Curiouser and curiouser

10 things you might think you don't need — but could they serve as daily reminders to help you stay curious?

An unusual pair of mid-century ceramic figures of a rare oversized form, possibly Italian (see the footnote for my take on this piece)

Last month, I put together a collection of the odd, the strange, and the peculiar from various auctions, designed to spark many awkward conversations (you can see it here: ‘How weird would you go?’).

This week, I’ve looked for things you definitely wouldn’t normally need but there’s a time and place for everything! It’s the bizarre, the absurd, the unusual that can jolt us from the monotony of everyday life and open up our thinking in unexpected ways. These pieces—or the stories behind them—surprise us, make us view things differently, and help us notice details we might have otherwise overlooked.

Curiosity, much like a muscle, needs to be exercised. It requires practice and tending to. Stories and objects can inspire us to approach life with a sense of wonder, or at least a hint of the absurd. Not everything in our existence must be perfectly curated or follow any discernible logic. I adore the unexpected, the unexplained. Most of all, I love pieces that prompt the viewer to ask - why?

Take, for example, the ceramic figures pictured above. They sit comfortably in their oversized armchairs, dressed in matching white outfits, with their hair tinted pink and mint, watching us. Their look is extraordinary, their aesthetic bold. They’re also unexpectedly large (22 cm x 15 cm) and ready to invite questions from your guests or to serve as a perfect reminder for you to seek the extraordinary and be bold. Consider placing them on the mantelpiece instead of the usual Staffordshire figures, or in a downstairs loo—the traditional spot for humour in an English home.¹

Today, I’m sharing with you ten such objects, all available at upcoming auctions. You don’t need them. They aren’t practical. They won’t fit in with your current collection—and that’s precisely the point. They are meant to disrupt the normative and invite you into a bit of surreal thinking. To reconnect your imagination, to see things you would normally overlook—the weird, the extraordinary, the wondrous.

Here’s to boundless curiosity, experimental creativity and infinite imagination!

Ax

Continental School (19th century), Young Girl with a Broken Jug in an Interior, oil on canvas. I love the openness of this scene, the story untold, which invites us to imagine what could have happened. Is she worried, or is there a glint of joyful mischief in her eyes? Who is she looking at? Who broke the jug - the cat, the girl, someone else? Is that jam or berries on the floor? Whatever it is, I love how its red matches her dress. Picture perfect!