18th Century and Earlier Art

The Artist and his Model French School, 18th century oil on canvas, framed Framed: 14 x 17 inches Board: 11 x 14 inches Provenance: private collection, France Condition: very good co...

Shunga is an original modern artwork realized by Katsukawa Schuncho (1726 – 1793) in the half of the 18th Century. Erotic scene from the series "Koshuko zue juni ko". A courtesan with a customer under a kimono stand...

This exceedingly charming mid-18th-century English oil painting depicts a girl wearing a red gown with a train over a white petticoat. She’s holding a posy or nosegay. Evidently once commissioned for an English country house, the identity of this young lady remains a mystery. Her gown appears to be inspired by the popular ‘robe à la française...

Artist: Mark Catesby (English, 1638-1749) Title: "Putorius & Pseudo Phalangium (The Pole-Cat) (Skunk)" (Plate/Tab 62) Portfolio: Natural History of Carolina, Florida & the Bahama Islands *Monogram signed by Catesby in the plate (printed signature) lower right Year: 1771-1810 (third edition) Medium: Original Hand-Colored Etching on cream J. Ruse handmade paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Unknown Publisher: Benjamin White, London, UK Framing: Recently framed in a black and gold moulding with 100% cotton linen fabric matting Framed size: 21.63" x 25.19" Sheet size: 13.75" x 21.13" Platemark size: 10.25" x 13.75" Condition: UV staining to sheet and mat stain in margins. Some soft handling creases. In otherwise good condition Very rare Notes: Provenance: private collection - Miami, FL. Comes from Catesby's famous two volume portfolio "Natural History of Carolina, Florida & the Bahama Islands" (1771-1810) (third edition), which consists of 220 hand-colored etchings. "J. Ruse 1800" watermark lower right. Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands is generally credited as the first published work to provide illustrations and descriptions of North American flora and fauna. From 1722-1726 Catesby, an English naturalist, ranged over South Carolina, Georgia and the Bahamas sketching and collecting specimens of native plants and animals. Skunks are North and South American mammals in the family Mephitidae. While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest Old World relatives the stink badgers. The animals are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent. Biography: Mark Catesby (24 March 1683 – 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, the first published account of the flora and fauna of North America. It included 220 plates of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, mammals and plants. Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands is generally credited as the first published work to provide illustrations and descriptions of North American flora and fauna. From 1722-1726 Catesby, an English naturalist, ranged over South Carolina, Georgia and the Bahamas sketching and collecting specimens of native plants and animals. Little is known of Catesby's early life. He was born in eastern England in 1683. Although Catesby does not appear to have attended university or studied for the Bar, he was sufficiently educated to write clear English and Latin. His interest in and knowledge of plants may have derived from his uncle, who maintained a botanical garden. Catesby also appears to have benefited from an acquaintance with John Ray, a leading English naturalist of the 17th century and the co-author of an early classic study of birds...

Shepherds in Field German School, late 17th century circle of Philipp Peter Roos (1655-1706) oil on canvas 19 x 31 inches, unframed provenance: private collection, France condition: ...

This accomplished 18th-century portrait depicts the distinguished gentleman Johann Leonhard Bahnmayer (1677-1748), pictured in formal robes. An inscription verso suggests that he may...

Landscape is a beautiful drawing in pencil and watercolor on paper realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1745 ca. In good condition, excpet for some foxing on the right. The artwork r...

Maria Sibylla Merian was born in Germany in 1647 and received early artistic training from her stepfather, an established still life painter. She was fascinated by insects and collec...

