Journal

The English country kitchen, with Egyptian ceramics

The English country kitchen, with Egyptian cera...

Hand-painted Fayoum pottery was not made for a painted English dresser, and works on one anyway. On mixing the two, without either looking like a theme.

The English country kitchen, with Egyptian cera...

Hand-painted Fayoum pottery was not made for a painted English dresser, and works on one anyway. On mixing the two, without either looking like a theme.

Alabaster candle holders: on the stone that glows

Alabaster candle holders: on the stone that glows

Egyptian alabaster is translucent, which changes what a candle does inside it. On choosing, placing and living with hand-carved candle holders from Luxor.

Alabaster candle holders: on the stone that glows

Egyptian alabaster is translucent, which changes what a candle does inside it. On choosing, placing and living with hand-carved candle holders from Luxor.

A field guide to Fayoum patterns: fish, palm, gazelle and blue leaf

A field guide to Fayoum patterns: fish, palm, g...

The painters of Tunis Village work from a small, closed vocabulary of motifs — perhaps a dozen in all. A short guide to reading them, and to choosing between them.

A field guide to Fayoum patterns: fish, palm, g...

The painters of Tunis Village work from a small, closed vocabulary of motifs — perhaps a dozen in all. A short guide to reading them, and to choosing between them.

Bekya Fayoum pottery centerpiece bowls

The 7,000-year story of Fayoum pottery

Long before the Pyramids, before the Pharaohs, before writing itself, the farmers of Fayoum were shaping the wet clay of the lake into bowls. A short history of the world's...

The 7,000-year story of Fayoum pottery

Long before the Pyramids, before the Pharaohs, before writing itself, the farmers of Fayoum were shaping the wet clay of the lake into bowls. A short history of the world's...

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

Why a single alabaster lamp does more for the atmosphere of a room than any overhead light. A short essay on the slowest, oldest, most flattering form of indoor lighting.

The quiet glow: lighting a room with alabaster

Why a single alabaster lamp does more for the atmosphere of a room than any overhead light. A short essay on the slowest, oldest, most flattering form of indoor lighting.

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-blown tumblers

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-...

On the small, generous pleasure of mixing turquoise, indigo, green and clear hand-blown glass on the same table — and the surprising effect it has on a room.

Coloured glass at the table: how to layer hand-...

On the small, generous pleasure of mixing turquoise, indigo, green and clear hand-blown glass on the same table — and the surprising effect it has on a room.