I have always had a soft spot for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Whether an exquisite 17th-century Kangxi jar that I can only gaze at longingly in a saleroom catalogue or a set of inexpensive soup bowls from a market, there's something about the intricate patterns rendered in that simple colouring that I find really uplifting. (As an interesting historic footnote, among the first blue and white Chinese pieces were large dishes made for Arab tradesmen in Persia, who supplied the cobalt oxide needed to achieve the blue colouring).
That said, Delftware, the Dutch version of the genre, often seemed a little cheesy to me, with its pictures of windmills and seascapes. A bit too holiday souvenir, somehow.
But there is nothing remotely cheesy about the Blow Away vase - except perhaps the pun I had to make, after seeing it in Moooi's new collection in Milan: I was blown away by it.
First there is the purely aesthetic: that clearest of cobalt blues on the background of pure white Royal Delft porcelain; the flowing, almost organic shape of the top that makes it a beautiful stand-alone piece even without flowers.
Second, there is the clever wit of its creator, the Swedish design studio, Front, whose members - Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren and Katja Sävström - have a special talent for making ordinary objects extraordinary (witness their life-sized Horse lamp and Pig coffee table, also designed for Moooi).
And finally, there is the technology that has made possible this subversion of tradition. A classically painted Royal Delft vase was created and then, using CAD software, a 3-D image of it was subjected to a directional wind force that reshaped its form - something that would be impossible in reality. The animation of this, consisting of thousands upon thousands of frames, was "freeze-framed" and technicians used that frame to model the new form, developing a highly intricate mould for the porcelain itself, as well as the hyper-realistic "blown" image of the decoration.
A highly complex process for a deceptively simple - and deeply covetable - object. Tradition turned inside-out and put back together again. Love it.
Available to order through Atmosphere in Abu Dhabi (02 666 5053) and B&B Italia in Dubai (04 340 5797), approximately Dh4,275. www.moooi.com
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
