Quintessential Things

On offer are two authentic Chinese export armorial porcelain plates dating to circa 1735, making the earlier "circa 1740" label on the back highly accurate. It dates to the late Yong...

This piece is an original vintage theater lobby card from the 1955 release of the cinematic masterpiece “Rebel Without a Cause.” Distributed in sets of eight to movie theaters for di...

This vintage piece is a mid-20th-century travel souvenir album that documents a scenic road trip through the East Coast of the United States and up into Quebec, Canada. Made of a cla...

On offer is a complete 1831, 5-volume American edition of "A Natural History of the Globe, of Man, of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, Insects, and Plants." THE SERIES The content ...

On offer are three vintage photoengraved copper letterpress printing plates. These high-quality commercial halftone plates were used in the mid-to-late 20th century to mass-produce f...

With an extraordinary piece of furniture like this, there is of course a story. It begins with a country retreat, Filoli, a Georgian Revival-style country house set amid 16 acres of ...

This is a classic 1940s string-bound photo album documenting a scenic road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway. Beautifully captioned, it tells the story of two adventurous women wh...

This exquisite Victorian cameo brooch, dating to circa 1860–1880, features a beautifully detailed carving of the famous classical allegory of Night and Day. THE FIGURES: The carving...

On offer is an Early American "Fancy" side chair, heavily inspired by or produced in the style of the famous Hitchcock Chair Company, and dating to the mid-19th century. This chair ...

This is a set of three authentic antique Continental European pewter plates, likely of German, Swiss or Dutch origin, dating to the late 18th century to early 19th century (circa 178...

This mid-20th-Century pair of Japanese Kutani ware lamps features a highly celebrated Japanese literary theme known as the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets (Sanjūrokkasen). The hand-painted...

Sascha Brastoff (1917–1993). Pair of extraordinary hand painted glazed ceramic lamps, circa 1960. Beautiful matching pair of highly decorated horses with metallic highlights. This ...

On offer is a vintage salesman's sample radiator. Produced between 1900 and 1920, it was created as a high-quality, miniature prototype to showcase casting capabilities and heating p...

On offer is a bronze “Navigation Aerienne” commemorative triptych medal. The plaque was designed by the legendary French medalist Pierre-Alexande Morlon and struck in 1909 by the Mon...

This item is a vintage brass Aftaba (also known as an Aftabeh or Surahi), a traditional water ewer historically used across India and the Middle East for handwashing, serving liquids or Islamic rituals. Given the stamped "INDIA" text on the underside and its smooth, unetched style, this piece is likely a mid-to-late 20th-century decorative export item inspired by classic Mughal-style metalwork. It features a bulbous pear-shaped body, a tall neck and a long, straight-angled spout designed for a clean pour. The domed top includes a functional hinge attached directly to a heavy, sweeping "S-shape" handle. The vessel stands on three small, rounded peg feet cast directly into the underside, which provides stabilization on uneven surfaces. Unlike many common Indian brass ewers...

On offer is a pair of beautiful antique plates which are classic pieces of 19th-century English Patent Ironstone China, most likely manufactured by Mason's (or a contemporary Staffor...

On offer is a highly collectible German bisque head child doll manufactured by J.D. Kestner. This doll features a finely painted bisque porcelain socket hea...

On offer is a beautiful Mid-Century Orrefors art glass decanter, handcrafted in Sweden, confirmed by the worn but iconic "Orrefors Sweden" shield-shaped foil label, which features a ...

On offer is a "pulled loop" style decanter. The design strongly aligns with vintage mid-century Italian art glass techniques. It utilizes an un-reinforced, pulled-loop or pinched-rib...

This is an antique early ironstone serving platter, manufactured in England during the early-to-mid 19th century, circa 1815–1840. The design is heavily inspired by the highly collec...

On offer is the iconic "Flying Eagle" hood ornament used on 1955–1956 Chrysler models such as the New Yorker, Newport and Windsor. It was designed by Chrysler’s Art and Color Departm...

On offer is a bronze Art Deco-style sculpture crafted by the documented Vietnamese artist Gia-Lợi (1897–1980). The piece showcases the signature stylistic hallmarks, thematic depth a...

On offer is a rare 19th-century German antique terrestrial globe produced by one of Germany's most prestigious cartographic partnerships. When looking at the globe, one sees boundari...

