Santos • Carved Statues of Saints and Angels

Santo is a traditional Mexican genre of sculpture, carvings in wood or ivory of saints, angels, or other religious figures. Santo comes from the Spanish word meaning "saint".  The Spanish colonials in America carved these statues as part their own religious worship and to help convert the Native Americans to Catholicism.  Images were central to their education and understanding of the saints angels.

The early Santos were probably imitations of Spanish Baroque statues carved by priests. Later Santos were influenced by native styles, incorporating themes, dress and articles of local significance. These popular figures were found in home altars, shrines and churches.

Large standing Santo with movable arms and legs. ($325.00)

Santos are normally full figures, usually standing, but busts and half-figures on cages are not uncommon.  The figures with the cages were traditionally dressed by the local ladies with costumes to celebrate different holy days.

Santo bust atop a vintage tapestry. (Santo $79.95; Tapestry $195.00)

Originally common throughout Latin America and other areas of the world that were colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese, the tradition of Santo carving continues as a folk art in parts of New Mexico.

Decorated bottle w/rosary ($195.00), Prayer books ($45.00-245.00)

Carved hearts ($59.95 & $79.95), Jeweled heart ($45.95), Burlap bean bags ($11.95), Vintage shoe form ($19.95)

We recently added a number of Santos and other carved and religious items.  The Santos are contemporary reproductions of the traditional statues that are meticulously recreated.  We offer these in our shop, along with our selection of vintage religious medals, crosses, rosaries and prayer books. (See an earlier post about Rosaries, Prayer Books & Religious Medals).

Rosaries and Prayer books

Angels on stands ($29.95)

Standing Santo ($139.00) and Hand painted cabinet ($89.00)

Votive candle holders ($7.95 & $8.95), Jeweled heart ($45.95), Decorated crown ($65.00

Crowns • Jewelry, Decorative Accents and More

That was her crowning glory ... They were crowned champions ... The crown jewels ... The Triple Crown of horse racing ...  You complete a project with the crowning touch ... Crowns depict the pinnacle of success, the top of the line and the peak of performance.  Crowns are worn by royalty, kings and queens, while princesses and brides are adorned with tiaras.

Crown themed brooches were popular in the mid-1900s and are quite collectible today.

Vintage crown pins and pendants range from $39 to $65 each.

Silver charms on chains or ribbons create wonderful bracelets or necklaces.

Solder pendants $19.95 each including ribbon.

Crowns always make an elegant statement as an accent in interior design, whether as a table top decoration, a piece of wall art or a floor rug.

Silver & gold resin crowns $14.95 each.

Bamboo mat in a variety of designs $29.95 each.

Hand crafted projects are given that touch of royalty with miniature crown pendants and charms.

Mini crown for crafting and jewelry making $2.25 each.

At Vintages, we always carry a variety of crown-themed product.  Some of these are available online.  For others that we have, if you contact us we can send photos and descriptions of other crowns that we have in stock.

Miriam Haskell Vintage Jewelry

Miriam Haskell (1899 - 1981) was an American designer of costume jewelry.  But that's like saying that Babe Ruth was a baseball player; or Albert Einstein was a mathematician. In a fashion world dominated by men, Haskell, like her distaff contemporaries Coco Chanel and Hattie Carnegie, founded her own company to pursue her ambitions. The company persists today making high-end costume jewelry, much of it in the same design genre as the designs of the forties and fifties. With her creative partner Frank Hess, she invented affordable pieces of stunning originality from 1920 through the 1950s. Vintage examples of Miriam Haskell designs are truly collectible, held in both private collections and museums internationally, and are equally wearable, as the quality and designs are long lived.

Born in 1899, at the height of the Art Nouveau era, Haskell’s jewelry reflected the opulence and voluptuous curves of those times, even into the 1950s. She opened her first boutique in 1926, “Le Bijou de L’Heure” in New York’s McAlpin Hotel. Along with her talented designer Frank Hess, she created collections for the society women of her day. Her jewelry ranged from simple to over-the-top. Beautiful Swarovsky crystals, custom made Baroque pearls, Gripoux molded glass beads, and specially designed metal findings are hallmarks of all her pieces.

We search out affordable and beautiful examples of Miriam Haskell jewelry, as well as those of her contemporaries DeMario and Originals by Robert, whose high quality designs often mimic the motifs of Haskell jewelry.  Below is a gallery some of the pieces we currently have in our jewelry cases.

