R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art

This table’s bold, graphic, and geometrical marquetry in satinwood and rosewood recalls the paintings of Bridget Riley and other 1960s Op Art artists. The patterning even extends to...

These charming bronze shells were cast in Japan in the 19th century. They lived for many years in the collection of the Paris artist Pierre Le-Tan. One of...

In 19th-century Venice, glassmaking studios were pokey little family affairs. The craft was passed on from father to son, and conducted in a studio, with an assistant or two, and per...

This mahogany commode has the fluted rails and canted corners typical of case furniture made along the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas around 1800. More difficult to pinpoint, however, is the exact place of its making, since this geographical region stretches from Germany to Russia, and north from Poland to Scandinavia. That said, a strikingly similar, if slightly plainer commode in a private German collection bears an old paper label that identifies it as having been made in the city of Altona. It also bears the seal of King Christian VII of Denmark who reigned until 1808. At the time, Altona was in the independent Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, located between Denmark and Prussia. Both nations tried to annex the Duchy, and in 1848 it was ceded to Prussia, which became part of Germany in 1871. A North Sea port, Altona was a member of the Hanseatic League, an association of seaports that was established in the 14th century to foster trade and police the high seas. Around 1800, the aforementioned King Christian of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, allowed Jews to freely settle in Altona to increase the tax base. This allowed them to conduct business in neighboring Hamburg, a larger financial hub that maintained quotas. The prosperous Jewish families of Altona built villas there, and decorated them with furnishings that were made locally and imported. Many of those makers owned copies of furniture-pattern books, which were widely disseminated among these seaports, accounting for the difficulty in determining if a piece was made in Altona, Stockholm, or St. Petersburg. We can’t trace our commode to a Danish king or a known Altona merchant, but we can link it to the New World empire builders...

This Chinese standing screen has a main panel, and a lower panel flanked by two smaller ones, which were made in the 19th century as fretwork window panels for a house. In the 20th century they were salvaged, assembled, and mounted in a matching hardwood stand as a freestanding screen...

Snipping a profile from paper with scissors, and mounting the result to a contrasting sheet of paper, became a popular diversion among the European and American upper classes in the ...

The so-called Bilbao mirrors were made circa 1800 in Portugal and Spain and named after the city where many were crafted. On our shores they’re often mis...

Every contour and plane of this exquisite tray-top, mahogany table on wheels is outlined with glinting brass stringing — a hallmark of Russian cabinetry in the late 18th and early 19...

In centuries past, lucky artists were ennobled after mastering their craft and achieving renown, but Baron Marochetti had been born into the noblility before he proved his mettle as ...

This charming, quirky 19th century black-painted cast-iron table is mounted on wheels, and fitted with a modern custom black opaline-glass top framed in bronze by Guerin.

This comfortable, superbly carved pair of Louis-Philippe armchairs is unusual in having been made of rosewood, an exotic timber that was rare in France at the 1840s. It is now upholstered in grey felt with black gimp. The chairs come from the estate of the international socialite KK Auchincloss. Born Boston in the 1940s, she moved to Manhattan where she launched a clothing line, designed jewelry for Tiffany, and said yes to a marriage proposal from “Shipwreck” Kelly, the legendary football hero. She would say yes again to Peter Larkin, an heir to the 825,000 acre King Ranch...

This trompe l'oeil drawing depicts the artist's tools -- a black and a red crayon, and a folding steel ruler that was painted with silver pigments, which have blackened with age. They're shown on a sheaf of papers that include a medieval manuscript page, a musical score, and a group of prints. The unifying theme is the artistic patronage of the Medici, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, who intermarried with the Habsburgs, who were the Holy Roman Emperors. Among the papers are prints by Stefano Della Bella, the Florentine artist who worked for the Medici. They depict a negro page with a horse, and portraits of Lorenzo Lippi...

This Empire ormolu head of a woman was made as a furniture mount in France around 1810, and probably adorned a bed. In any case, closer to our own time, it was deemed worthy of mount...

More sculpture than furniture, this finely-carved 1860s folding chair has a gilded and gessoed wood frame, and the original cut-silk-velvet upholstery material that was woven to fit....

This refined object dates to the first half of the 19th century, and was probably used for obi, kimono sashes, which were hung over it. The gold decorations on the black-lacquered g...

This Surreal-looking object was made as a wig stand in mid-19th century France by Louis Danjard. It was probably in the legendary Folk Art collection of the important American sculpt...

These 31 Brazilian amulets, or balangada, were hammered from sheets of silver in the 19th century to form pomegranates, sugar apples, guava, and other...

This iconic woodblock print by Chikanobu Toyohara (1838-1912), titled 'A Mirror of Japanese Nobility,' depicts Emperor Meiji, his consort, and the heir t...

This painted-and-gilded fire screen in the Louis XVI style was made by Francois Linke (1855 - 1946), the greatest maker of furniture in Belle Epoque Paris...

This charming 19th-century English regimental drum was fitted with a glass top to serve as a table. It bears the painted arms of the Royal Dublin Fusil...

This charming yet substantial Neo-Rococo bracket was made in Berlin by KPM, the royal porcelain manufactory. Finely modeled, and pierced, the animated design is attributed to Alexand...

This large and dramatic blown and cast-glass candlestick, with a blue-and-white spiral in its stem, was most likely made in England around 1800. It comes from the collection of the legendary aesthete Baron Max Fould-Springer, who lived at the Palais de Royaumont outside Paris, which on his death was inherited by his sister Liliane, Baroness de Rothschild...

This Meiji-period color woodblock by Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912) depicts three elegant female courtiers in traditional dress taking refreshments. Th...

In the early 19th century the typical, but fine flower vase was made of porcelain. The better ones were mounted in gilt bronze. But the most fashionable were of cut crystal and gilt ...

This mercury-glass mirror was made in 19th century Italy, and has a greyish tinge that endows it with mystery. Stylistically, it harks back to 17th century mirror-framed mirrors, whi...

This cylinder box is an exceptionally fine example of straw marquetry, and a rare survivor of the craft, which involves the cutting, coloring, and mounting of split straws to form de...