How weird would you go?
The odd, the strange and the peculiar of the upcoming auctions and what to buy to start many awkward conversations
Ah, how I’d love to have this piece above my fireplace. It’s so wonderfully bizarre to the modern eye. Take a moment to appreciate all the detail. The subtly dressed-up dog, the two birds perched on the floating branches above and all sweets scattered across the table.
It’s as perfect as it is outright eccentric. ‘Still life with sweets, birds and a dog’ is a prime example from the Mallorcan School of the 17th-century and it is part of the broader European Baroque movement. Each detail is imbued with symbolism - the dog, often represents loyalty, fidelity or protection; the honey, a symbol of pleasure, abundance and prosperity. Despite its darker, brown and slightly muddy colours, this painting radiates pure joy. I find myself smiling every time I see it. Imagine being able to look at it every single day. Well, now you can! It will be offered at auction this Thursday.
It’d look incredible in any space. That’s the beauty of the slightly odd - the slightly unexpected always works. It sparks laughter, raises eyebrows and invites questions. Inspired by this piece, I went on a quest for similarly odd items going to auction this month. The criteria for the curated list below were simple: each item had to be peculiar enough to stand on its own and able to thrive in most spaces. It was essential for this selection that each piece has the potential to either make your guests laugh if they know you for your sense of humour, question your choice if they don’t know you well enough, or, for those who fall somewhere in between, ask the golden question of ‘why?’. What follows could be hilariously engaging or delightfully awkward - both conversations are increasingly rare and utterly enjoyable, especially in your own home.
So, what's the weirdest thing you already live with?
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More oddities and curiosities from this month’s upcoming auctions
Three Bulldogs
‘Three Bulldogs’ from the 19th-century English School, oil on board. It looks like a typical landscape painting with vast skies and a sea in the distance. And then, the giant dogs appear to have been dropped into this landscape, defying perspective.
Jack Russell Cufflinks
‘A pair of gold capped Jack Russell cufflinks’ makes me think of the Victorian lockets in which people used to have a tiny portrait of their beloved. This beloved’s slightly puzzled, deadpan look is priceless.
Monkey Squabble
‘Classical Scene with Dog and Monkey having a squabble’, oil on board. This one has already sold but I had to include it here. I tried to get this painting over the weekend and someone else outbid me by £10! I love how random it is. I also can’t quite tell whether the monkey is definitely squabbling with a dog. Is it a dog? What even is it? A picture that leaves more room for questions rather than answers.
Sad Spaniel
‘A Champion Clumber Spaniel - Beechgrove Donally', oil on board, is the saddest picture of the saddest dog I have ever seen. It’s energy is so dramatically low that I think it makes it comedic. I’ve since researched this picture a bit more and found out that the Clumber Spaniels have been favoured by the Royals - kept and bred by Prince Albert, King Edward VII and King George V. This particular spaniel, called Beechgrove Donally, has won forty-one first prizes and twelve championships, shown on twenty-two occasions, since August, 1899, believed to be an unbeaten record. Can one have everything and still be unhappy?
Dutch Lapdog
This 17th-century ‘Portrait of Nicolas Wyse, three-quarter length seated, wearing a decorative embroidered silk overcoat, with a lap dog and before columns’, oil on canvas, feels so tender yet odd. Nicolas and his canine are dishing out Mona Lisa smirks as if they've just shared a private joke at our expense. This is the ultimate “like owner, like dog” moment, the aristocratic twinning.
Cabbage and strawberries
19th-century ‘Still Life’, oil on canvas, would fit perfectly in the kitchen or pantry. This piece is subtle; it’s the weird combination of the cabbage leaf and the strawberries that caught my eye. A most unusual pairing!
Bacchanalia Chandelier
A 19th-century, large metal painted chandelier for the most hedonistic of lifestyles. This year you can be more Bacchus (Roman god of wine, feasting and earthly delights). And have fantastic lighting while you’re at it!
Seven Extra Hands
Two gentlemen embark on the most complex game of rock-paper-scissors. This example is of a study of hand gestures by a Swiss artists Abraham Constantin (1785-1855). The floating heads could just as easily belong to a film advertisement on the side of a London bus (if you’ve noticed the film posters in the past few years).
Rustic Living
Have you seen these Instagram accounts run by predominantly white women who rear their 3+ children in their vast country homes, with a menagerie of livestock also grazing indoors alongside the cute blond human babies, #cottagecore? Eugenio Zampighi (1859-1944), an Italian artist, started the trend centuries ago. It all began with ‘Entertaining the baby’, oil on canvas. The 2024 most popular equivalents of this painting include ponies in the bathroom (often ridden indoors, of course), as well as ducklings in the kitchen sink with more blond children for extra joy, and just like above, hens everywhere.
Albino Mole
Here's a thing you don't see every day - a taxidermy of an albino mole. Rare and peculiar, potentially uncomfortable for some. Did this mole, blind and burrowing, ever suspect that it was rather special?
🦵 Walking Stick
The irony of giving someone with reduced mobility a walking stick that features a leg for a handle - a leg helping a leg, indeed. Was it inspired by the quirky humour of its original owner or was it a cheeky gift from a friend? Either way, this walking stick stands as a testament to finding laughter amidst life's challenges - practical, playful and filled with a moral.
Not Hedgehog
Have you ever wondered what your life might be like if you could brush your clothes with a brass pig? The Victorians did! This ‘Victorian brass clothes brush in the form of a pig’ is just one of the many Victorian pig-themed objects. I’ve come across numerous paintings, sculptures, decorative porcelain figurines, trinket dishes, gold bracelet charms, pin cushions, vesta cases (for matches) - it’s an endless list. Pigs enjoyed peak popularity, representing abundance during the Victorian era.
Cable Car
I'm setting my sights on this piece. Perfect as a bracelet charm, a necklace pendant, or even a festive tree ornament. If you love the mountains but can’t get a mountain, get the cable car instead? A small, golden reminder of majestic peaks and open skies.
Chinese Pug Dogs
Definition of cugly (cute and ugly)! But also uplifting and the colours are pretty. This pair of 19th-century Chinese porcelain ‘Pug’ dogs, from the Qing Dynasty, would look incredible in place of all the ever-popular Staffordshire dogs (a staple for anyone into the English house style). They would stand out perfectly in a cottagecore setting, as a little nod towards more originality and a sense of humour.
You can all respond to this email from your inbox and share with me what's the weirdest thing you already live with. Do send a note, it’ll reach me directly. If you end up getting any of the objects I put together above, I’d love to see a picture once you have it! Good luck and happy bidding!