Skip to main content

Collectibles and Curiosities

25,145
1,469
1,346
to
3,242
15,385
11,832
27,960
27,480
27,731
12,069
8,551
5,598
1,945
12,238
2,223
Collectibles and Curiosities For Sale
Carl Auböck (1900-1957), pipe holder in brass. Danish design. Modernist shape.
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Carl Auböck (1900-1957), pipe holder in brass. Danish design. Modernist shape. Mid-20th century. In excellent condition. Dimensions: L 9.0 cm x W 4.0 cm x H 6.3 cm. Provenance: Danis...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Brass

Large Obelisks with Gilt Egyptian Pictographs - Set of Two Sculptures, Vintage
Located in Nuernberg, DE
This beautiful pair of vintage obelisk will make a definite statement with their classic form and use of black and gilt finish. Handcrafted from concrete and colored, they make a sta...
Category

20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Concrete

1 Volume. The Holy Bible.
Located in New York, NY
1 Volume. Alfred Nevin. The Holy Bible: Containing the Authorized and Revised Versions of the Old and New Testaments, Arranged in Parallel Columns. Bound in full brown morocco with o...
Category

Late 19th Century American Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Leather

Braun Audio 300 Record Player and L60 floor speaker designed by Dieter Rams
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Braun Audio 300 and L60 floor speaker designed by Dieter Rams, 1960's/70's. Equip with AM/FM radio and record player. Fully functional and has been serviced by a technician.
Category

Late 20th Century German Industrial Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal

Lost London; Being a description of Landmarks which have disappeared
Located in Middletown, NY
Chancellor, E. Beresford & J. Crowther [Ill.] Lost London; Being a description of Landmarks which have disappeared.... London: Constable and Company Limited; Houghton Mifflin Compan...
Category

Early 20th Century English Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold Leaf

Asprey - Art Deco Engine Turned Butt Marker - Shooting Interest - Chester 1937
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in Chester in 1937 by Asprey & Co. Ltd., this very stylish, Art Deco period, Sterling Silver Butt Marker, features engine turned decorati...
Category

1930s English Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

What a Rock Can Reveal
Located in New York, NY
A stunningly illustrated, informative introduction to the wonders of rocks and minerals and what they can tell us about our planet – perfect for readers aged 6-9 Award-winning scien...
Category

2010s Chinese Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Rare Old "Cape Hattaras" Lighthouse Sculpture in Vibrant Original Colors
Located in South Burlington, VT
A hard to find tall 21 inch Nautical delight with original hand painted colors that authentically reproduces the actual colors and handsome physical architecture of today's Cape Hattaras light house (See Third Photo). First we've seen in this massive size, quality, and condition. Original hand painted colors of red, black, green, and white Heavily hand cast by expert artisans of that day, it is cast upon a well detailed base as shown and in a convenient highly displayable, portable size. It still retains original attractive vibrant hand painted colors and patina. Dimensions: Height 21 inches Width 8 3/4 inches Depth 4 1/2 inches Good garden candidate- an ideal accent size for your indoor gallery display or favorite outdoor garden space. Many of our customers display these sentimental favorites as romantic and enjoyable decorative accents for entertaining friends and family. They are a perfect choice for your indoor or outdoor garden space. Provenance: Old American/ Japanese garden Lifetime guarantee of authenticity. We are members of NAJGA North American Japanese Garden Association. History of Cape Hattaras Light House: Built in 1870, the iconic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stands watch over the Graveyard of the Atlantic's east coast. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse protects one of the most perilous sea sections off the Atlantic Coast. At Cape Hattaras, the Gulf Stream...
Category

Late 20th Century Japanese Showa Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Iron

Original Antique Print, Portrait of Lord Nelson, circa 1850
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Great image of Lord Nelson Fine steel engraving by H.Robinson After J.Hoppner Published circa 1850 Unframed.
Category

1850s English Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Art Treasures of the Louvre by René Huyghe, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
Art Treasures of the Louvre by René Huyghe. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1960. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Translated and adapted from the French, b...
Category

1960s French Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Large Original Vintage Map of Australia, circa 1920
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Great map of Australia Original color. Good condition Published by Alexander Gross Unframed.
Category