Family Group Drawing in Chinese white, sepia and bistre ink, c. 1790 Signed lower left: G. Morland (see photo) The present work appears to be a preliminary study for two Morland paintings where the artist uses portions of this preliminary study in finished exhibition paintings. The strongest association is with the painting entitled The Cottage Door (1790), now in the collection of Royal Holloway College, University of London. Morland uses the same small girl (on left side of this sheet) holding a doll on a chair in the exact same pose. The second painting entitled The Tea Garden (Tate Gallery, London, c. 1790) incorporates similar poses and gestures of the three other figure studies on this sheet. Provenance: Colnaghi, London (Stock # D25924, see photo) Maynard Walker Gallery, New York ( see photo of label) Davis Galleries, New York, their Eagle stamp and stock number (see photo) Ms. Gloria Kaplan (1930-2011) New York City Regarding Maynard Walker: Maynard Walker New York Times obit: "Maynard Walker, an art dealer in New York City for nearly 40 years who was among the first to show the works of leading American regionalist painters, died of pneumonia Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Carbondale, Pa. He was 89 years old and lived in Lake Ariel, Pa. In 1933, while working at the Ferargil Gallery in New York, Mr. Walker organized an exhibition for the Kansas City Art Institute that for the first time brought together the work of the regionalist painters Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry. After Mr. Walker opened his own gallery, at 108 East 57th Street, in 1935, these artists joined him and showed regularly there. The gallery was also among the first to show the work of George Grosz, the German painter and caricaturist, who moved to the United States in 1932. The gallery moved to 117 East 57th Street after the war." Condition: Aging to paper Slight fading to ink Tiny spotting in image All consistent with the age of the drawing Image size: 6 3/8 x 9 1/2 inches Frame size: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches George Morland was born in London on 26 June 1763. He was the son of Henry Robert Morland, and grandson of George Henry Morland, said by Cunningham to have been lineally descended from Sir Samuel Morland, while other biographers go so far as to say that he had only to claim the baronetcy in order to get it. Morland began to draw at the age of three years, and at the age of ten (1773) his name appears as an honorary exhibitor of sketches at the Royal Academy. He continued to exhibit at the Free Society in 1775 and 1776, and at the Society of Artists in 1777, and then again at the Royal Academy in 1778, 1779 and 1780. His talents were carefully cultivated by his father, who was accused of stimulating them unduly with a view to his own profit, shutting the child up in a garret to make drawings from pictures and casts for which he found a ready sale. The boy, on the other hand, is said to have soon found a way to make money for himself by hiding some of his drawings, and lowering them at nightfall out of his window to young accomplices, with whom he used to spend the proceeds in frolic and self-indulgence. It has been also asserted that his father, discovering this trick, tried to conciliate him by indulgence, humouring his whims and encouraging his low tastes. He was set by his father to copy pictures of all kinds, but especially of the Dutch and Flemish masters. Among others he copied Fuseli's Nightmare and Reynolds's Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy. He was also introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and obtained permission to copy his pictures, and all accounts agree that before he was seventeen he had obtained considerable reputation not only with his friends and the dealers, but among artists of repute. A convincing proof of the skill in original composition which he had then attained is the fine engraving. It is said that before his apprenticeship to his father came to an end, in 1784, Romney offered to take him into his own house, with a salary of £300, on condition of his signing articles for three years. But Morland, we are told, had had enough of restraint, and after a rupture with his father he set up on his own account in 1784 or 1785 at the house of a picture dealer, and commenced that life which, in its combination of hard work and hard drinking, is almost without a parallel. Morland soon became the mere slave of the dealer with whom he lived. His boon companions were "ostlers, potboys, horse jockeys, moneylenders, pawnbrokers, punks, and pugilists." In this company the handsome young artist swaggered, dressed in a green coat, with large yellow buttons, leather breeches, and top boots. "He was in the very extreme of foppish puppeyism", says Hassell; "his head, when ornamented according to his own taste, resembled a snowball, after the model of Tippey Bob, of dramatic memory, to which was attached a short, thick tail, not unlike a painter's brush." His youth and strong constitution enabled him to recover rapidly from his excesses, and he not only employed the intervals in painting, but at this time, or shortly afterwards, taught himself to play the violin. He made also an effort, and a successful one, to free himself from his task-master, and escaped to Margate, where he painted miniatures for a while. In 1785 he paid a short visit to France, whither his fame had preceded him, and where he had no lack of commissions. Returning to London, he lodged in a house at Kensal Green, on the road to Harrow, near William Ward, intercourse with whose family seems for a time to have had a steadying influence. It resulted in his marriage with Miss Anne Ward...

