Collecting antiques is a social phenomenon, often misrepresented as being the hobby of only a select few. From my experience working in the trade, perusing galleries, working at and attending fairs and auctions over a long period of time (some 30 years) collecting antiques is a pleasure indulged in by a vast number of people from very different backgrounds and all walks of life.

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Drawn by their iridescent beauty, many races and peoples have used feathers as adornment or accessory to decorate themselves using entire feathers from the bird

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Today our art of living well has evolved since antiquity in Europe to a residence in Australia through a diverse and special mix of peoples and their cultures.

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There are no boundaries and no rules really when it comes to designing interiors, only guidelines that should always remain both flexible and practical. And, if it is for yourself, then its decoration must come from the heart.

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Sydney stylist Jo Bayley offers observations about the world of fashion, style and travel in a column on The Culture Concept Circle home page – Fashion Elixir

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An antique is something made in a previous era. However, according to antique dealers, their associations and the tax man, it is not really that simple at all.

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The mirror, more than just glass, has occupied a unique place in his imagination as a site of the divine or demonic, of lucidity or madness. It is the ‘matrix of the symbolic’ and accompanies the human quest to know and understand our identity.

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The use of antiques in traditional or modern settings will always be desirable; the lure of the past is strong.  Becoming a dealer of antiques is no easy task.  A large sum of knowledge, together with a good deal of professional experience is required. It also helps to know people active in the trade. Some [...]

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Until the early 1900s the volume of snuff produced in China far exceeded that of tobacco for smoking or chewing. Everyone took it – from the poet Alexander Pope to naturalist Charles Darwin, actress Sarah Siddons and the Duke of Wellington. Lord Nelson took large quantities to sea with him, while Napoleon sniffed over seven pounds a month. Physicians made great claims for it, prescribing snuff for headaches, insomnia, toothache, coughs and colds and recommending it as a measure against contagion. Today snuff bottles remain eminently collectible. The enormous variety in materials, subject matter, colour and shape provides a fascinating trail for the dedicated collector.

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The Australian Antique & Art Dealers Association (AA&ADA) Show is on at Royal Randwick Racecourse at Sydney from the 7 – 11th September. It is the leading industry body representing antique and art dealers in Australia today. Their Code of Practice is surety that your investment in the past is also an investment in your future.

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English purists are adamant the term ‘antique’ means you are talking about an item made before 1830; the date coincides with the death of George IV of England. This was the end of the so-called Georgian period (1714 – 1830) encompassing the reign of George I, II, III, the Regency of George, Prince of Wales [...]

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An antique is something made in an earlier period and collected and valued because it is rare, old, aesthetically pleasing of high quality or interest. A more generally accepted understanding is furniture and objects over 100 years of age. But this is not strictly true. Today many Associations for antique dealers now recognize works of [...]

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England’s Prince Regent George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (1762 – 1830) scandalized the nation with his reckless and lavish living habits. He gave an impressive love gift a diamond riviére (a necklace of precious stones, generally set in one strand) to his mistress Elizabeth, Lady Conyngham, who reputedly received gifts of jewels valued at the time in the region of 80,000 pounds.

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French painter François Boucher (1703-1770) produced many of the images that we have of the enigmatic Jeanne Antoinette, Marquise de Pompadour, Maîtresse-en-titre, or the official Mistress of Louis XV of France.

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Hi, it is with great pleasure we welcome members, subscribers and supporters to Muse News September 2010. We have intentionally built a lot of flexibility into the subjects covered by our newsletter, so you can access it, read the articles and watch online videos at your convenience…

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Residence splendidly showcases the ability of Sydney based international designer Thomas Hamel to produce an interior that accommodates the needs of the client in a timelessly elegant and unforgettable way. This beautiful illustrated volume provides an insight into some of his favourite projects. Chapters are accompanied by a description of the design process used in each transformation

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