Auguste Feyen-Perrin

Ramasseuse de Coquillages, Bretagne.Shellfish Collector, Brittany. Breton 19th C

William Arthur Breakspeare. English ( b.1855 - d.1914 ). A Rendezvous in the Park in the Autumn Fall. Oil on Panel. Signed lower right. Image size 12.6 inches x 7.3 inches ( 32cm x 1...

John Arthur Lomax. English ( b.1857 - d.1923 ). When I was a Boy. Oil on Panel. Signed. Image size 9.5 inches x 11.4 inches ( 24cm x 29cm ). Frame size 17.3 inches x 19.5 inches ( ...

Icilio Federico Joni. Italian ( b.1866 - d.1946 ). Painted Gesso, Gilt and Wood Tavolette Book Cover Binding in the Sienese Biccherna Style Book Cover size 11 inches x 8.1 inches ( 28cm x 20.5cm ). Frame size 16 inches x 13 inches ( 40.5cm x 33cm ). Available for sale; this painted gesso and gilt “tavolette” wooden book cover in the Biccherna style is by Icilio Federico Joni. The book cover is mounted and supplied in a contemporary black Tulip Wood frame (which is shown in these photographs) which is glazed with non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass. The wooden book cover is curved and float mounted giving a wonderful 3D depth to its presentation. The gesso and painted surfaces have benefitted from professional restoration which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This antique book cover is now in very good condition, commensurate with its age. The frame presentation is new and in excellent condition. Combined, it wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The story of these panels and of their artist is fascinating, and begins in 13th century Siena: The Biccherna was the person who held the position of Magistrate of Chancellery of Finance from the 13th to the 14th century for the republic and the city of Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The records of that office were very important because Siena was one of the earliest and most significant banking centres in Italy, and indeed in Europe. It became the fashion to keep banking and taxation records of the region in large books with painted leather covers. These were originally made from wood and leather. In the competition to make these ever more prestigious the bindings and panels on the front and rear of the books were painted by the major artists of the day, such as Giovanni di Paolo. Many of these mainly secular covers are displayed in the Archives of the State of Siena located in the Palazzo Piccolmini. The Gothic Revival of the 19th century occurred partly as a reaction against the progress of industrialisation in Europe generally. It was however greatly affected by the unification of Italy in the second half of the 19th century. This led to the closure and downsizing of many religious institutions, which resulted in the dispersal of thousands of works of art dating from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Many aristocratic and bourgeois families struggled to pay debts or simply to make ends meet and so they sold off their private collections and family heirlooms. There was then an influx of goods into the antiques market which provided a great deal of work for Italy’s restorers and craftsmen, since many of these pieces were in need of cleaning, repair and, in keeping with the interventionist tastes of the times, radical restoration, before they could be sold on, often to foreign buyers. These early Italian works became so fashionable that demand soon outstripped supply. This in turn gave rise to a new type of artist-craftsman capable of turning out from scratch increasingly convincing reproductions, imitations and out-and-out fakes. Siena naturally became the epicentre of this thriving cottage industry because of the extraordinary continuity there in traditional craft skills. This technical expertise had been handed down from generation to generation, and it was perhaps inevitable that a number of artists with real talent, the flair of commerce and a genuine love and understanding of antique Sienese art should adapt their skills to these new market conditions. Among these artists were Igino Gottardi, Alceo Dossena, Fulvio Corsini, Umberto Giunti...

Ferdinand Victor Leon Roybet. French ( b.1840 – d.1920 ). Le Mousquetaire. Oil on Panel. Signed upper right. Image size 31.1 inches x 24.4 inches ( 79cm x 62cm ). Frame size 39 inche...

