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Badminton Cabinet
The Badminton Cabinet is a monumental piece of 18th-century furniture that twice set the record for most expensive piece of furniture ever sold. The Badminton Cabinet, or Badminton Chest, was commissioned in 1726 by Henry Somerset, 3rd Duke of Beaufort, at the age of 19. It took thirty experts six years to make, and came to be named after the Duke's country seat, Badminton House Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to th ... in Gloucestershire, England, where it remained until it was auctioned by his descendants in the late 20th century. The ebony cabinet is tall and wide and shows scenes rendered in pietra dura—inlaid finely cut, polished and coloured stones, including in this case a number of semi-precious stones. The clock face set at the top of the cabinet is marked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico anno 2013, datISTAT/ref> Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861). The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, the holding company of François-Henri Pinault. Sales in 2015 totalled £4.8 billion (US$7.4 billion). In 2017, the ''Salvator Mundi (Leonardo), Salvator Mundi'' was sold for $400 million at Christie's in New York, at the time List of most expensive paintings, the highest price ever paid for a single painting at an auction. History Founding The official company literature states that founder James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie (1730–1803) conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766. However, other sources note that James Christie rented auction rooms from 1762, and newspaper advertisements for Christi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badminton House
Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to the sport of badminton, is set among 52,000 acres of land. The gardens and park surrounding the house are listed at Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. History In 1612 Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, bought from Nicholas Boteler his manors of Great and Little Badminton, called 'Madmintune' in the Domesday Book while one century earlier the name 'Badimyncgtun' was recorded, held by that family since 1275. Edward Somerset's third son Sir Thomas Somerset modernized the old house in the late 1620s, and built a new T-shaped gabled range. Evidence suggests he also built up on the present north and west fronts. The Dukes of Beaufort acquired the property in the late 17th century, when the family moved from Raglan Castle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Piasecka Johnson
Barbara "Basia" Piasecka Johnson (born Barbara Piasecka; February 25, 1937 – April 1, 2013) was a Polish humanitarian, philanthropist, art connoisseur and collector. Early life Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near Grodno, Poland (now in Belarus). Her father was a farmer. She graduated from Wroclaw University with a M.A. in Art History. She left Poland in 1968, with $100 in her possession. Career Piasecka was hired as a cook by Esther Underwood Johnson, then wife of John Seward Johnson I. She then worked as the Johnsons' chambermaid. One time seeing his admiration for one of the paintings he had bought, she said casually that he overpaid for it because it is not a picture of a master, but his disciple and by using the dates proved it. Johnson was shocked about her knowledge and expertise, and appointed her as consultant to his purchases of works of art. A year after she became Johnson's chambermaid, she became his curator for the Seward Johnson's art collection. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liechtenstein Museum
The Liechtenstein Museum is a private art museum in Vienna, Austria. It contains much of the art collection of its owners, the House of Liechtenstein, Princely Family of Liechtenstein, rulers of the principality of Liechtenstein. It includes important European works of art, forming one of the world's leading private art collections. Its highlight used to be Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of ''Ginevra de' Benci'', which was acquired in 1967 by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum, which was originally open to the public from the early 19th century until the Anschluss of 1938, had various locations, including the Liechtenstein Garden Palace (''Gartenpalais'') at Fürstengasse 1 in Vienna's 9th District (Alsergrund), and the Stadtpalais Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein City Palace (''Stadtpalais'') at Bankgasse 9 in Vienna's 1st District (Innere Stadt). The museum was reopened on 29 March 2004 in the Garden Palace, but after battling with low visitor numbers, it was cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large national audience. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. Financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1933 and revived its health and reputation, work continued by his successors Katharine and Phil Graham (Meyer's daughter and son-in-law), who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post'' 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Subsequently, in the best-known episode in the newspaper's history, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the American press's investigation into what became known as the Watergate scandal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country Seat
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the country of Wales is a component of a multi-part sovereign state, the United Kingdom. A country may be a historically sovereign area (such as Korea), a currently sovereign territory with a unified government (such as Senegal), or a non-sovereign geographic region associated with certain distinct political, ethnic, or cultural characteristics (such as the Basque Country). The definition and usage of the word "country" is flexible and has changed over time. ''The Economist'' wrote in 2010 that "any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies." Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations. The largest country by area is Russia, while the smallest is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gloucester and other principal towns and villages include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Kingswood, Bradley Stoke, Stroud, Thornbury, Yate, Tewkesbury, Bishop's Cleeve, Churchdown, Brockworth, Winchcombe, Dursley, Cam, Berkeley, Wotton-under-Edge, Tetbury, Moreton-in-Marsh, Fairford, Lechlade, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stonehouse, Nailsworth, Minchinhampton, Painswick, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, Coleford, Cinderford, Lydney and Rodborough and Cainscross that are within Stroud's urban area. Gloucestershire borders Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pietra Dura
''Pietra dura'' () or ''pietre dure'' () ( see below), called parchin kari or parchinkari ( fa, ) in the Indian Subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art. The stonework, after the work is assembled loosely, is glued stone-by-stone to a substrate after having previously been "sliced and cut in different shape sections; and then assembled together so precisely that the contact between each section was practically invisible". Stability was achieved by grooving the undersides of the stones so that they interlocked, rather like a jigsaw puzzle, with everything held tautly in place by an encircling 'frame'. Many different colored stones, particularly marbles, were used, along with semiprecious, and even precious stones. It first appeared in Rome in the 16th century, reaching its full maturity in Florence. Pietra dura items are generally crafted on green, white or blac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleurs-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the heraldry of numerous European nations, but is particularly associated with France, notably during its monarchical period. The fleur-de-lis became "at one and the same time, religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic," especially in French heraldry. The fleur-de-lis has been used by French royalty and throughout history to represent saints of France. In particular, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph are often depicted with a lily. The fleur-de-lis is represented in Unicode at in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. Origin The ''fleur de lis'' is widely thought to be a stylized version of the species ''Iris pseudacorus'', or ''Iris florentina''.Stefan Buczacki However, the lily (genus lilium, family Liliaceae) and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinets (furniture)
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries, it is a collegiate decision-making body with collective responsibility, while in others it may function either as a purely advisory body or an assisting institution to a decision-making head of state or head of government. Cabinets are typically the body responsible for the day-to-day management of the government and response to sudden events, whereas the legislative and judicial branches work in a measured pace, in sessions according to lengthy procedures. In some countries, particularly those that use a parliamentary system (e.g., the UK), the Cabinet collectively decides the government's direction, especially in regard to legislation passed by the parliament. In countries with a presidential system, such as the United States, the Cab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Furniture
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ... comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries. History is also an Discipline (academia), academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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