In 2001, the decorative arts community lost many scholars, connoisseurs, collectors, and friends. Among these people were two past speakers for the Charleston Antiques Symposium, and we remember them here.

John Bivins was the Director of Publications for the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) from 1979 to 1990. Prior to holding that position, he was associated with Old Salem, Inc. as Curator of Crafts, Curator of Collections and Director of Restoration. He was a custom gun maker as well as a decorative arts and preservation consultant to museums and private collections. Mr. Bivins created architectural carvings and performed major architectural work for MESDA as well as Gunston Hall, Monticello, and Blandfield in Virginia. In Charleston he worked on the Miles Brewton House and St. Michael's Church. He studied English and history at Duke University and Guilford College.

Mr. Bivins was the Keynote Speaker for the 1999 Charleston Antiques Symposium. His publications include Longrifles of North Carolina, Moravian Potters in North Carolina, and Wilmington Furniture, 1720 - 1860. For MESDA he published articles in The Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, including "Isaac Zane and the Products of Marlborough Furnace." Mr. Bivins produced and served as instructor in the 240 minute video program, Authenticating Antique Furniture, which was released in 1994. He co-authored Charleston Furniture, 1680 - 1820, which is due to be released in February of next year, with Bradford Rauschenberg.

Mr. Bivins was the recipient of the Samuel Gaillard Stoney Conservation Craftsmanship award by the Historic Charleston Foundation.

Christopher T. Loeblein was the Curator of History at The Charleston Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. He engaged in graduate study at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, through the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He also pursued additional studies at the Attingham Summer School in England.

Mr. Loeblein was a speaker in the inaugural Charleston Antiques Symposium in 1998, and he joined the Symposium's roster of speakers again in 2000. He was a lecturer for the American Society of Appraisers; Friends of American Arts at Yale University; the Greenwich Historical Society of Greenwich, Connecticut; the Wellington Society for the Arts in Houston, Texas; The Decorative Arts Trust in Savannah, Georgia; and other noted groups and organizations in the United States.

While at The Charleston Museum, Mr. Loeblein was the curator of exhibitions such as Animal Motifs in the Decorative Arts, Victorian Charleston: The Age of Great Possessions and Charleston Silver. He also was the co-curator of the exhibition Jewelry in Charleston: Two Centuries of Adornment. In addition to his work in the decorative arts, Mr. Loeblein volunteered for The Adult Literacy Program of Charleston County.

We shall miss these two scholars.