Etching realized by Giambattista Albrizzi (1698-1777) for Thomas Salmon's Lo Stato presente di tutti i Paesi e Popoli do Mondo. Regno di Spagna. Includes a contemporary wooden frame...

Unidentified Artist, Neapolitan School, 17th Century "Musicians" Oil on canvas Framed: 107 x 140 cm Flat: 92 x 124 cm No signature This evocative 17th-century painting, attribute...

Roman Goddess "Dea Africa" Goddess Of The African Continent, 18th Century Italian School Large 18th Century Italian School portrait of the Roman Goddess "Dea Africa" holding a shac...

George Edwards: ""A History of Uncommon Birds"", 1749-1761. A prominent English naturalist and ornithologist, George Edwards (1694 -1773) is best known for his work, ""A Natural His...

Andrea Scacciati (Florence 1642-1710) Composition of flowers within embossed vase (1 of 3) oil on canvas 130 x 90 cm In antique frame 145 x 105 cm. Work with expertise by Prof. Emi...

Adriaen van Diest (1655-1704) – "Italianizing Landscape" Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions (Framed): 102 x 122 cm Dimensions (Flat): 74 x 106 cm Signature: Lower right corner Frame: O...

Beautiful antique Peruvian face vessel. Chimu Inca, c.1500 Terracotta, measures h. 8 in., w. 4 7/8 inches. No repair or conservation.

This stunning British 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting, with exceptional provenance, is by noted artist George Romney. It was painted in 1788, commissioned by James Evelyn of Felbridge as it is of his younger daughter Anne, aged 20 years old. James was a Doctor of Law and Anne's mother was his second wife, Jane. Felbridge house, Anne's home, was in the village of Godstone in Surrey. This superb oil painting is a seated portrait of Anne, wearing a white dress with a green sash, her forearms exposed and her hands in her lap. Anne is blessed with the most wonderful long auburn curly hair and is visually stunning. Her body is partly turned away from the artist/viewer and she is slightly gazing down at us with confident, clear eyes. Anne is pictured in a landscape with a dramatic sky behind her. Romney's brushwork on her dress, hair and the background is superb. The delicate detailing of her facial features is also stunning. Sometimes Old Master portraits can be a little staid, but this one of Anne with her wild auburn hair and bold look is just magnificent. This is a fantastic example of George Romney's work and of an 18th century British Old Master with exceptional detailed provenance. Name plate states: Anne, younger daughter of James Evelyn of Fellbridge Esq. 1788, aged 20. Romney. Provenance. With Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool (1784-1851) With The Hon. Henry Berkeley Portman (1860-1923), Later 3rd Viscount Portman; with Emma, Viscountess Portman (1862-1929) By 1926; with her daughter Lady Moyra Dawson-Damer (1897-1962) Thence by family descent. Painted in 1788. There are various labels verso. Mentioned in Lord Hawkesbury's Catalogues of Portraits at Compton Place and at Buxted Park, in Sussex, 1903, p.18, no. 3, at Buxted Park, as in the 'Dining Room, South Wall'. Further Bibliography: Gower (R. S.) Romney, London, 1904, p. 175 Kidson (Alex) George Romney, A Complete Catalogue of his Paintings, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015, I, p. 205, no. 422 (illus).Ward (Humphrey) and Roberts (William) Romney: A Biographical and Critical Essay, London: T Agnew & Sons, 1904, p. 51 Condition. Oil on canvas. Image size 30 inches by 24 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in an ornate gilt frame with name plate, 37 inches by 31 inches and in good condition. George Romney (1734-1802) was born in Dalton-on-Furness, Lancashire, on 15 December 1734, the third of the eleven children of John Romney and Anne Simpson. Leaving school at the age of eleven, he worked for eight years in his father's cabinetmaking workshop before being apprenticed to a local painter, Christopher Steele, with whom he served for two years, from 1755 to 1757, in Kendal, York, and Lancaster. He married a Kendal girl, Mary Abbot...