1920s English Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Sotheby's British Art Pottery, Martin Brothers, the Harriman Judd Collection
Located in valatie, NY
Sotheby's British Art Pottery, Martin Brothers, The Harriman Judd Collection, New York, January 22, 2001. Softcover auction catalog. 497 Lots on 196 Pages – All Described and illustrated in color. the Harriman Judd Collection of British Art Pottery, the finest, most comprehensive collection of this type ever to come up for auction. Taken from the California home of the late Allen Harriman and Edward Judd the sale includes 800 lots of British Art Pottery, Studio Pottery and Majolica with estimates ranging from $200-$80,000. Harriman and Judd began collecting in the 1970’s and the collection they amassed largely over a ten-year period provides an in-depth survey of 130 years of British Art Pottery from all of the major factories working in this period. With objects ranging in size from 3 inches to 6ft. tall, potteries and artist potters highlighted include: Doulton Lambeth, the Martin Brothers, William Moorcroft, George Tinworth, Hannah Barlow, Mark Marshall...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Dreams Through the Glass Windows from Bergdorf Goodman by Linda Fargo, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
Dreams Through the Glass: Windows from Bergdorf Goodman by Linda Fargo. Assouline, NY, 2003. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Each window is a fantastic tableau, a narrative, a piece of theater inviting the viewer into rich imaginary worlds of fashion and surrealistic luxury. Window design is a vanishing metier, but it remains an enduring art form providing rare views through the glass into fantastic realms of dreams and fantasy. In these pages, Linda Fargo, the renowned window artist for Bergdorf Goodman, opens up her portfolio of magical tableaux created especially for this crown jewel of the retail world. Her palette is wonderfully rich and eclectic, juxtaposing relics of the past and the present, symbols of art and literature, western culture and exotic lands, moving easily between the marvelous and the everyday. These windows continue to astonish and delight all who flock to them for the traditional annual Christmas displays...
Category

Early 2000s American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

In Stock in Los Angeles, Green Rabbit Mini Portable Charger
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Rabbit Mini power bank battery charger In stock in Los Angeles Power bank. You can carry Rabbit MINI in your bag as an external battery for yo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Plastic

Islamic "Alhambra" Silvered Bronze Quran Cabinet in the Islamic Nasrid Style
Located in New York, NY
An Islamic "Alhambra" silvered bronze Quran cabinet in the Islamic Nasrid style, Attributed to Rafael Contreras, circa 1880. Of rectangular form with crest and pendant finials to base, with two hinged doors above a drawer, the lock hidden by a hinged plate, profusely cast with vegetal and geometric designs, the doors in openwork, the reverse stamped with maker's mark, 'GESETZLICH GESCHUTZT...
Category

19th Century German Islamic Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Bronze

Original Antique Map of South East Asia, Arrowsmith, 1820
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Great map of South East Asia Drawn under the direction of Arrowsmith Copper-plate engraving Published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1820 Unframed.
Category

1820s English Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Baccio Bandinelli Scultore e Maestro
Located in valatie, NY
Baccio Bandinelli scultore e maestro (1493-1560). Firenze by Heikamp Detlef and Paolozzi Strozzi Beatrice. Published by Giunti Firenze 2014. Hardcove...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Christie's: West East The Niall Hobhouse Collection, 2008, Anglo Indian
Located in valatie, NY
Christie's: West East The Niall Hobhouse Collection, 2008, Anglo Indian Collection. A fascinating selection of exquisite treasures from both the West...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary English Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

PH Grand Piano PH150 Excellence, Black Leather and Chrome, Modern, Sculptural
Located in Copenhagen, DK
- All prices are listed ex works. - 5 year guarantee. - We regularly crate, ship and install PH Pianos worldwide with full insurance. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano PH150 Excellence...
Category

2010s Danish Bauhaus Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Chrome

Ruhlmann by Florence Camard, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
Ruhlmann by Florence Camard. Published by Rizzoli Intl Publications, 2011. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket and unopened CD. The most comprehensive and authoritative monograph to be published about the prolific master of art deco interior design. Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (1879–1933) who was one of the most celebrated art deco interior and furniture designers. A tastemaker and a style setter...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Sotheby's: Property from the Collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra, 6 Volume Set
Located in valatie, NY
This is the original six volume set by Sotheby's for the auction of the collections of Lily and Edmond Safra in October 2011. Volumes 1-3 are in ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

The Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton by J T Herbert Baily, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
The Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton by J T Herbert Baily. Published by Menzies London, 1905. 1st Ed hardcover no dust jacket as published. 137 untrimmed pages with all 23 portraits of Lady Hamilton each with a tissue guard. Dame Emma Hamilton...
Category

Early 1900s English Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Three Framed Plates from "L'ornement Polychrome" Edited by Racinet
Located in Hanover, MA
Three mounted and giltwood framed chromolithograph plates from L'Ornement Polychrome: Motifs de tous les styles, art ancien et asiatique, Moyen Age, Renaissance, XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, by A. Racinet, 1869-1873. Published by Firmin-Didot, Paris. Specifically, the three framed plates are Middle Ages, Renaissance and 17th century. This reference work “created to render major services to our industrial arts” brings the archeological art...
Category

19th Century French Victorian Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Giltwood

"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" Book by William L. Shirer
By William L. Shirer
Located in valatie, NY
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. First edition BCE hardcover with ...
Category

20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

The House and Garden Book of Classic Rooms, First Edition
Located in valatie, NY
The House and Garden Book of Classic Rooms by Robert Harling, Leonie Highton, and John Bridges. Vendome Press, NY, 1990. First Edition hardcov...
Category

20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Arshile Gorky A Retrospective by Michael R Taylor, 1st Ed Exhib. Catalog
Located in valatie, NY
Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective by Professor Michael Taylor and Kim Theriault. Yale University Press, Published 2009. 1st Ed Hardcover with dust jacket exhibition catalog for show at ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

18th century Set Hand Colored Nautical Engravings
By M. Ogier
Located in Savannah, GA
Signed M. Ogier (Fecit:by), this set of four hand colored engravings is part of a larger edition of plates. These plates are numbered PL 16, 347, 365 and 386. The subject is probably...
Category

18th Century Unknown Elizabethan Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

Sotheby's Chateau de Cornillon, Loire, France, October 2006
Located in valatie, NY
Sotheby's Chateau de Cornillon, Loire, France: Important Gothic and Renaissance Furniture, Works of Art & Textiles. London: Sotheby's, 2006. Softcover. 126 pp. Château de Cornillon i...
Category

Late 20th Century English Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

My Favorite Things by Dorothy Rodgers, First Edition
By Dorothy Rodgers
Located in valatie, NY
My Favourite Things by Dorothy Rodgers, a personal guide to decorating and entertaining. New York: Atheneum Publishers, 1964. Stated first edition hardcover with dust jacket. 282 pp....
Category

20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

English Style, First Edition
By Stafford Cliff, Suzanne Sleisin
Located in valatie, NY
English Style by Suzanne Slesin and Stafford Cliff. NY: Clarkson N. Potter, 1984. Stated first edition hardcover with dust jacket. 288 pp. An intimate l...
Category

20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

T. Y. Chao Private & Family Trust Collections of Important Chinese Ceramic, Rare
Located in valatie, NY
Sotheby's: The T. Y. Chao Private and Family Trust Collections of Important Chinese Ceramics and Jade Carvings: Part 1, Hong Kong October 1986. Rare First Edition hardcover with dust...
Category

1980s Hong Kong Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Hidden History of the Kovno Ghetto
Located in valatie, NY
Hidden History of the Kovno Ghetto. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. Second printing hardcover with dust jacket. 255 pp. An important book published by the United States Ho...
Category

20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Americano Single-Ended, Stereo Amp by Toolshed Amps for Original in Berlin
Located in Berlin, DE
Americano single-ended, Stereo Pentode Amplifier 5 watts per channel Input sensitivity: 1.03v to full output Input impedance: 50K Inputs: 2, switchable by Front Panel Mounted Carling Switch Output: 8 Ohm Via 5-Way Binding Posts Bias: No user adjustment necessary Tube compliment: 6973 power tubes (X2) Other compatible power tubes as follows: 6CM6/6CZ5/6EM5 (Performance Varies), EZ81/6CA4 Rectifier Tube (X1), EF91/6AM6 Driver Tubes (X2) Other compatible driver tubes as follows: M8083/CV4015 (Performance Varies). Original in Berlin...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American American Craftsman Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Copper