Icilio Federico Joni. Italian ( b.1866 - d.1946 ). Painted Gesso, Gilt and Wood Tavolette Book Cover Binding in the Sienese Biccherna Style Book Cover size 11 inches x 8.1 inches ( 28cm x 20.5cm ). Frame size 16 inches x 13 inches ( 40.5cm x 33cm ). Available for sale; this painted gesso and gilt “tavolette” wooden book cover in the Biccherna style is by Icilio Federico Joni. The book cover is mounted and supplied in a contemporary black Tulip Wood frame (which is shown in these photographs) which is glazed with non-reflective Tru Vue UltraVue® UV70 glass. The wooden book cover is curved and float mounted giving a wonderful 3D depth to its presentation. The gesso and painted surfaces have benefitted from professional restoration which was performed on our instruction, supervision and approval. This antique book cover is now in very good condition, commensurate with its age. The frame presentation is new and in excellent condition. Combined, it wants for nothing and is supplied ready to hang and display. The story of these panels and of their artist is fascinating, and begins in 13th century Siena: The Biccherna was the person who held the position of Magistrate of Chancellery of Finance from the 13th to the 14th century for the republic and the city of Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The records of that office were very important because Siena was one of the earliest and most significant banking centres in Italy, and indeed in Europe. It became the fashion to keep banking and taxation records of the region in large books with painted leather covers. These were originally made from wood and leather. In the competition to make these ever more prestigious the bindings and panels on the front and rear of the books were painted by the major artists of the day, such as Giovanni di Paolo. Many of these mainly secular covers are displayed in the Archives of the State of Siena located in the Palazzo Piccolmini. The Gothic Revival of the 19th century occurred partly as a reaction against the progress of industrialisation in Europe generally. It was however greatly affected by the unification of Italy in the second half of the 19th century. This led to the closure and downsizing of many religious institutions, which resulted in the dispersal of thousands of works of art dating from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Many aristocratic and bourgeois families struggled to pay debts or simply to make ends meet and so they sold off their private collections and family heirlooms. There was then an influx of goods into the antiques market which provided a great deal of work for Italy’s restorers and craftsmen, since many of these pieces were in need of cleaning, repair and, in keeping with the interventionist tastes of the times, radical restoration, before they could be sold on, often to foreign buyers. These early Italian works became so fashionable that demand soon outstripped supply. This in turn gave rise to a new type of artist-craftsman capable of turning out from scratch increasingly convincing reproductions, imitations and out-and-out fakes. Siena naturally became the epicentre of this thriving cottage industry because of the extraordinary continuity there in traditional craft skills. This technical expertise had been handed down from generation to generation, and it was perhaps inevitable that a number of artists with real talent, the flair of commerce and a genuine love and understanding of antique Sienese art should adapt their skills to these new market conditions. Among these artists were Igino Gottardi, Alceo Dossena, Fulvio Corsini, Umberto Giunti...

Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). First Light. Oil on canvas. Signed lower left. Image size 23.4 inches x 17.3 inches ( 59.5cm x 44cm ). Frame size 28.5 inches x 22.4 inches ( 72.5c...

Archer was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1808. In 1820 he went to London, and became a pupil of John Scott, a noted engraver of animals. His apprenticeship was cut short when Scott became ill, and he returned to Newcastle. There, in collaboration with William Collard he etched a series of large plates of Fountains Abbey, after drawings by John Wilson Carmichael, and on his own produced several plates for Mackenzie's History of Durham. He then moved to Edinburgh, where he made a collection of drawings of the ancient buildings and streets of the city. In about 1830 he returned to London, and entered the studio of the engravers William and Edward Finden, who were then working on illustrations for the annuals and such publications as their Bible Illustrations, and The Ports and Harbours of Great Britain. After a few years the market for this kind of illustration declined, and Archer had to find less renumerative work engraving plates for the New Sporting Magazine. Having been elected a member of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, he produced a series of drawings of St. Mary Overy, previous to its restoration, and of Lambeth Palace. Having accumulated more than one hundred drawings of London...

Wonderful early to mid 19th century English Cottage landscape. Oils on an oak wooden panel, this piece has a great feel and quality. Framed in its original frame this piece is an e...

Antoine Emile Plassan (1817-1903), a French painter of genre works, portraits and landscapes, was born in Bordeaux. He exhibited frequently at the Salon and was awarded medals in 185...

19th century English landscape with trees, a Harvest Field during Summertime. A wonderful classic English landscape dating from the middle of the 19th century. This style of paintin...

19th century English landscape with Oak trees, a stream and sheep on a pathway. A wonderful classic English landscape dating from the middle of the 19th century. This style of paint...

Well painted late 19th-century German genre painting. Often painted in the Munich area of Germany these highly desirable antique paintings are always of t...