The inspiration for the interior design of their home came from Lynda’s visit to the historic Paris home of the late Comtesse de Vogüé, of the renowned family of French winegrowers. "It was a seminal moment that opened my eyes in a new way," Lynda says. "Her home was filled with Old Master paintings, modern art, French antiques and Art Deco furnishings. The whole look really knocked my socks off."

What makes the Resnicks’ own home and collection unique, according to their curator, Bernard Jazzar, is the aesthetic harmony that arises from refined taste and an instinctive appreciation of beauty. "The Resnicks’ home is a sensual, multi-layered living museum that reflects the passion of the owners and their affection for each other," Jazzar says.

"Collecting is a lot like a relationship," explains Lynda in regard to her philosophy. "Initially, it can be love at first sight or just another pretty face that’s not for you. At its best, collecting can become an intimate part of your life and soul—just like a wonderful marriage." —Dana Micucci

ISLAMIC ART: Harvey and Elizabeth Plotnick
Ceramics Masterpieces
After spending a morning at the Musée du Louvre in 1992, Chicago collector Harvey B. Plotnick and his wife, Elizabeth, noticed a nearby antiques gallery displaying some exquisite ceramics. "At first, we thought they might be related to the Japanese tea ceremony, which Elizabeth was studying, but as we approached, we realized they were not Japanese," Plotnick says. After talking with the gallery owner, he learned they were 9th-century bowls from Iran or Central Asia.

Those pristine white objects with stark black calligraphy were the catalyst for years of study, beginning with a return 20 minutes later to the Louvre’s Islamic department. "At that time, we had been collecting primarily Old Master prints, which we still do, but I was blown away by what we saw at the Louvre," says Plotnick.

Before he even considered a first purchase, Plotnick developed a personal research library of Islamic art and met with curators and specialists in the field, mostly in London. Then, starting in 1995, he began assembling what is today generally regarded by experts as the finest private collection of early Islamic ceramics in the world.

The Plotnick collection totals approximately 200 museum-quality treasures, primarily from the Muslim peoples of the trade route towns between the Mediterranean Sea and Central Asia, what is now Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. Most of the Islamic pottery in the collection ranges from the early Abbasid caliphate centered in Cairo and central Iraq (9th to 10th century) and the Mongol Ilkhanid dynasty in Iran (mid-13th to mid-14th century) to the Timurid dynasty of Uzbekistan (14th to 15th century). Amir Timur, which is known to the West as Tamerlane, ruled over a large empire that at one time stretched from the Aegean coast of western Turkey to the northern plains of India.

This period between the 9th and the 15th century witnessed the development of an unparalleled variety of technique and decoration in Islamic ceramics. Various types of unglazed and glazed pottery, including white wares painted in cobalt blue, slip-or-surface-painted ceramics and luxurious lusterware, were developed. (Luster painting is a technique of applying metal oxide at the second firing of a clay piece. The reduced oxygen content produces a startling lustrous effect.) All of these examples are featured in the collection.