On offer is an authentic Victorian family photograph album dating precisely to the Civil War or early post-Civil War era (circa 1860–1875). Albums of this exact scale and heavy construction were specifically engineered to hold the newly invented, rigid paper-and-cardboard photographs of the 19th century. The binding is made of thick Morocco leather (goatskin) dyed black. It features deep, heavy machine-stamped geometric and cartouche embossing typical of the Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival tastes of the 1860s. The double hinged brass clasps were not purely decorative; they were functional necessities designed to exert constant pressure on the book. This kept the thick, porous internal cardboard pages from warping or absorbing ambient moisture. The lower clasp features an elegant, cast floral/leaf relief pattern. The spine is heavily ribbed with raised bands and features the word "Album" stamped in a stylized Gothic or Old English gilt font. The heavy paper blocks are finished with gilt edges, which helped seal the paper from dust and smoke damage. The rectangular window cutouts with rounded corners indicate this album was made for Cartes de Visite ("visiting cards" in French). These small, 2.5" x 4" paper photographs mounted on cardboard backing were wildly popular during the Civil War, leading to a phenomenon known as "Cardomania" where families traded portraits. The gold-leaf or printed double-border lines surrounding each photo window are a signature trait of early 1860s photographic albums. The inside covers feature beautiful, block-printed chromolithograph endpapers with fine purple and gold floral vine patterns, which are in remarkably clean condition. Handwritten pencil inscriptions added beneath the windows throughtout provide incredible historical and family value throughout. For example "Uncle Cyrus Turner,” "Niece & Nephew, Georgia & Frank Parker...

On offer is an antique, hand-woven American utilitarian gathering basket, dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century (circa 1880–1930). The high handle combined with...

This striking vessel is an Engebretson and Nielsen art glass bowl featuring a dense pattern of cobalt blue, almond-shaped cells resembling leaves, grains of rice, or even a school of...

This stunning object is a vintage Murano art glass teardrop bowl, handcrafted on the island of Murano in Venice, Italy. Pieces featuring this specific biomorphic, organic styling wit...

This classic Royal Doulton porcelain figurine titled "Tall Story" celebrates the timeless tradition of seafaring folklore. It was produced by Royal Doulton, one of England's most fam...

This small porcelain pitcher is an antique piece of European art pottery manufactured by the Porzellanfabrik Victoria Schmidt & Co. The body of the pitcher presents a panoramic ...

On offer is a classic Chinese soapstone brush washer, traditionally used on a scholar’s desk to rinse calligraphy brushes. The carving depicts a lively natural scene rich in traditio...

On offer is a vintage desk stamp, known as a teller, endorsement or signature stamp, dating from the early 20th century. The bottom engraving is intentionally mirrored so it will rea...

On offer is a mid 20th-century Italian wood carving depicting The Pied Piper of Hamelin and his rodent ‘followers’, likely retailed or sold as a souvenir in Switzerland. The figurine is highly characteristic of ANRI, a world-famous wood carving workshop located in the Val Gardena region of the South Tyrol Alps in Italy. It captures the German folkloric figure of the Pied Piper playing his pipe to lure away the five distinct rats scurrying around his feet. He is depicted wearing traditional Alpine garments, including a Tyrolean-style hat adorned with a feather, a flowing short cape, breeches, and tall socks with red piping detail. The piece is sculpted from a single block of Alpine wood (typically maple or lindenwood), displaying exceptional detail in the fabric folds and the expressive pose. It is finished with a delicate, translucent hand-brushed staining technique that highlights the natural grain of the wood. The bottom of the wooden block features handwritten text reading "Lucerne" (the scenic Swiss city). Local Swiss shops in tourist hubs like Lucerne frequently commissioned or purchased Italian Val Gardena carvings to sell as premium Alpine souvenirs. The handwritten mid-1960s timestamp perfectly matches the mid-century production period of these specific ANRI wood carvings...

On offer is a vintage American folk-art arrow weathervane, currently mounted on a modern display rod and block base as an architectural fragment sculpture. Arrow weathervanes are amo...

On offer is an antique American folk art horse silhouette weathervane, likely dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century (circa 1890s–1920s). The horse’s flat profi...

On offer is an antique French porcelain opaline glass vase, manufactured around the late 19th to early 20th century in the classic Sèvres or Limoges romantic style. The vase’s hand-p...

On offer is a stunning example of vintage hand-blown studio art glass, most notably featuring a distinctive "threaded" or "trailed" technique. The vase has a heavy, squat, globe-like...

This exquisite item is a vintage Venetian art glass vase from Murano, Italy. It was crafted of delicate, interwoven glass latticework crafted using the masterful mid-century "Zanfiri...

The faded handwritten sticky note on the sculpture’s base (photo #6) reads "jan cerny / (autor = / socrec).” This suggests this is a mid-20th-century Czech studio art glass sculpture...

On offer is a beautiful vintage Mid-Century Modern, Murano Sommerso "Geode" Art Glass Bowl. It was crafted in Murano, Italy, and is heavily attributed to the iconic designer Flavio P...

On offer is a vintage Mid-Century Modern, hand-blown art glass, barware decanter with a matching spherical stopper. This piece closely matches the iconic styles produced by Murano gl...

On offer is a highly sought-after pre-Prohibition era lithographed tin serving tray from around 1900, advertising the historic Ruhstaller Brewing Company based in Sacramento, Califor...

On offer is a vintage Chinese hand-carved camphor wood box with detailed courtyard, pavilion, willow, and pine scenes. Likely mid-20th century, with a simplified front shield that ma...