This gorgeous Haskell necklace is made of blue art glass beads of varying sizes, clear beads that have been scored with a spiral design, tiny pearls, crystal rhinestones in both clear and blue, along with the signature Miriam Haskell gilt findings.  This necklace is from the 1950s.

This next piece is a fantastic vintage Miriam Haskell Pate de Verre necklace. It has mint green art molded glass beads of varying sizes, with a few translucent milky beads included. There are two molded leaves of green glass and several amethyst glass flowers.  This is an example of a 1960s piece.

 

Below are photos of several other pieces that are currently in our collection.

These last two pieces are from Original by Robert and have a distinctly Haskell feel.

All of these are available through our online antiques sales site www.trocadero.com/vintageslg/.

There are several excellent informative online sources for further research on Miriam Haskell.  Cathy Gordon's marvelous jewelry collection website is the best first stop.  Cathy is the co-author of the definitive book on Haskell jewelry.  Morning Glory Collects is another fine resource, as is the Miriam Haskell Official Website.

Decorative Desktop and Table Top Frames

At Vintages, we have a nice variety of small and miniature picture frames.  Some are new and some are antique.  This month we want to highlight some of our collection.

The contemporary collection includes some wonderful all-glass floating frames - Made in New York - as well as frames inlaid with Lucite gems, horn and shell tiles.

We also have some lovely gilded frames in vintage Florentine and Louis XVI styles.

We recently purchased a sizable collection of antique, one of a kind, small and miniature frames in brass and sterling silver.  Most of these, and a few others, are available online.

This beautiful gilded brass frame holds a hand-done miniature portrait painted on ivory.  This is from the early 1900s.

Several in this collection are Arts and Crafts frames from the turn of the century.  The distinctive design and workmanship make these truly special.

Also included are Victorian, Eastlake and Art Nouveau designs in a variety of small and miniature sizes.

These beveled glass frames with brass ribbon decoration are gorgeous.

Simple, yet elegant!  That's the case with these early 20th century miniature American sterling frames.

To go along with these frames, we have a significant collection of photographs, prints, maps and other ephemera from the early 1900s and back into the 19th century.

Vintage Jewelry

The Holidays are approaching fast. Now is the time to pick up that special holiday piece of jewelry or the one pin that just makes the outfit for the Christmas party. Vintage jewelry makes great gifts as well.

Here at Vintages we have jewelry from mid-1800s Victorian to Art Nouveau to Art Deco to forties-fifties retro and mid-century bling. More recently we have added modernist jewelry. We also have a nice selection of Native American Indian and Mexican silver jewelry.

Some of these pieces are available online along with many others. Or you can contact us to inquire about a piece that you see here or on one of our blogs.

Delicate Victorian gold and enamel pins display a workmanship not seen in modern jewelry.

This is a small selection of the Victorian pins, pendants and lockets we have on display.

These are two fantastic 14k gold cuff bracelets from the 1860s.

Combs used to be a staple in the jewelry case. Here is a large celluloid, faux tortoise mantilla comb from the early 1900s.

Bohemian glass, and later Czech glass, has been used for a century in high end costume jewelry. Here is a selection of pieces from our collection. Cameos have been around for quite some time. These raised images can be found on pins, pendants, earrings and rings. The traditional cameo from Italy is made of shell that has several colored layers. Cameos have been made from a variety of hard stones, glass, ivory and plastic. Above is a small collection of both traditional cameos and art deco celluloid cameos.

Trifari jewelry has been made for decades. Many of the early pieces are magnificent, while the more contemporary pieces are less elaborate, but still of high quality.

Eisenberg, Weiss, Jomaz and other crystal rhinestone jewelry makers provide that glitz for all seasons.

Miriam Haskell and a number of designers that make jewelry in that same motif (Robert, DeMario, Eugene, to name a few) created a classic style of handmade costume jewelry that is loved by collectors world-wide. And then there are beads ....

.... and strands of pearls, chains of gold and silver.

Bracelets of all types are in stock as well.

These are handcrafted Sterling bracelets from Taxco, Mexico, the home of Mexican silver jewelry. The bottom cuff is a Spratling Pyramid bracelet.This is a spectacular Rebajes copper cuff bracelet.