#MiddleburyCT #Enamel #Sacristy
He’s not an official symbol of Valentine’s Day, but it seems like the right time to have the King of Hearts make an appearance. This King of Hearts enamel was made in 1946 by Kenneth Bates, who may as well be called the king of enamels.
Bates was born in Massachusetts in 1904 and developed a love of art and crafts as a child. He attended the Massachusetts School of Art where he studied painting and had his first exposure to enamels. In 1927, while teaching design at the Cleveland School of Art, he realized that there were already many artists working in his preferred medium, watercolor and decided to try something different so his work would stand out. His choice? Enamels. At the time, enamel was limited to expensive jewelry houses; it wasn’t considered a material for modern art.
Bates’s work, from Arts and Crafts-style boxes and bowls to abstracted nature imagery to human figures, changed that. He also encouraged hobbyists to pursue enameling, writing books like “Enameling: Principles and Practice,” published in 1951, to make the craft more accessible. His King of Hearts piece sold for $1,188 at an auction by Rago Arts.
Q: A large and very heavy wooden “cabinet” – resembling a grand piano three- or four-times normal size, flat and fan-shaped – was situated in one of the cathedrals I visited in England years ago. All I could learn about the piece was that it provided storage for the capes of high clergy. It’s certainly a good possibility that the piece was not usually in that location and had been brought out for the sake of tourists. I would be so grateful if you could add to this scrap of information.
A: It sounds like you saw a sacristy cabinet. Sacristy cabinets store important items like clergy’s robes, vessels, objects used in services and parish records. There isn’t a single standard design; they can be long and low like a credenza or a small cupboard or chest of drawers. They usually have elaborate decorations, like carvings, marquetry, or gilding, that reflect the architectural style of the time and place they were made. For example, an Italian Renaissance (c. 1500) sacristy cabinet may have geometric inlay. A 19th-century Gothic Revival cabinet can look like a miniature cathedral itself. Neoclassical cabinets from the late 18th to early 19th century can have simpler geometric shapes. There are French Provincial cabinets with delicate scrolls and curved panels. Like most church furnishings, they are beautifully crafted and are considered works of art.
TIP: Restoring and reusing old things is the purest form of recycling.
Current Prices
Compact, silver, rectangular, light blue enamel, gold tone interior, two compartments, attached chain and ring, 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 inches, $130.
Card, Valentine, Superman, three red hearts, “Be Mine,” “To Me It Would Be Fine To Be Your Super-Valentine,” die-cut card, c. 1950, 4 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches, $220.
Box, candy, Crane Candy Company, Maxfield Parrish illustration on lid, Rubaiyat, rectangular, reed, textured, flower vine trim, inclined stand, c. 1920, 6 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches, $585.
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