Sotheby's, Collection Klaus Otto Preis, Paris, 11/9/05
Located in valatie, NY
Sotheby's: Collection Klaus Otto Preis Paris 11/9/05 sale 5022. Softcover auction catalogue of 264 lots. He worked for Nina Ricci, Italian-born French fashion designer. Sale of paint...
Category

Early 2000s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

The Price Guide to Victorian Silver by Ian Harris, 1st Ed
Located in valatie, NY
The Price Guide to Victorian Silver by Ian Harris. Clopton Woodbridge: The Antique Collectors' Club, 1971. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. 275 pp. A guid...
Category

20th Century English Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Mid-20th Century Brutalist Iron Hanukkah Lamp Menorah by David Palombo
Located in New York, NY
Hand forged, iron Hanukkah lamp Menorah in the style known as “Brutalism”, David Palombo, Jerusalem, Israel, circa 1950. David Palombo (1920-1966), was a sculptor and painter. He wa...
Category

Mid-20th Century Israeli Brutalist Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Iron

Vintage NY Hotel and Restaurant Matchbooks from the 1950s-1980s
Located in Austin, TX
In the spirit of Will Rogers, 'Buy matchbooks, because they're not making anymore!' This would make an unexpected and nostalgic gift for the lover of Old New York who already has everything. This collection of 70 vintage matchbooks...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper, Parchment Paper

An Early Victorian Album: The Photographic Masterpieces, 1st Ed
By Roy Strong
Located in valatie, NY
An Early Victorian Album: The Photographic Masterpieces (1843-1847) of David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson by Roy Strong. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ...
Category

1970s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Old Charles Model Aeroplane Transparent Spad Plane Type
Located in Paris, FR
Model Old Charles aeroplane transparent spad plane type, Small-scale model of Guynemers plane, handmade with wood, cotton sheet and aluminium leaf.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Aluminum

Silver Lady Woman Ex Voto religious Folk Art, Antique European, 1910s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A cute petite religious Ex Voto. I do not know what it is made of, thin and light filigree silver or silver plated metal. It is handmade, embossed an...
Category

Early 20th Century German Art Nouveau Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Silver Plate, Sheet Metal

Bracelet "Rhea" Gold-Plated Hand-Hammered by Jacques Jarrige
Located in New York, NY
From Jacques Jarrige's first jewelry collection: "Rhea" bracelet gold-plated and hand-hammered. The bracelet is also available in silver. Jacques Jarrige was born into a Parisian fa...
Category

2010s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold Plate

Sterling Silver Bracelet "Isadora" by Jacques Jarrige
Located in New York, NY
This bracelet in sterling silver is hand-hammered. It is also available in gold-plated brass. Jarrige's jewelry is more companion than ornament, heightening one's physical awarene...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

Hermès Playing Cards / Cards Game in the Original Box, Vintage, 1970s
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Hermès playing cards in the original box. vintage. Made in France. Both sets are complete and feature gold edges on both decks of cards. A deck of green cards and a deck of orange cards. elegant card back design. Box containing two decks of cards, the backs of these have a decoration of gold-colored horse bits forming circles on a red or green background, gilded edges. Hermes orange box...
Category

Late 20th Century French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Vice Box
Located in London, GB
Drinking, Smoking and Gambling - Specially designed for the individual who enjoys combining a casual drink with a game of poker whilst indulging in a fine cigar, the Vice Box...
Category

2010s British Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sycamore, Walnut

Arcimboldo by Roland Barthes (Book)
Located in North Yorkshire, GB
A beautifully produced book by Franco Maria Ricci, one of a limited edition of 3,000 numbered copies, this being 388. 175 pages with tipped in color plates with additional drawings and sketches, the text is in English. Arcimboldo has become best known for his portraits of human heads made up from vegetables, plants, fruits, sea creatures and tree roots, which were greatly admired by his contemporaries and remain of great fascination to this day. each was carefully constructed and as can be seen with the main image, the Librarian...
Category

