Curious Objects The Magazine Antiques
-
- Arts
-
Through interviews with leading figures in the world of fine and decorative arts, Curious Objects—a podcast from The Magazine Antiques—explores the hidden histories, the little-known facts, the intricacies, and the idiosyncrasies that breathe life and energy into historical works of craft and art.
-
Discovering a Forgotten Folk Artist at the Independence Seaport Museum
In Part 1 of a special two-part podcast, Curious Objects’ host Benjamin Miller speaks with Peter Siebert, president and CEO of Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum about a folk art watercolor from the late 1700s that’s been the subject of a major research project. Called Navigation Lesson, the painting is believed to depict the artist, Cornelius van Buskirk, receiving instruction from Commodore John Barry (1745-1803), the man regarded as the father of the United States Navy.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
A Precious 17th-Century Kleenex
On this week’s episode, Ben Miller speaks with Elena Kanagy-Loux, lacewear trendsetter and co-founder of the Brooklyn Lace Guild. The focus object is a seventeenth-century Italian handkerchief, but Ben’s and Elena’s conversation also touches on that time she worked for Courtney Love; good (and bad) representations of lace and lace production in cinema; and Refashioning the Renaissance, a five-year project to investigate popular dress trends and meanings in early modern Europe.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Rescued by the Romanovs, a Fabergé Treasure Comes to Market
The Romanov dynasty was wiped out in 1918 . . . but what happened to all their stuff? Well, some of it ended up at Heritage Auctions, whose Imperial Fabergé and Russian Works of Art auction on May 17 hopes to move a treasure trove of ikons, furniture pieces, diaries, and gold-encrusted baubles. To discuss the sale—and in particular a Fabergé bonbonnière given to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna—Ben Miller welcomes guest Nicholas Nicholson, specialist in Russian works of art at Heritage.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
Advice Ep: How to Buy an Antique/Vintage Rug
In the newest installment of our advice series, Ben Miller speaks with Jordan Heres, co-founder with his wife, Ingrid, of the Charlottesville, Virginia, rug purveyor Weft and Wool. The focus object is a rug from Karaja, Iran, made in about 1900, but Ben’s and Jordan also tackle such subjects as how often a rug should be washed, why you should never use a beater bar when vacuuming a rug, and where the best rugs can be found (spoiler: it’s Istanbul, but the runner-up might surprise listeners).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
THROWBACK: This Chair Is Made of America
In this special throwback episode, Benjamin Miller speaks with Ellery Foutch, assistant professor of American studies at Middlebury College, about a “relic Windsor chair” assembled by Henry Sheldon (founder of the Middlebury museum named in his honor) in 1884. This unique piece of furniture was built with fragments of wood salvaged from structures with local or national significance—such as the warship Old Ironsides, the William Penn House in Philadelphia, and a colonial whipping post. (Look here for a full list of the chair’s components.) And thanks to Foutch’s and her student’s efforts, the nineteenth-century chair now has a twentieth-century twin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices -
CO Bites: A Pitch-Perfect Vermont Songbook
In this Curious Objects Bites episode, Benjamin Miller examines an 1830s manuscript tune book from rural Vermont. Bound crudely in leather, this book of sacred music was made by a farmer named Bernard Ward as a gift for his grandson, and many years later passed into the major collection of musical instruments, books, scores, and ephemera assembled by Frederick R. Selch. Filling Ben in on the details of this unusual item is Brenton Grom, executive director of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum in Connecticut.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Customer Reviews
A Good Listen on History From Things
I’ve been listening to Curious Objects for several years and always enjoy coming back to hear great stories about beautiful and interesting objects. I am not a collector of fine things nor am I an academic. But I always feel like this podcast is meant for anyone that enjoys learning history from things.
Informative and inspiring!
The Curious Objects team produces captivating episodes featuring standout objects and leaders in the field.
Always informative and fascinating
I had a good fortune to grow up with grandmothers and a mother who loved antiques, so I’ve always been surrounded by beautiful objects. This wonderful podcast expands my interests while continuing to inform and educate me. I only have one question. What polish would Jonathan recommend for antique silver?