16th Century Serving Pieces

A very nice Ko-Kutani serving dish in red enamel with a central scene of a Foo dog or Lion. The ground has ajour decoration. Early piece. Additional information: Material: Porcelain...

Inspired by the fashionable Parisian glass conservatories that housed exotic and tropical gardens, sculptures, fountains, grottos and the most splendid brunch and dinner parties. One of our most treasured and popular designs, L’Orangerie in deep red compliments any style space year round and is perfection for serving brunch, dinner parties or for decor. Like all of our verre eglomise trays...

"The Boar Hunt." Embossed, pierced, engraved and silvered copper riser Resting on the ground by means of a turned base of a truncated-conical shape that narrows upward, it has the ...

Crespina Faenza, last quarter of the 16th century Maiolica painted in two colors, light blue and yellow, on a thick, rich layer of white enamel. It measures 2.24 in (5.7 cm) in height, 6.10 in (15.5 cm) in diameter. lb 0.55 (kg 0.25) State of conservation: mimetic restoration. The small cup has a raised central “umbone”, a perforated brim and a shaped rim. It rests on a high jutting foot. The "crespina" shape, in some inventories is cited as "tacce de frute" (fruit cups). It was particularly appreciated in the Renaissance and has variants based on the formal types and the different sizes. The decoration, made according to the dictates of the “compendiario” style, used few standardized colors: blue and yellow on a thick white and shiny enamel, deliberately chosen as the colour which was most reminiscent of silver. This choice derived from a trend in creative design of the era: the shapes used in the molds were often taken from metal objects. An idea which would last throughout the Renaissance. The work shows, in the middle of the “umbone”, a winged putto stepping forward while playing a long thin trumpet. The depiction of the putto is fully representative of the repertoire of the Faenza workshops of the sixteenth century. Some specimens with this type of decoration have been published in a volume by Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti: there appears the whole productive repertoire of this fundamental moment of transition between the taste for the “istoriato” style and the great simplification of decoration in the “compendiario” period. This style, in its simplicity, however, saw its expression in a rather varied collection of decorative subjects, including old-fashioned busts...

Antique Negoro lacquer wares were produced at the Negoro-ji temple complex in Izumi Province. The red layers of lacquer on Negoro wares are intended to ...

Louis XIV combined retractable silver spoon with two tine fork, 1592. Very rare French Louis XIV combined retractable silver spoon with two tine fork 1592, traveling utensil. We are proud to offer this exceptional and unusual museum piece to the market. This rare traveling utensil set consists of a combined spoon and retractable fork from the 16th century. It was introduced by Catherine de Medici who brought them from Italy to France in 1553, upon her marriage to the future king, Henry II. Up to this time forks had only two tine. In the late 17th century forks became three pronged. A combined silver flatware set was a personal item, carried by wealthy owners when dining out. Once sacrilegious and controversial, fork and spoon are among the most important inventions in the history of Western culture. In 1633 King Charles I of England declared them, “decent to use” and so the fork, slowly but surely, gained acceptance at the table. This beautiful solid silver piece has a figural finial and a small seal similar to the Apostle spoons...