A House Abloom!

These are the days when things slow down before the frenzy of the new school year begins – and don’t we all really consider September the beginning of the year, not January? The days have that quietness to them and the evenings are getting dark noticeably earlier. In the stillness, you can hear the hum of the crickets and other creatures.

The flowers are getting showy and beautiful, with the flamboyant ones like dahlias and zinnias at their peak. Of course, not all of the flowers are in the garden. They’re in here decorating our shop. Jonathan’s green thumb keeps us supplied with fresh flowers almost year ‘round. Flowers can also be found on many of our selected pieces, like these plates, this John Derian piece, this stone sculpture, this suzani, this classic blue and white transferware plate, this jeweled bracelet, this napkin ring, and these Sam Robinson paintings.

But it’s the real flowers that capture our hearts.

As ever, if you see anything that interests you, please contact Eric at Halcyon House Antiques.

Naked Ladies

If you’ve driven in our driveway in the past week or so, you may have noticed some Naked Ladies along the drive. No? Perhaps you were looking for something other than lilies!This plant (Amaryllis belladonna) produces green, leafy growth that emerges in spring and dies back by mid summer. In late summer, leafless stems produce elegant, pink flowers. The plants shoot up within a week or two and only stay in bloom for about a week after that. They’re called Naked Ladies because they have no foliage, other than their stems. After the blooms die back, the long, strap-like leaves re-appear.

Harvey Ladew was a great fan of Naked Lady lilies, mainly because of their name. I am sure that he loved shocking his proper friends with the name. Near the Ladew Garden’s entrance is a carpet of naked lady lilies. “Ladew had admired the lilies in a friend’s garden,” says chief gardener Tyler Diehl. “The friend cabled to say he would send 50 naked ladies to Monkton if Mr. Ladew could handle them. Mr. Ladew cabled back, saying that he could easily handle 50 naked ladies if they were disease free. Of course he knew the message would scandalize telegraph operators on both ends, which was part of the fun.”

Home to Roost

Once of the enduring motifs in home design is the rooster. For years, roosters, chickens and the like have been used as a decorating element, particularly in designs from the Provence region in France. Our Provencal plates follow the hand-painted themes that have remained popular for decades, but they have a 21st century twist! Rather than being heavy earthenware pottery, these plates are light-weight and very sturdy melamine. They look like great china, but you don’t have to worry about breaking them if you use them on the terrace. Since there are least two more months of outside dining, you can take advantage of using these plates, and the others in the range, until at least October!

We also have glassware, and cutlery. They won’t break and they won’t break the bank!

We Sell Seashells!

As the summer starts winding down, and the light begins to change, you will want to keep your memories of the shore, the ocean and the beach in one of our great shell boxes.

They are so intricately made and have a wide variety of shells on them.

These terrific boxes come in a range of sizes and shapes.

Some are large enough to store all of your fun summer jewelry and others are just the right size for a little beach keepsake.

Should you want to keep things monochrome and serene, we have boxes with all-white shells with a pearlescent finish on them.

We even have some great capiz shell accessories for the bath.So, when you’re thinking of something to remember the Summer of 2013 with, remember that we sell seashells at our store!

As always, if you see something that interests you, please contact Eric at the shop!

The Bangles

When it’s as hot as it’s been for the last week or two, you don’t want to be wearing heavy gold jewelry around your wrists.
You want something weightless and effortless, yet elegant. Of course, we have the perfect solution at Halcyon House!These lightweight bone and shell bangles with Swarovski crystals embedded in them provide the perfect mix of posh and panache! They’re fun and elegant at the same time. And because they come in several different shapes and widths, you can mix and match them to go big or go slim. Regardless of which width or shape you choose, you’ll be the coolest one in the house!

Happy 4th of July Week!

Like you, we’re shocked that it’s July already, but we’re coping by taking off the week of July 2nd through 8th. Have a safe and fun week!

Tunic Time

Now that it’s officially SUMMER, the days are heating up and the nights are, too! The last thing you want to wear is clingy clothes, so we have a perfect solution for you – our gorgeous 100% cotton tunics!There’s a reason that people from Morocco to India wear tunics – they’re very comfortable in the intense heat. They provide coverage from the sun, and also in the air conditioning that’s everywhere, but they also keep you cool because they allow the air to circulate close to your skin. While the tunic on the left is rather low cut, you can always wear it with a skinny ribbed tank top beneath it, or wear the tunic over your bathing suit. The white tunic would look great over white skinny jeans, and the blue one on the right would look terrific over a pair of draw-string linen pants. The detailing on these tunics is gorgeous, and ensures that you can wear it either dressed up or dressed down.Some of the tunics are longer than others, so you could wear them as a nice short summer dress!

Come on in and see our great line of tunics in cool, cool cottons. You will love them!

As always, if you have questions about any of the items shown, please contact Eric at Halcyon House Antiques!

Here’s the Key

For more than 2,500 years, the Greek Key motif has been showing up in designs and decorations. You can see the motif in the band of the helmet on this charioteer found in the excavations in Delphi, Greece,and in this section of classical architecture.

Here at Halcyon House Antiques, we continue that classical tradition with several pieces featuring the Greek Key design. This beautiful porcelain bowl features a large Greek Key in gold and a midnight blue, with the curved gold sword and leaf pattern below it accenting the squareness of the key design. I could see this bowl filled with a beautifully-scented potpourri, or with a single perfect blossom like a magnolia floating in it.

We do have some vases and hurricane candle holders with Greek Key motifs on them. These hurricanes/vases come in clear, red, blue and green. Perfect for summer entertaining. And to light the candles in the hurricanes, we have decorative matches with the GK design.

Next, we have sweet little glass stands that would be perfect to display some stunning chocolates, or a selection of tiny cupcakes. Maybe even some hors d’oeuvres during a cocktail party.

Finally, we have a great clear and frosted glass bowl. How about filling this with cherries or strawberries? Or floating a beautiful hot pink rose in it. While you’re out and about, look out for Greek Key motifs in architecture, clothing and china and glassware. I bet you’ll see more than you’ve ever realized.

As ever, if you’re interested in anything shown above, please contact Eric at Halcyon House Antiques.

Sam Robinson, Fine Artist

The Sam Robinson art show has opened at Halcyon House and it is terrific! More than 50 pieces of Sam’s work, from as recently as April, are on display throughout the shop’s first floor rooms. For a certain segment of Baltimoreans, spring hails the arrival of steeplechase season, picnics in the grass, excellent cocktails, horse races and good friends. Sam views it as an opportunity for plein air painting. He approached the racing officials who let him set up his easel and paints in the midst of the paddock, where all of the action is… at least before the races begin. The center of the three paintings below is the painting drying on the left above.His equestrian knowledge and his love of his part of Maryland, the Green Spring Valley where he lives, all contribute to his deep sense of place, which is reflected in his paintings.

Each aspect of the race is shown in Sam’s paintings. From the trainer and the owner discussing strategy, to the grooms bringing the horses in to the paddock to be saddled, to the riders making their way to the starting line, to the fierce competition over the fences,

to the announcer calling the race,

to the final run down the home stretch,

to the final cooling off of the horses, Sam’s paintings reflect the true gamut of the day.

His paintings have a light, quick touch that really conveys the highs and lows of this racing life.

Sam Robinson’s show runs through early August. For more information on the show, click here, and for more information on Sam’s paintings, click here.