This lovely 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is by noted British artist Francis Cotes. It was painted circa 1760 when Cotes was preferring oil as a medium and comparison...

This early 18th-century oil painting, attributed to Italian artist Giuseppe Pesci (d. 1722), depicts a peacock alongside radiant blooms in a vase. Pesci is known predominantly for hi...

18th Century French Terra Cotta Bust of a Young Gentleman Terra Cotta Unsigned 25 x 18 x 10 inches 41 lb.

Le Cerf is an etching realized in 1771 by Claude Jardinier. Titled and Signed on the plate. The artwork Belongs to the suite "Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière avec la d...

Quality work attributed to the painter Peter Van Der Velde (Antwerp 1634 - c.1714) - Monogrammed Coastal view with vessels and perched castle Oil painti...

Giovanni Ghisolfi (Milan 1623 - 1683) Architectural capriccio with ruins of an Ionic temple Oil painting on canvas 73 x 87 cm., within a gilded wooden frame 87 x 100 cm. This quali...

Rome is a beautiful artwork realized by Jan Peter Verdussen in 1742. In good condition except for some pencil marks and traces of sealing wax on the back and diffused foxings. Hand...

Great Spanish painting from the second half of the 17th century. Oil on canvas artwork depicting a religious subject, Pope Innocent III confirms the Franciscan Rule, of good pictorial quality. A large, impactful painting adorned with a 19th-century carved and gilded wooden and plaster frame. Artwork that develops horizontally, ideal for placing in an important hall or study, for antique dealers and interior decorators. A painting that shows various signs of aging and old restorations (see photo), in a beautiful patina. The perspective offered by the painter is pleasant. The main subject, in the foreground on the left, connects to the view with architecture and characters on the right through the checkerboard...

A joyful scene of lighthearted merriment in the palace of Jangahir Mahal Agra Circa 1750. Gouache and ink with gold heightening on light weight cream laid paper, 8 1/4 x 6 inches (2...

Portrait of an Eritrean Sibyl who writes the prophecy Circle of Lorenzo Pasinelli (Bologna 1629 - 1700) - Attributable to Giampietro Cavazzoni Zanotti ...

Ester before Ahasuerus Dutch School, 17th century circle of Rembrandt oil painting on wooden panel, unframed panel: 28 x 20 inches provenance: private collection, London condition: very good and sound condition for its age though there are old panel splits evident and minor, but stable, paint loss in those areas, as shown in the photos. The subject of ‘Ester before Ahasuerus’ was narrated by the Bible’s Book of Ester (V: 2-34). Here, the Persian King...

From a wonderful selection of hand-coloured mezzotint engravings from: "Phytanthoza Iconographia", c1739, presented in a hand- made parcel-gilt, ebonised and decalcomania frame...

Artist/ School: French School, 18th century Title: Mary and Jesus Medium: oil on canvas, framed Framed: 17 x 14.5 inches Canvas: 16 x 12.75 inches Provenance: private collection...

Portrait of a Noble Lady with her dog attributed to Abraham Lambertsz. van den Tempel, Dutch 1622 - 1672 *see notes below oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 40 x 33.5 inches provenance...

An original hand colored copperplate engraved map entitled in Latin "Archiepiscopatus Maghdeburgensis et Anhaltinus Ducatus cum terris adjacentibus", published in Amsterdam in 1640 i...

FRANCISCO de GOYA y LUCIENTES (1746 -1828) OBSEQUIO á el MAESTRO (‘A gift for the master’) Plate 47 from the 1st edition of Los Caprichos (Blas, ...

Agnolo di Cosimo, known as 'il Bronzino' (Monticelli of Florence, 1503 – Florence, 1572) The Holy Family with San Giovannino Oil on table (120 x 90cm. - I...

Giuseppe Zais (Forno di Canale 1709 - Treviso 1784) - Landscape with shepherds and spinner. 48 x 63.5 cm without frame, 59 x 74.5 cm with frame. Oil on canvas, in a carved and gild...