16th Century Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Paper

Duo of Fine Taxidermy Ring-Tailed Coatis by Sinke & Van Tongeren
Located in Haarlem, NL
A cute artwork with two young Ring-tailed Coatis (Nasua nasua) playing with a piece of fruit. Set on a wooden plinth. This object is currently on display at JAMB, Pimlico Rd, Lond...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Other

Fine Taxidermy The Spectacled Owl & Snake by Sinke & Van Tongeren
Located in Haarlem, NL
The Spectacled owl is the largest owl to be found in the dense tropical rainforests of South America. It will eat everything that moves and is not too heavy to fly away with. It wi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary European Victorian Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Animal Skin

Earrings Gold-Plated by Jacques Jarrige "Fiori"
Located in New York, NY
A pair of gold-plated earrings over brass by Jacques Jarrige inspired by his chandelier "Fiori". Handmade in Paris. A longer model of these earrings is also available.
Category

2010s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold Plate

Revolver Infiny Wall Decoration Mirror with LED Lights
Located in Paris, FR
Wall decoration mirror revolver infiny made with mirrored LED lights with glass and plexiglass creating an infiny mirrored effect. With a real exceptional hand carved colt 45...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Stainless Steel

Ignatius Taschner Jugendstil Brass and Copper Monkey Cheroot Cutter, circa 1900
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A rare and unusual German Jugendstil brass, copper and steel cheroot cutter modeled as a monkey sat within a rounded tray. The tail lifts and acts as the cutting edge with a small ho...
Category

Late 19th Century German Jugendstil Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Metal

Gold-Plated Necklace by Jacques Jarrige
Located in New York, NY
Gold-plated and hand-hammered necklace/sculpture "FLORA" by Jacques Jarrige. Jacques Jarrige's jewelry is more companion than ornament, heightening one's physical awareness and be...
Category

2010s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold Plate

Custom Chess Set and Game Table
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A custom made walnut and maple chess set and game table we commissioned. It is solidly made with squares of curly maple and walnut. The table legs and borders are solid walnut. The c...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Birdseye Maple, Oak, Walnut

Penman's Box
Located in London, GB
The Penman’s Box has been beautifully handcrafted in a combination of two woods, rippled ash and walnut, and is highlighted with nickel metal detailing. The box’s striking exterior is veneered in a rippled olive ash on the top half, whilst the lower half has been covered in a vertical Macassar ebony. The lid of the box features a porthole-inspired glass window which reveals the box’s contents from a bird’s-eye view. The lid has a locking device which opens to reveal radial slip-matched walnut accompanied by distinctive orange leather pen slots. The upper tier of the Penman’s Box features two removable trays and the lower tier features three walnut pen storage...
Category

2010s British Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Nickel

NECKLACE by Jacques Jarrige Gold Plated and Hand-Hammered "Isadora"
Located in New York, NY
Bracelet by Jacques Jarrige gold plated and hand-hammered. From the French sculptor's first jewelry collection that premiered at Loot 15, Museum of Art a...
Category

2010s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Gold Plate

Contemporary Ring in Silver by Jacques Jarrige
Located in New York, NY
Ring in sterling silver and hand-hammered by Jacques Jarrige titled "Meanders" Jarrige's jewelry is more companion than ornament, heightening one's physical awareness and bestowi...
Category

2010s French Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Sterling Silver

Fairbanks Scale Co American Doctors Scale
Located in Cheshire, GB
Fairbanks doctors scale in black with brass adjustable measuring stick, and cast iron pressure plate. Retaining there original weights. Dimensions: Heig...
Category

Early 20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Iron

PH Grand Piano PH186 Excellence, Red Leather and Chrome Lid, Modern, Sculptural
Located in Copenhagen, DK
- All prices are listed ex works. - 5 year guarantee. - We regularly crate, ship and install PH Pianos worldwide with full insurance. This PH Grand Piano...
Category

2010s Danish Bauhaus Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Chrome

19th Century Dutch Miniature Secretaire Cabinet
Located in Casteren, NL
19th century miniature secretaire cabinet made from Oakwood. Decorative object, can be used as jewelry/letter box. Originates Netherlands, dating, circa 1800
Category

Early 19th Century Dutch Antique Collectibles and Curiosities

Materials

Oak

Antique and Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities for Sale

Antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities can bring whimsy and wonder to any interior. 

