by Julius Szentleleky at the Grosvenor galleries are quite charming studio gleanings of little consequence in themselves, but of value to the artist.
His large pictures show that forced tonality to be seen alike in primitive and tired painting.
One feels that he can do much better, that indeed it would be unfair to criticise at present. In his sketches there is the material, and some ability. Once the scene has been absorbed, the work of art may follow which, one trusts, will be soon.
This show will be opened by Mrs. Quentin Stanham at 3 p.m. today.
The second chronologically listed newspaper article is shown below.
And thats it, all that I can currently find online about our artist, up until 2005 where the Heide Museum of Modern Art added one of Julius’ artworks to their collection –
- Szentleleky, Julius
Peer gynt 1953
oil on composition board
71.9 x 54.6 cm
So where does that leave us with our 2 paintings? Well we know he was active during the early 1950’s, which does appear to conflict with the $60 price tag on the rear of one painting (as decimal currency didn’t come about until 1963) however this could be easily enough explained – perhaps he wanted to move on some of his art later on in life (shed clean out/exhibiting in a small gallery somewhere, etc). The trip to Broken Hill is interesting as it does state he painted, and exhibited landscapes of the surrounding countryside, whilst the Sydney article talks about ‘the small paintings’ – very much like these 2. The ‘oil on composition board’ painting that the Heide Museum acquired dating from 1953 also matches the medium of these 2 paintings.
So with all that information I’m pretty confident to say that these 2 paintings would date from the 1950’s and are original works. It’s nice to know a little of the story of the artist behind the artwork. Whether or not it adds value to the item I think is insignificant, it’s the link that each one of us build in our own way that matters most.
I thought tonight I’d share something that caught me off guard a little.
1950’s Oil Painting
As you can see above, we have an original oil painting on what appears to be a composite board (think masonite). Dating from what I’d imagine to be the 1950’s I love the nice earthy colours and the expression on the Aboriginals face. To me I picture him sitting down, shoulders slightly rolled forwards, arms resting on his legs and he’s about to start telling an interesting, but hard story.
Now the ‘Aboriginal Head’ (title) painting above was only 1 of 2. There is another.
Original painting – Aboriginal in the red outback.
This painting, shares the same earthy colours, however appears to be a little more refined (texture of the board is smoother). Our Aboriginal friend in this one though is standing tall, broad shoulders with a stern look on his face. Again, a nice piece in it’s own right.
However, put the 2 side by side and watch the magic happen!
2 x original oil paintings. Circa 1950’s.
All of a sudden, the two seperate paintings become one. The frames disappear and we’re left with a gorgeous panoramic image! Amazingly beautiful.
So, do we know who the artist is? Sure do, but you’ll have to wait till part 2 to find out.
Sometimes, it’s the small things that can bring the biggest smile. That statement definitely rings true to this great little ‘cocktail set’ that someone put together 50 years ago!
1960’s Cocktail Items
Originally thinking it was an old empty chocolate box, you can imagine my surprise when I lifted the lid and the burst of colour from the glass straws/swizzle sticks hit my eyes!
Delving a little deeper into the box and we also have a beautiful set of teal coloured drink coasters, pink plastic cocktail sticks/toothpicks and 5 plastic ‘swizzle sticks’.
Great 1960’s Cocktail set and items.
I was curious as to why there was a Qantas branded swizzle stick in the box, which did look a little out of place, and when researching the ‘Wentworth Hotel’ branded swizzle sticks it all became clear. According to Wikipedia – Qantas, in 1966, diversified its business by opening the 450 room Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. So not only were they promoting their brand new hotel, but the famous airline also!
It’s nice to know that these items were treasured and taken care of, only to be brought out to impress the visitors when throwing what I am sure would of been a fabulous cocktail party. A pleasant thought compared to todays throwaway society…….
A few weeks ago I posted about a great Douglas Snelling sideboard manufactured by Functional Products Pty Ltd during the 1950’s.
Tonight I’d like to share another (rare?) piece by Snelling and Functional Products.
1950’s Queensland Maple desk
It’s a students desk, relatively simple in design however sporting those features that become ever so more recognisable each time you see them! Beautiful golden Queensland maple veneer, 4 angled front drawers and to the underside the Functional Products ink stamp.
Angular drawers on a Snelling Desk
Now I mentioned above the possibility of the students desk being a rare piece. In my research thus far I haven’t found another. It would of been apart of ‘The Snelling Line’ of furniture, and perhaps because of it’s simple design and looks, may of never really been thought to of had any value or significance?
Where to from here? Well, it joins the ever expanding list of items to ‘restore’. Now just to find a nice matching chair……..