On offer is a classic piece of Chinese folk art depicting a traditional, auspicious motif, namely a young boy wrestling a giant carp, or Koi fish. In Chinese culture, the word for fi...

On offer is a hand-carved wooden statue representing the Madonna and Child. The Virgin Mary holds the infant Jesus in the style of traditional European Romanesque or early Gothic rel...

On offer is an authentic historic Native American Pueblo water jar, or “olla,” with dual-loop handles and bold polychrome floral decoration dating roughly from the 1880s to the 1920s...

This is an exceptionally beautiful, heavily detailed Japanese bronze incense burner, known as a koro (香炉), dating to the Meiji Period (1868–1912). While it bears a Japanese maker's mark on the base, the visual identity of this pot is intentionally styled to look like an ancient Chinese ritual vessel...

For the connoisseur who demands the absolute pinnacle of counterculture history, this artifact is the ultimate "Holy Grail." Presented here is an exceptionally rare, museum-quality 1...

On offer is an early 20th-century "After Bergman" cold-painted spelter lamp, one that explicitly bears a stamp, likely for the manufacturer Müller (often associated with Müller Co. or other specialized French/Austrian metal foundries operating in the 1920s–1930s). The lamp depicts a Middle Eastern carpet seller sitting cross-legged inside his market stall, which is shaded by broad green banana leaves. Richly patterned Oriental rugs, complete with fringe, are draped over the structure. The rug seller is shown playing a rebab, an ancient Middle Eastern stringed instrument. He holds the instrument vertically resting on his lap or the floor. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern and North African marketplaces, known as “souks,” were incredibly competitive, noisy, and bustling environments. To stand out, merchants did not just sit quietly waiting for foot traffic. They utilized street performance—called busking—as a highly effective marketing tactic. A rug merchant playing a piercing, hypnotic melody on a rebab would successfully create an inviting ambiance, draw a curious crowd to his market stall, and provide a pleasant environment to keep potential buyers lingering around his expensive textiles longer. During the height of the Art Deco and Orientalist craze, the original cold-painted bronze designs by Franz Bergman were incredibly popular and expensive. To meet the demand for more affordable home lighting, alternative foundries bought or replicated the original molds. Rather than using costly heavy bronze, these foundries cast the lamps using spelter (a zinc-based alloy popular in France and Austria). Spelter was lighter, easier to cast, and took enamel "cold paint" exceptionally well. The kneeling merchant and the structural pillar show the classic, slightly softer detailing indicative of a high-quality spelter casting rather than crisp chiseled bronze. The striking orange, yellow, and green pigments applied directly onto the metal capture the exact moody, bazaar-like atmosphere intended by the original theme. A light bulb socket is hidden underneath the canopy of the roof structure. When turned on, the bulb illuminates the entire interior marketplace scene from above, shining down through the leaves and casting a dramatic, warm, atmospheric glow. Because these "After Bergman" pieces are genuine early 20th-century antiques in their own right, they carry significant historical value and are highly sought after by collectors of Art Deco and Orientalist lighting...

This striking object is a vintage or antique Persian Qajar dynasty glass hookah base (historically called a qalyan or nargilah bottle). It featur...

On offer is an original 1920s Watkins "Egyptian Bouquet" Talcum Powder tin manufactured by The J.R. Watkins Company based in Winona, Minnesota. This specific tin was introduced aroun...

On offer is a classic Grand Tour-style Italian carved alabaster miniature “tazza,” a compote bowl, traditionally crafted in workshops around Florence or Volterra, Italy. During the 1...

On offer is an Italian hand-carved alabaster tazza, also known as a compote or pedestal centerpiece bowl, dating to the late 19th or early 20th century. Carved from translucent white...

Modeled after late 18th-century Chinese export porcelain made for Western markets during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, this armorial beaker vase combines historic form with decor...

This trumpet-form or spill vase is an antique French porcelain reproduction of an 18th-century Chinese Export armorial piece, made in China or possibly manufactured by the famous Sam...

On offer is a Chinese-export style, cylindrical flared trumpet vase. While handsomely styled after 18th-century Qing Dynasty period armorial export wares--in this example bearing a E...

On offer is a Chinese export-style, porcelain armorial vase, decorated in the manner of an 18th-century service commissioned for the Russian Imperial Market. Original 18th-century Ch...

These three hand-carved figures depict the globally recognized Three Wise Monkeys, an ancient cultural motif that symbolizes the principle of shielding oneself from bad thoughts, act...

On offer is a Japanese bronze patinated vase, crafted during the Meiji period (1868–1912) or early Taisho period. It features highly detailed, high-relief decoration showcasing a tra...

On offer is an antique Mexican folk art pottery pitcher, most likely originating from the historic ceramics hub of Atzompa (Santa María Atzompa) in Oaxaca, Mexico. Known historically...

On offer is a highly detailed, authentic late 20th-century Inuit (Eskimo) stone carving depicting a mythological shape-shifter in a shamanic transformation scene, a common theme in I...