Antiques Roadshow
, a year-long reality show, Heir In which to find out whether their family’s jewelry is a priceless heirloom or a handed down relic, you might be convinced that the only entry point into the world of rare antiques is either bloodline or substantial disposable wealth. (To be fair, this has been going on for a long time.) But as Michael Diaz-Griffith writes in his new Phaidon book, The New As explored in The Antiquarian , a young generation of creatives is engaging with these historical artifacts culturally, personally, and aesthetically, often in new and unexpected ways. Way.
“I’ve never seen the show,” laughed the New York curator, designer, and now writer. “But it was never my journey. I was more interested in learning about the history of Tiffany than trying to find an old Tiffany lamp worth how much it was lost in the attic.”
Michael Diaz-Griffith. 44Photo: Brian W. Ferry
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Raised by adoptive parents Diaz-Griffith in Florence, Alabama,, overcoming many difficulties since childhood honed his curiosity for handicrafts. His maternal grandmother was an Old World treasure dealer, but her “abusive upbringing,” as Diaz Griffiths describes it, turned his mother completely against Art Deco, meaning they had little antique. Still, his passion took root naturally: Diaz-Griffith began working decades ago at a variety of top design organizations and institutions (from the Sir John Soane Museum Foundation to the Winter Show and Design Leadership Network, of which he is now executive director), he remembers a scoured Irish pine sideboard found deep in a Jackson, Mississippi flea market that stole his heart at age eight. “It had a gable top, which I found very fascinating,” he recalls. “Although this is a country example, there is a naive attempt to create classicism in the form of the composition. I am in love.” 4444
