Vintages' Holiday Open House • Nov. 6th

Save the Date ...

Vintages will hold its 
Annual Holiday Open House
on Saturday, November 6th.  

Special Offers • Refreshments • Prize Drawing

And we will be unveiling our complete 

Christmas Holiday Collection!

Come join us and have some fun and kick off the Holidays.

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.

Father's Day is Sunday, June 20th

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  

- Clarence Budington Kelland

Father's Day sometimes gets overlooked.  But not here at Vintages.  We always have a nice selection of Dad gifts, from desk accessories, wine and bar tools, jewelry and antiques.  We also have some really great Father's Day cards.  Many of these items are available online at one of our online shopping sites.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9th

God took the fragrance of a flower...

The majesty of a tree...

The gentleness of morning dew...

The calm of a quiet sea...

The beauty of the twilight hour...

The soul of a starry night...

The laughter of a rippling brook...

The grace of a bird in flight...

Then God fashioned from these things

A creation like no other,

And when his masterpiece was through

He called it simply - Mother.

God's Masterpiece Is Mother
by Herbert Farnham

While we surely send our love to our mothers throughout the year, this special day is a celebration in a grander style of Mom -- all she is to us, all she means to us, and all she will be for us.

We can help you with lots of special gifts and thoughts for Mom.  We have excellent vintage and hand crafted jewelry, as well as a number of styles of jewelry holders for Mom to organize and store her treasures.

Inspirational signs, cards and slogans celebrating Mothers and home come in a several of styles and sizes.

Plus we have a few whimsical sweet nothings for Mom, as well as just things Mothers will love.

Happy Mother's Day