R. Louis Bofferding Decorative and Fine Art Furniture

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...

From the 1950s to the 80s, Joe Eula cut quite a figure on the New York scene as a graphic, costume, fashion, stage-set, and film-set designer, as well as a stylist, party giver, and, briefly, a model agency macher. In addition, he was an artist. You could say that Eula was the art director extempore of Manhattan. And if you’ve never heard of Eula (or hadn’t before David Pittu played him in the recent Netflix Halston series), it’s because he was famous as an eminence grise, to employ a contradiction in terms. That’s why Andy Warhol called him, in typical Warholian hyperbole, “the most important man in New York.” Eula came from a hardscrabble background in South Norwalk, Connecticut. After serving in World War II, he took classes on the GI Bill at the Art Students League, and formed a partnership with photographer Milton Greene to produce features for Life and Look magazines, and a couple of films, with Greene behind the camera, and Eula painting backdrops and styling. On his own, Eula illustrated Eugenia Sheppard’s famous newspaper fashion column, did illustration work for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, designed ballet costumes and sets for Jerome Robbins, an album cover for Miles Davis, and a benefit invitation for Cesar...

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 ...

An 18th century chaise percée, from the bathroom of Baron Max Fould-Springer, Palais Abbatial de Royaumont and by descent his sister Baroness Elie (Lilia...

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 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...

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 faceted, geometric sculpture by the contemporary New York artist John Torreano dates to the mid-1980s.

Baron Alessandro Albrizzi grew up in, and later inherited, the family palazzo in Venice, where the French doors that opened onto the garden had hardware embellished with bronze snakes. The memory of them prompted him to create the“nest of snakes” sculptures...

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

Misia Sert, a musical prodigy who once played the piano on Franz List’s knee, grew up to be a beauty, and remained the apogee of chic until she died at seve...

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 glamorous set of 17 dinner and 12 side plates were made of gold-glass, rather than the usual gilded porcelain. They belonged to Jan Cowles, the wife of Gardner Cowles, the newsp...

The verisimilitude of this pin to a leaf may be the result of its actually having been cast from one. But the unobtrusive nib at the end of the gently curving stem, by which the pin ...