Magic of Paris

What is that attracts everyone towards Paris. There are so many other cities in the world, but there is none like Paris, why? Is it the architecture? cuisine? people? language? weather? fashion? beauty?  combination of all these?  or some magic spell? 

Any thoughts, any comments?

Picture credits: Thanks to various sources.

Keno is eyeing classic bargains?

Traditional Home magazine has this article by Keno brothers about good time to buy antiques as there are a lot of bargains available. I have been to so many antique places even Dallas, which is probably one of the biggest market in the country. However the real good pieces bite you, when you look at there price tags.

I wish I can get all these bargains that Keno brothers  mention, I would give all my Henredon furniture to Goodwill and fill my place up with all these beautiful bargain antiques. Has any of you got these kind of bargains lately?

Leigh Keno and Leslie Keno

KENO EYE: classic bargains

Like wine, furniture develops character with age. And American and English antiques are not only getting better, they're also becoming more affordable. Designs inspired by the two Toms (Chippendale and Sheraton) and crafted for the gentry more than 200 years ago are now available at general-public prices. "There's never been a better time to buy antiques," says Antiques Roadshow expert Leigh Keno.

When age-old mahogany sideboards, slant-front desks, and game tables hit the auction block, bidders don't lift a finger. "Flat screen TVs killed the market for armoires," notes a New York auction-house expert. "Some forms have fallen out of favor," concurs Leigh, pointing out that slant-front desks can't accommodate computers. "There's also a shift in taste," he adds. (The twin pillars of the antiques world, the brothers also collect mid-century modern furniture and limited-edition designs.)

Antiques addicts rejoice-it's a buyers market. "Buyers on a budget can afford originals," says Leslie Keno, a senior vice president at Sotheby's. Some striking recent examples follow.

By Doris Athineos
Produced by Leigh Keno and Leslie Keno

Chester County cherry candlestand with a dish top, made some 200 years ago, just went for $474 at Skinner auction house in Boston.

 

Grainy mahogany sideboard on delicate brass-cast feet, circa 1825-50, sold for $1,900 at Doyle New York last year

 A set of four 200-year-old-plus Chippendale cherry side chairs with wavy backs recently sold for $651 at Skinner

 

A Federal-style (late 19th century) inlaid mahogany table with a fold-over top and marquetry urn medallion sold for $350 at Sloans & Kenyon auction house in Chevy Chase, Maryland

An assembled set of six bowback Windsors, circa 1810, went for $1,185 at Skinner auction house in Boston. The nipped-waisted center pair alone is worth $2,200, says Leigh

Where were I, when these auctions happened?

Picture and content credits: Traditional  Home magazine, Keno brothers

Who needs a 300SL ?

Sadruddin Aga Khan

I read this at kidston.com, and had to share it. This is about Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees(1966-78). It goes well with yesterdays' post.

With his Gullwing in '50s at Gstaad

Years ago we were asked by a client to sell an anonymous-looking 300SL Gullwing. Detective work unearthed the factory delivery card and a yellowing photograph of a young man with that same Gullwing outside the Palace Hotel in Gstaad on a sunny, snow covered day in the ‘50s. It had been delivered to him just months earlier at Harvard University. Urbane but perhaps mindful that his role as a spiritual leader dictated a slightly more low-key lifestyle than some of his contemporaries (relatively speaking), Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan was another leading light of the post-war jet set with an appreciation of beauty in its many forms and a penchant for fast cars. Hours after a telephone call to his nearby chateau on Lake Geneva, a chauffeur driven Audi RS2 pulled up, resplendent in black with the discreet green and red pinstripes of the Aga Khan’s racehorses. A distinguished older gentleman emerged, impeccable in tweed and a crisp British accent. My wife volunteered to accompany him on a test drive in his old Gullwing and couldn’t resist commenting: “You must have been very popular in this car with the girls at Harvard” which was met by a smile: “My dear...” he paused, “I didn’t need the car.”


Picture and content credit: kidston.com

Want a Mercedes 300SL ? From a Royal Collection!

Mercedes Benz 300SL, Gulwing and roadsters are one of the most sought after post war cars. In 1952, when Ferrari was in infancy and Lamborghini was still making tractors, 300SL was introduced. It is the first super car, with production running from 1954 to 1963.

Here is one for sale with some royal pedigree. This Swiss registered car was originally delivered to it's first owner in USA, but went back to Germany in 1980, and completely restored.

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (Offered by Kidston, Switzerland).
Price €450,000 (approx $616,000) only!

Pictures and other credits: Kidston.com

Polo at 12,000ft

"The game of kings and the king of games," reads the sign at the entrance to Shandur.

Shandur

Shandur Polo ground

Every year in July/August for almost 100 years a polo tournament is held at the highest polo ground on the planet, at Shandur Pass, in  Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. It is here British re-discovered Polo, when in 1930s, a British officer named Col. Cobb, who was crazy about playing Polo in moon light, formalised a centuries-old sporting rivalry.

Polo teams from the mountain districts of Chitral and Gilgit converge on a spectacular natural stadium surrounded by snow-sprinkled peaks which, at an altitude of over 12,000ft, is the world's highest polo ground. A whole new world is built  before the event. Visitors are treated to a breath-taking view of Shandur with its beautiful lush green mountains and its pure water lake.The festival provides visitors with the thrilling excitement of polo in its true form.

Here the game has developed in a manner different from elsewhere in the world, the main contrast being that it is much tougher. For example, contrary to polo games elsewhere, no changing of horses is allowed. There simply are no rules, except that the players have to stay in the saddle, and referees are only needed to allow or disallow a goal. The game is won when a team scores nine goals.
Last year despite the fears of Taliban attack, the tournament was held with great success.

Credits for pictures and information: guardian.UK, suite101,infohub, Frederik Buyckx, etc.

Allergies

It is unseasonably warm, and it is windy.

With all this we get allergies in Oklahoma. I drove around town with windows rolled down, to enjoy the nice weather, then an hour later all hell broke. I have sneezed nth times since then. It is hard to concentrate or do anything.

Will just post some random pictures today.

Sweetheart Tina

Mesa arch, Utah

Honey dukes at Hogsmead