Pots de Creme

Set of two Chinese Export brown
Fitzhugh Crested Pot de Creme, 1785.
Vandekar of Knightsbridge

I always think they are just the cutest little things!

Originally popping up in the 17th century, these little pots were created with their lids to keep broths and meat juices warm. According to Clare Le Corbeiller, decorative arts curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art "in the eighteenth century this shape cup was called pots à jus." In the 19th century, they started using them to serve desserts, most notably, pot de creme.

Pot de creme is a loose, french custard. It's unbelievably easy to make. I know this, because I made it for the first time last night and it was amazing! I had a friend over so I thought I would give making pot de creme a shot. We took a bite and ohmygosh! The best thing I have had in a while.

I don't have pots yet, so I used porcelain ramekins. I have also seen them made in teacups - just make sure they are oven safe!

Pot de Creme au Chocolat (with a little almond - yum!)

This makes 4 full pots, or 6 smaller portions.

2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate

1 cup half and half

3 Tbs sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

pinch of salt

Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and add the milk. Keep warm. In a second bowl, beat the egg with the sugar and add the almond extract and salt. Temper the egg mixture into the milk/chocolate and remove from heat. 

Fill your pots de creme and place in a pyrex pan. Fill with boiling water, up to 1/2inch from the top of the pots. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

Remove the pots from the water bath and cool for about an hour. They will not be fully set until they cool. Cover and chill in the fridge for (suggested) 3 hours, but we ate ours after about 90 minutes. As long as they are chilled through so they set up.

Some other suggestions, if you are not fond of almond: orange zest, vanilla, grand marnier... Lots of options!

Sevres pot de creme, 1765
MB

 English Creamware Covered
Pot de Creme, 1785-95
Vandekar of Knightsbridge

Sevres pot de creme
via Live Auctioneers

Sevres Porcelain Covered Pots-de-Creme, 1768
via Live Auctioneers

Lahoche & Pannier, 1855.
Vandekar of Knightsbridge

The cutest 1830s purse!

Silk twill, silk chenille, wire.
French, c.1830.
Dewitt Wallace Dec. Arts Museum
1971-1418

Too charming! Wouldn't this still be just sweet for spring time? I love it! 

From the Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum:

"Drawstring purse of green silk twill embroidered with flat and raised motifs made of chenille threads with wire centers in a design depicting a basket of flowers. The bottom of the purse is latticed with chenille to look like a basket that widens at the top. Upper section of the purse tapers back in toward the top and is ornamented with large raised chenille flowers and leaves in pink, blue, gold, orange, rust, green, purple, and cream. Purse closes with a double silk cord drawstrings. The strings forming the handle terminate in a green tassel. Unlined."

Eye Candy: Stomachers

Silk/metal. British, 1750-59.
Metropolitan Museum
2009.300.2210

Silk/metal/paper/linen. European, 1750-75.
Metropolitan Museum
2009.300.1750

Linen. British, 18th century.
Metropolitan Museum
1970.106.2

Silk/cotton. German, late 18th century.
Metropolitan Museum
09.50.1144

Silk/metal/horn/cane (probably). British,
first third of the 18th c.
Metropolitan Museum
1986.300.10

Silk/cotton/metal. Britain, 1730-50.
Victoria and Albert
702-1902

Silver bobbin lace. Britain, 1740-50.
Victoria and Albert
T.80:B-1948

Silk/linen. Britain, 1730-50.
Victoria and Albert
T.708B-1913

Silk with fly fringe and self-fabric rouchings.
Britain, 1770-80.
Dewitt Wallace Dec. Arts Museum
G1991-472c

Silk satin. France, 1700-50.
LACMA
M.67.8.99

Silk/metal. Italy (possibly), 1730-40.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
1996-148-1a,b

Silk/metal. France, 1740-60.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
1975-135-1

18th Century China That is Still Made Today

Richard Collins' A Family of Three at Tea, 1727

After the grandeur of Royal Copenhagen's Flora Danica and it's royal Ice Bell, I thought I would take a look at china one might find in an average fashionable home of the 18th century. Blue and white porcelain, along with creamware, were some of the post popular styles for household china, in both Europe and the United States during this time, and both remained popular well into the 19th century. The patterns and companies featured below, I chose because one can still purchase pieces in these patterns today, and most are still being made by the original companies who produced the china in the 1700's. To me, very cool.

