The Black Display Case (original) (raw)
Aesthetic Movement Table
Jul. 31st, 2008 | 12:00 pm
posted by: 
ms_vermilion in 
vitrine_noire
Name of the object:
Aesthetic Movement Hexagonal Table
Weight, dimensions:
about 10 pounds, 18" high, top is 14.25" flat edge to flat edge
Origins:
Purchased from a seller on eBay. Made in England circa 1885.
Materials:
ebonized mahogany with pyrography (burned in) designs and fretwork legs
Description, notes:
Pyrography, the technique used for the patterning on the table, is a wood burning technique used quite a bit by Victorian craftsmen to burn designs into wood, and occasionally leather. This piece was made in England and exhibits hallmarks of the Aesthetic Movement with the intricate floral and leafy designs, intricate fretwork alternating on the legs and its hexagonal shape.
( more pictures behind cutCollapse )
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Emu Egg
Jul. 31st, 2008 | 10:37 am
posted by: ms_vermilion in vitrine_noire
Name of the object:
Emu Egg
Weight, dimensions:
very lightweight, maybe 4 oz., approximately 5-6" long
Origins:
Purchased at Pike Place Creamery in Pike Place Market, Seattle.
Materials:
hollowed out shell of a real emu's egg
Description, notes:
The shell of the egg is pretty thick, compared to a chicken egg and the surface is a lot more textured. As far as I know the store did not sell emu eggs with their contents left in them for eating. An emu egg is very similar to an ostrich egg, of course, but the dark teal color is a lot more interesting.
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Buddha Hand Teapot
Aug. 21st, 2006 | 11:56 am
posted by: ms_vermilion in vitrine_noire
Name of the object:
YiXing Buddha Hand Teapot
Weight, dimensions:
approximately 2 kg, 4.2 x 3.7 x 6.6
Origins:
Purchased from an eBay seller in China.
Materials:
YiXing clay
Description, notes:
This is a teapot made for the traditional Gong Fu method of tea preparation and service in China.
This is an excellent source for information on traditional teas. And this page has a lot of information decoding traditional Chinese tea speak.
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Decorated Goat Skull
Aug. 21st, 2006 | 10:18 am
posted by: ms_vermilion in vitrine_noire
Name of the object:
Decorated Goat Skull
Weight, dimensions:
approximately 10" wide, 12" long, 2 lbs.
Origins:
It was probably created in Central or South America. I purchased it at a store in Los Angeles that had lots of "folk art" from all over the world.
Materials:
goat skull
carved wood
green and blue satin ribbons hanging from a string attached to each horn tip
black painted snakes, stars, mustache, eyebrows, abstract designs
Description, notes:
I know very little about this object. I bought it years ago and there was no accompanying information to tell me about it. The style of ribbon decoration and use of skulls is similar to mask-making styles in Mexico and other places, but I have never seen anything that uses symbols and decorations like the ones painted on this. The use of snake and star images ought to have some sort of religious/ritual connotation, but it doesn't match anything I know about.
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(no subject)
Aug. 20th, 2006 | 07:55 pm
music: Thumping dance music from across the alley
posted by: splendid_geryon in vitrine_noire
Found: the Ballard Locks. Soon to be destroyed, if the construction equipment lurking the vicinity is any indication.
Is your love strong enough?
---- appended7/31/2008 ----
These have been gone for quite some time now, sadly. The location is soon to be home to a new yuppie grocery store and an all-hours fitness joint, next to the home of a now sadly-also-departed old lady who refused to sell her house to the developers of the property.
Her car, as of yesterday, was still parked outside and slowly aging.
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Welcome to Vitrine Noire (the Black Display Case)
Jan. 1st, 2020 | 12:00 pm
posted by: ms_vermilion in vitrine_noire
Welcome to The Black Display Case. This community is a place for you to post pictures and information about interesting objects.
RULES
- Each post must be of an object of probable interest to other members of the community. The exception is posts requesting information related to where to obtain a specific thing which is not readily available.
- Each post featuring an object must contain at least one picture of the object.
- Limit picture size to 300 pixels wide. Link pictures to larger versions or put larger images behind cut tags if desired.
- If the post contains multiple pictures, all but the first one must be behind a cut tag.
- Stick to the basic posting format protocols whenever possible so that the information about the object is easily interpreted and located.
- Posts or polls asking people to guess what an object is are permitted, and encouraged.
- Posts about objects found online must credit the source and provide as much information as available including a link. In other words, do not misrepresent an object divorced from its source.
- Don't post that this is your first post to the community or that you just joined. Nobody cares.
If you have additions to the interests list, please e-mail the moderator.
GENERAL POST FORMAT
(The purpose of this is to provide a general framework for posts featuring particular objects.)
Name of the Object: [what it is called, what it is, use for title of post]
Dimensions: [approximate size, weight]
Materials: [what it is made of - evident for some things, but for others a written description of materials will be useful]
Origin: [where was it made or found, and where did you get it (or photograph it)]
Description: [any interesting facts you know about the object, etc.]