By the eighteenth century in Europe and England all things Chinese had assumed incredible proportions as fashionable society sought to transmit their ideas about the magical land of Cathay through a multiplicity of imagery.

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A connoisseur, scholar and devout Buddhist, within the forbidden city Chinese Emperor Qianlong created a luxurious garden compound to serve throughout his retirement as a secluded place of contemplation, repose and entertainment. When the city was shut down following the Chinese revolution of 1911 – 1912 many of its treasures gathered dust for a century. Now, through a great deal of international cooperation and negotiation they have been conserved and sent on tour.

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On our You Tube Channel you will find our mini-documentaries, which provide an insight into the evolution of art, design, music, fashion and style.

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According to the French couturier Valentino, ‘roses impose a tranquility of peace upon the image of woman. Dresses and accessories with oversized roses…are something bold and yet mysterious, an evocative symbol of life, the earth, civilization and the beauty of creation’

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Ardent socialist and playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) lived a life of literary criticism dealing sternly with prevailing social issues, but with a lightness of touch that made stark realities palatable. He said ‘Imagination is at the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will’. The 60′s was the age of those who dared to dream a dream and then went out and made it happen.

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Unpretentious, warm and welcoming, the interiors of Provence today reflect the heritage of Provencal life and the Provenceur’s enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life; the sharing of good food, the local wine and the art of good conversation.

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Provence until the end of the 15th century was a group of states entirely separate from France. It had its own language, government and a sense of style, with deeply rooted ideas and philosophies first founded in strong traditions. They kept goats and ate fish, grew herbs in abundance, as well as olives which were introduced by the Greeks. With the fabled vitis vinifera grape vine for stock they made wine and became great consumers of wild boar as well as truffles. The oak forests of Provence would have been prime truffle territory then as now. The little slivers of this celestial fungus harbors many of the amusing stories of the region. They were often obtained by nefarious means or through a local truffle fair not listed in any tourist guide.

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The Rococo style was delicately elegant with a distinct preference for asymmetry. It was presided over by France’s King Louis XV’s mistress, Madame du Pompadour, a sophisticated lady of impeccable style.

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“Come tulip come and take color from my cheek” said Eastern Philosopher Mevlana in the thirteenth century when shrubs, bulbs and flowers were flooding into Europe from the near East. They went wild for them, especially Holland, who would make the tulip that grew wild in Anatolia in western Turkey an integral part of both its culture and economy

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Walking by the Yarra River in Victoria I came across a worker slashing the lush green grass on the gentle slope down to the river. What is our obsession with mowing every inch of grass growing all about? Is it another aspect of our seeking to control nature? Why can’t we also consider the aesthetic?

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Captain Arthur Phillip laid the foundation stone of Australia’s first government house within four months of sailing into Port Jackson on January 26 1788 with the first fleet. Against a background of a natural environment its indigenous inhabitants had never disturbed, at the time, it was an assertion of culture in the colonies.

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In England, during the second half of the nineteenth century, painter, writer, textile designer and social activist William Morris (1834-1896) became the spiritual leader of a revival in arts and crafts that encompassed all the visual arts, including architecture and interiors.

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A villa by architect Andrea Palladio was a place where the owners could feel happy, secure and content, which is after all, what most of us still require and aspire to, a place where one can cultivate the head, heart, body and the soul.

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In London much of the development in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century was in the hands of aristocratic landowners. But were they ‘compleat’ gentlemen?

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From our London correspondent comes news about an exciting television series Downton Abbey, the most expensive British TV show ever produced. It is a great upstairs and downstairs story about life in an English Country House just prior to world war one, The dynamics of the people who live and work in Downton Abbey draw everyone into their emotional turmoil, one mostly internalized by its protagonists against their wellbeing. They are responding to the strict social and moral mores of their day which are under threat by massive societal change…

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The French court by the beginning of the seventeenth century shifted from an ideal based on chivalry to one based on refined manners. This meant that instead of an economy based on feudal war it was now based on leisure and peace. The Chateau at Versailles in France is an amazing place to visit. In [...]

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