Blue and White China

Blue and white china became hugely popular in the 18th century, along with other chinoiserie. Starting in the 17th century, specific blue and white patterns started to be made in China as an export for the European market. European companies also started making blue and white patterns. Meissen's Blue Onion pattern and Delftware are good examples of this. Staffordshire, in England, is also known for their blue and white porcelain. The style was popular well into the 19th century, and is still widely reproduced today. Some patterns that are very true to their 18th century originals are Mottahedeh's Blue Canton and Myott/Staffordshire Blue Willow, also called willow ware. Willow ware is said to tell a love story through it's images.

"So she tells me a legend centuries old

Of a Mandarin rich in lands and gold,

Of Koong-Shee fair and Chang the good,

Who loved each other as lovers should.

How they hid in the gardener's hut awhile,

Then fled away to the beautiful isle.

Though a cruel father pursued them there,

And would have killed the hopeless pair,

But kindly power, by pity stirred,

Changed each into a beautiful bird.

Here is the orange tree where they talked,

Here they are running away,

And over all at the top you see,

The birds making love alway(s)."

(from Antique Pottery: Blue Willow, by Wayne Maddox)

Myott/Staffordshire Blue Willow
Replacements, Ltd.

Mottahedeh Blue Canton

Meissen (Blue Onion)

De Porceleyne Fles (The Porcelain Jar) aka Royal Delft

Creamware, Queensware and Pearlware

Circa 1750, creamware was developed by Staffordshire potters as a replacement for chinese porcelain. Durable, but not fine, it was a good domestic china. In 1779, after a comment from Lady Dartmouth, that she and her friends were tired of the cream, Josiah Wedgwood created pearlware, which had a more blue/white tint. Pearlware was much like "china glaze," which potters had been making for about five years before Wedgwood's pearl. Creamware was also made in Leeds, most notably by Hartley Greens & Co., which became competition to Wedgwood. Leeds creamware is distinct because of its pierced work and green enameling. By 1790, Bristol and Liverpool also produced creamware.

Wedgwood Queens Plain

Hartley Greens & Co. Pierced Tea Pot
(also available through Williamsburg Marketplace)

Hartley Greens & Co. Pierced Chestnut Bowl

Wedgwood Pearlware Dish
Cathcart's Antiques

Mottahedeh Creamware

Creamware for Royals? When creamware pottery was shown to Queen Charlotte, she liked it so much that she allowed it to be called Queensware. In 1775, Catherine II (Catherine the Great) of Russia had a 952 piece set made for her by Wedgwood.

Catherine II of Russia
by Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Queen Charlotte by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Private Collection

http://www.antiqueweb.com/articles/antiquepottery.html

http://www.zwiebelmuster.com/story1.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/142107/creamware

http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/post-colonial%20ceramics/shell%20edged%20wares/Shell%20Edged%20Wares%20Main.htm

A Mysterious and Most Luxurious Ice Bell

Photo: Rosenberg Castle,  Royal Danish Collection.

I've been on a bit of a china kick lately, well more than usual, and I have been browsing tons and tons of patterns. I was told about Flora Danica by my Grandmother, who has quite a love of beautiful china herself.