Decorating with old scientific instruments, historical memorabilia and vintage musical instruments, as well as other authentic collectibles and curiosities that can be found on 1stDibs, presents an opportunity to create a unique, natural history museum-like atmosphere in your home that can provoke conversation as often as it pays tribute to how far we’ve come in understanding our world. 

And bringing collectibles and curiosities into your space is actually on trend — Wunderkammern, or curiosity cabinets, were all the rage in Europe during the 1500s and continued to have adherents there and in the U.S. in the following centuries. Today, however, they’re experiencing a real surge in popularity and influencing how many interior designers are furnishing and decorating homes — combining contemporary with antique, scientific with tribal, earthly with extraterrestrial, Les Lalanne tables with Flemish tapestries.

The original Wunderkammern were entire rooms filled with objects demonstrating their owners’ worldly knowledge: A proper one included artificiala or preciosa (objets d’art); naturalia (such as skeletons, shells, minerals); exotica (taxidermy or dried plants); and scientifica (scientific instruments), frequently alongside religious relics and ancient artifacts.

Pay tribute to a history of rich and diverse musical traditions that have taken shape all over the world by decorating your home with a collection of antique and vintage musical instruments — with a little help from strong hanging wire or some wall hooks, vintage brass instruments such as a gong, French horn or trumpet can help elevate a home office or complement the efforts you’ve made to ensure a welcoming vibe in your home’s entryway. Bells or antique wind instruments can add provocative metallic contrasts to dark woods as tabletop decorative objects.  

Create an intriguing focal point with Georgian scientific instruments, such as stick barometers with mahogany cases or lacquered brass telescopes. These items stem from an era named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who ruled England in succession starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign, which lasted until 1837). Just as there was beautiful jewelry produced during the period that today is coveted by collectors, there is much to be found in the collectibles and curiosities realm too.

Wanderlust, nostalgia and a shared love of good design are contributing factors to certain trends in decorating — just as vintage trunks and luggage have reappeared as furniture or home accents in a bedroom or foyer, decorating with globes, maps or nautical objects is similarly rooted in the allure of travel and a penchant for the stylish finishing touch that collectibles bring to our homes.

Find a wide range of antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities on 1stDibs.

Read More

Medal-Worthy Memorabilia from Epic Past Olympic Games

Get into the games! These items celebrate the events, athletes, host countries and sporting spirit.

Ahoy! You’ve Never Seen a Collection of Sailor Art and Kitsch Quite Like This

French trendsetter and serial collector Daniel Rozensztroch tells us about his obsession with objects related to seafaring men.

Pamela Shamshiri Shares the Secrets behind Her First-Ever Book and Its Effortlessly Cool Interiors

The sought-after designer worked with the team at Hoffman Creative to produce a monograph that beautifully showcases some of Studio Shamshiri's most inspiring projects.

Moroccan Artworks and Objects Take Center Stage in an Extraordinary Villa in Tangier

Italian writer and collector Umberto Pasti opens the doors to his remarkable cave of wonders in North Africa.

Montecito Has Drawn Royalty and Celebrities, and These Homes Are Proof of Its Allure

Hollywood A-listers, ex-pat aristocrats and art collectors and style setters of all stripes appreciate the allure of the coastal California hamlet — much on our minds after recent winter floods.

Whaam! Blam! Pow! — a New Book on Pop Art Packs a Punch

Publishing house Assouline and writer Julie Belcove have teamed up to trace the history of the genre, from Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama to Mickalene Thomas and Jeff Koons.

The Sparkling Legacy of Tiffany & Co. Explained, One Jewel at a Time

A gorgeous new book celebrates — and memorializes — the iconic jeweler’s rich heritage.

What Makes a Gem-Encrusted Chess Set Worth $4 Million?

The world’s most opulent chess set, weighing in at 513 carats, is literally fit for a king and queen.

Recently Viewed

View All