Elegant Figures in Interior *see notes below Italian School, mid 18th century most likely of Venetian origin oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 10.75 x 11.75 inches provenance: private ...

Italian School, 16th Century Studies of Figures Pen and ink on paper, 23 × 24 cm Unsigned A finely executed sheet presenting vigorous figure studies, drawn with assured pen strok...

This superb Italian 17th century Old Master animal oil painting is attributed to Baroque artist Giovanni Agostino Cassana. Painted circa 1650 the composition is of two rabbits, a guinea pig and a dove in an interior. The two rabbits, one brown one grey are in the immediate foreground, head to head eating something and the dove is standing to their right. The brown and white guinea pig is sitting above and behind them. As the background is dark the animals really stand out and there is superb detail in their respective fur and feathers. This is a charming Italian Old Master animal oil painting and an excellent example of Cassana's work. Provenance. Scottish estate. Condition. Oil on canvas, 24 inches by 20 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a ebonised frame, 32 inches by 28 inches, in good condition. Giovanni Agostino Cassana (c.1658 – 6 May 1720) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was a son of Giovanni Francesco Cassana and an elder brother of Niccolò and Giovanni Battista. He was born at Venice, and was initially instructed by his father. In 1670 he worked at the court of Ferdinando de' Medici in Florence and travelled regularly between the two cities, but spent at least the years 1718–1720 in Genoa, where he later died. He painted portraits with some success, but preferred painting animals in the style of Antonio Maria Vasallo, Benedetto Castiglione, and Joannes Fyt, a style which he learned from Jacques van de Kerckhove...

Rembrandt van Rijn, After by Amand Durand, Dutch (1606 - 1669) - Self Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume, Year: Of Original 1638, Medium: Etching on Somerset paper, Image Size: 5 x...

Enoch Seeman Oil on Canvas Canvas Size: 30 x 25" (76 x 64cm) Outside Framed Size: 37 x 32" (94 x 82cm) He was born in Danzig, now Gdansk, Poland, around 1694. His father, also En...

Pauwels Franck, known as Paolo Fiammingo (Antwerp, 1540 - Venice, 1596) Venus lying in a landscape Oil on canvas 116 x 150 cm. In antique frame 136 x 170 cm. The work is accompanied by a critical card by Dr. Federica Spadotto The splendid painting proposed sees portrayed, bare and stretched out on a red brocade cloth in gold sprinkled with roses, a refined and sensual Venus, in a composition with a profound symbolic value, and arriving at the perfect representation of the Renaissance woman who, like Venus, becomes an allegory love, eros, beauty and fertility. The canvas is part of the prestigious Venetian artistic and cultural environment of the second half of the sixteenth century, whose distinctive distinctive trait can be traced back to its cosmopolitan vocation. This characteristic, as Dr. Spadotto noted in her in-depth study, belongs to the same physiology of the Venetian capital, that is, being a distinctly commercial city located in a strategic point with respect to trade. Representing one of the liveliest ports in the Mediterranean also meant witnessing the continuous passage not only of goods, but of men, ideas, suggestions from distant countries, which influenced not only the taste of their people, but above all art. This happened thanks to the circulation of prints, as well as pictorial specimens, to which are added the stays of great foreign artists and, above all, the permanence in the capital of a non-negligible number of Dutch, Flemish and German masters. An emblematic case in this regard comes from Pauwels Franck (Antwerp, 1540 - Venice, 1596), better known as Paolo Fiammingo, who established himself in his native city at a young age - in 1561 a figure enrolled in the Guild of San Luca - and arrived in Venice in 1573. . He resided in Venice from 1584 until his death, although the stylistic and formal references of some of his works have led critics to believe that in previous years he had undertaken a journey to central Italy, or to Florence and Rome, where he would have metabolized the lively cultural debate that permeated these cities and which, on the other hand, seemed completely absent in Venice. Here Paolo will be fascinated by the sense of color and by the atmospheric component fixed on the canvas by Jacopo Tintoretto (Venice 1518 - 1594), of which he becomes a collaborator, to undergo, around 1590, the suggestion of Paolo Caliari...