Flora Danica is made by Royal Copenhagen and is considered one of, if not thee, most luxurious, expensive and historic china patterns in production today. The design on each piece is taken from the botanical prints of the Flora Danica atlas. The china was originally made as a gift for the Russian Empress Catherine II (Catherine the Great), commissioned by the Danish Crown Prince Frederick in 1790. It was the life's work of painter, Johann Christoff Bayer. Unfortunately Catherine never received the set, as she died in 1796, before the china was completed. One a brighter note, the original dinner set is still in use for state occasions in the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Catherine the Great

Frederick VI of Denmark

So, as we're browsing these amazing pieces, we came across the ice dome (aka ice bell). The what? I'm usually very proud of my knowledge of obscure dining pieces, but this completely eluded me. It's never been mentioned in any of my books, or in any other china pattern I have ever seen. I was especially curious as it is the most expensive piece offered in the Flora Danica collection. Must be important right? So I started The Great Google Search. It has never taken me this long to locate information online before, but finally, tucked away in a news article from the Rome News-Tribune (April 22, 1990), I found a headline: Danish china survives 200 years, by Barbara Mayer. Score!

Flora Danica's Ice Bell, by Royal Copenhagen

According to Ms Mayer, "Because Flora Danica was created as banquet china, there are some unusual pieces. One of the most spectacular is an ice dome, a 15-inch platter topped with a 14-inch-high dome made of open-work porcelain. The dome was to cover a large chunk of ice, which by evaporation would cool the dinner guests. Now it is used for dessert and sometimes mistakenly referred to as an ice cream dome."

So basically, 18th century air conditioning. Very fancy air conditioning... I kind of want one, just to say I have one, but I suppose I'll have to settle with a fan for now, seeing as buying the ice bell will set you back almost $40,000.00. Oh my.

And some more from the Flora Danica collection...

PS if you're on the west coast, and you ever want to see this china in person, snag a ticket to Sunnylands, the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, CA. They have an extensive collection of Flora Danica, as well as lots of English silver-gilt, Meissen and Chinese porcelain. Not to mention the art... Just get tickets for the house tour ahead of time. They go on sale the 1st and 15th of the month and get snapped up very, very fast. If you miss the house, you can always tour the grounds, no appointment necessary.

A Mad Men Themed Party

Yesterday evening we had some friends over for the new season of Mad Men. A few hours before, we decided we were going to dress up for it. Pretty last minute, but luckily I have a good collection of vintage dresses.

I chose a 1950's one-shoulder, cotton dress with a charming shoulder bow. Underneath, I layered some What Katie Did faux-vintage undies and a petticoat. I would have liked a fluffier petti or a couple layered, but as I said, this was last minute. The merry widow from What Katie Did was perfect. I highly recommend it. It has an excellent silhouette and the straps come off. The shoes are cut out "leather" from Forever 21. They reminded me of jelly shoes.

Glamour Merry Widow by What Katie Did

The biggest challenge was my hair. I have a lot of it and it's quite long - past my waist. Not super in style for the era. I did a little experimenting and started wrapping my hair around my fingers, rolling it under and pinning it to the base of my head. After a good handful of pins I had a pretty convincing pageboy.

And of course, I painted my nails red :)

Good view of the hair.

And from a slightly different angle...

Puppies!

For the menu we did very American picnic food - fried chicken and potato salad, deviled eggs, chips and sour cream dip and apple pie. And lots of yummy drinks: bottled coke, martinis, gimlets, gibsons and old fashioneds. We found the cutest plates from Sur la Table. Blue plaid and very picnic. 

And no self-respecting housewife would be without a perfect apron! I found one at the same store that matched my dress perfectly. Yay!

Sur la Table Blue-Plaid collection

Sur la Table Polka-Dot Rooster napkin holder

Sur la Table Roosevelt vintage-inspired half apron.

Red and Black Leather Kensingtons by American Duchess

I'm sure all of you know about them already, but for those it might have slipped by, American Duchess now has new red and black leather 18th century shoesies available for pre order. I just ordered mine this morning. I got red. I also ordered some of the fabulous shoe buckles. Yay!

To go to the American Duchess shop, click here.

To see some examples of beautiful and original red 18th century shoes on the American Duchess blog, click here.

And my personal favorites from red shoe land...

18th c. red leather shoes from the Kyoto Costume Institute.
I loooooooove the heel! Fab!