The Parrot & Lily Blog — History

"The only way for us to become great or if this be possible, inimitable, is to imitate the ancients"   Everything we do is undoubtedly classic, but not every piece is classical. We like to believe that we are on the path of one day constructing a classical temple right here in our atelier. But we will admit that is a more fantastical notion for the distant future than a note on our production schedule. Until it can be unleashed, this is how we feed the beast. Classicism in furniture is hard to capture. After all, we have no furniture remaining from antiquity to...

"If I am not grotesque, I am nothing" -Aubrey Beardsley   This halloween, we invited our subscribers on a bewitching journey through the Renaissance in exploration of the grotesque tradition. If you are wondering why you are only see this now on our blog, get on the list.    A goat spews out foliage that ends in torches and an urn grows out of its head, while a sphinge carries her string of baroque pearls. The road to logic does not venture near grotesques. The history of the grotesque dates back to the fourth Pomepian styles of classical antiquity, but we will start our journey at the...

Some of our most widely requested upholsteries are toiles de Jouy. Often, we are even asked if we would vend them separately. There is no need for us to do this, when there are so many wonderful houses in the trade with rich savoir-faire and centuries of heritage to inform their work. We have had the pleasure of working with small mills and big brands from all over the world.One such place is Christopher Moore, better known as the Toile Man. We recently made a wingchair with 'La Foire du Caire,' the iconic Petitpierre et Cie print faithfully recreated by the Toile...

We often hear our designs being referred to as ‘Victorian,’ ‘vintage’ or antique. Though they are mostly used as compliments or at least adjectives, none of them are accurate. Vintage refers to some styles of the recent past and antiques would have had to be made at least a hundred years ago. Our designs are neither. All of our pieces are made by us in the present day in our very own atelier.  One of the stickier labels is ‘Victorian.’ It is unsurprising that ‘Victorian’ has become a term of general nostalgic value in India. Queen Victoria was regent during...

Just as there are many ways to love, many ways to travel to the same place or many ways to enjoy mangoes, there are many ways to employ the Louis XV style. A quintessential Louis XV bureau de dame in the style of Zweiner Jansen Successeur. Adorable brass cast putti whisper their secrets to their faithful companion, alluding to the private nature of a lady's desk. The desk features three private compartments and a hidden drawer, along with a secret nook tucked in somewhere, for the romantic or the nefarious. Click on the photos to explore.      Apart from lending his name to the style of...