On a scale like no period before, the 20th Century is a vast emporium, bursting with “stuff”: an explosion of materials, a vast array of new designs from the fully re-colonized world, and the mass markets which flourished on western wealth.  From basement to attic, I shop for my favourites – both good and bad – for those pieces which encapsulate the major strands of Man’s most remarkable century.  What was it all about?  In a period dominated by warfare and destruction how can one explain this material abundance:  are violence and creativity somehow linked?

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