Heliogravure on cream laid paper, 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches (80 x118 mm), thread margins. In good condition with a soft vertical crease and minor uniform toning. Printed early 19th centur...

A charming 18th-century oil depicting a curious interaction between three gentlemen. Unsigned. Inscribed indistinctly verso. Well presented in a swept frame with hatching and ornate ...

Division of the Spoils in a Military Encampment Entourage of Willem Cornelisz. Duyster (Amsterdam 1599 – 1635) Not signed. Dutch school, late 17th – early 18th century Oil on oak pa...

This stunning 18th century Old Master portrait oil painting is attributed to Swedish born, England based artist Michael Dahl. Painted circa 1690 it is a sumptuous half length portrai...

Wonderful 18th century Irish or English portrait, attributed to the Irish painter Nathaniel Hone. Nathaniel Hone was born in Dublin but by 1748 had set...

A fine portrait study dated 1737 portraying a young boy from a noble family bearing his first sword. Dressed in fine military-style clothing, he clutches a small sword in one hand an...

An important Old Master oil on canvas painting by the Flemish artist, Jan Cossiers, a follower of the style of Caravaggio (1600-1671). Born in Antwerp in 1600, Jan Cossiers was a pupil of his father, the painter Antoon Cossiers (died 1646/1647), and also studied under Cornelis de Vos...

Portrait of a Young Girl French Rococo School, 18th century, unsigned oil on canvas, framed Framed: 24 x 20 inches Canvas : 20 x 16 inches Provenance: private collection, France Con...

This hand-colored botanical mezzotint and line engraving by Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741) is entitled "a. Caryophyllus Arborescens, b. Caryophyllus Barbatus". It is plate 327 i...

Two Magnificent Late Baroque Italian School Paintings Attributed to Paolo de Matteis - A Rare Pair Offered here as a single, exceptional lot are two compelling oil on canvas painting...

Francesco Fontebasso (Venice 1709 - Venice 1769) Alexander the Great grants clemency to the Persians Oil on canvas 108 x 153 cm. In frame 120 x 164 cm. Fascinating for its interest...

Italian School, 17th century Study for the Vision of Saint Anthony Red chalk on paper 247 x 185 mm Unsigned Provenance Private collection, Paris Collection of Count Alessandro Mag...

Jesus at the House of Mary & Martha Italian artist, 1600's oil on canvas, unframed Canvas: 32.5 x 56.5 inches Provenance: Private collection, England Condition: for a work of such mo...

This piece is from a collection of originally designed etchings with drypoints by Rembrandt. It is printed on Ingres D'arches off-white laid paper. The prints are the sixth and final state Posthumous Impression. Printing plates were made in 1650, this collection was printed in 1998. Rembrandt van Rijn was one of the masters of the landscape genre in his prints and drawings. In his etching, "Landscape with a Cow...

Utagawa Hiroshige II The Beach at Takanawa from Toto sanjurokkei 東都三十六景 (Thirty-six Views of the Eastern Capital), 1862 Woodblock Oban Signed Hiroshige ga and published by Sagamiya ...

Italian School, 18th century, circle of Giovanni Battista Piranesi Capriccio con arco (verso: study of a man) Brown ink on paper, 39 x 24.5 cm Unsigned Provenance: Private collec...

Portrait of a young boy, full-length in a blue velvet coat and breeches, standing on a stone terrace in a garden landscape, playing with a spinning top. Signed and dated ' Phil. Merc...

French or Italian school of the 18th century Animated landscape with a ruin Oil on canvas 27 x 33 cm (34 x 40 cm with the frame) Signed and dated lower right "1772 / Contencin? / fec...

Charles-André van Loo (Nice 1705 - Paris 1765) workshop of - Allegory of the Divine Comedy. 54 x 83 cm unframed, 70.5 x 99.5 cm framed. Old oil painting on canvas, in a carved and ...