Loopy Bauble

View Similar Items

Sainte Chapelle

The Rivera Box

Pink Porphyry Spire

Lidded Canary Porphyry Box

Percier's Tomb

Faux Marble and Scarlet Ribbon Stripes Slender Document Box

Midnight Porphyry Column Box

Artist-made vintage onyx / agate & walnut lidded vessel box, signed & dated 1984

Artist-Made Vintage Onyx / Agate & Walnut Lidded Vessel Box, Signed & Dated 1986

Snakeskin Jewelry Box

'Vanity Faith', an unorthodox tissue box in iroko wood

Peyrano Box by Alessandro Midini for Alessi, Italy, 1989

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 8

Loopy Bauble

About the Item

Acrylic and shellac based inks on Ingres paper; book binding board Stamped by artist on underside. A small columnar-shaped, hand-constructed pentagonal box, situated on a plinth. The base acts as a removable lid. The top of the box comes to a low-relief point. The piece is wrapped in a light pink and orange hand-painted, marbleized paper, with overlayed black painted marbleization. The flat base can be removed to reveal an interior painted black. From architectural follies of the eighteenth-century to crystalline rock formations, Thomas Engelhart translates the angles and polished surfaces of ancient artifacts into hand-painted paper objects. A Charleston, South Carolina native, Engelhart began his career in fashion, studying at Studio Berçot in Paris in the 1990s. His intuitive eye and meticulous attention to detail were cultivated designing for famed houses such as Thierry Mugler and Hermès. “Paris gave me elegance, rigor, and an understanding of quality,” reflects the artist. By absorbing the French approach to fait à la main, Engelhart flourished upon his return to New York in 2017. Engelhart’s papered obelisks and pyramid boxes are the result of a passion for antique curiosities. The Metropolitan Museum in New York or the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna are sources of inspiration for Engelhart’s faceted shapes and jewel tones. Pietra-dura inlay, silver-gilt reliquaries, and carved stone sarcophagi are just a few elements which influence his allusions to antiquity. The artist hand paints the paper, which is then delicately applied to hand sculpted boxes, tabletops, or mirrors of his own design. Encased in mesmerizing colors of marbleized, speckled, or malachite finishes, Engelhart’s boxes deign to be defined by their surprising functionality. By painting a fresh take on ancient porphyry and hardstone specimens, the artist creates a wealth of papered antiquities for the twenty-first-century collector.

Creator:
Thomas Engelhart (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 5.25 in (13.34 cm)Width: 4.5 in (11.43 cm)Depth: 4.5 in (11.43 cm)
Style:
Post-Modern (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Paint,Paper,Hand-Crafted,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
2010-
Date of Manufacture:
2022
Production Type:
New & Custom(One of a Kind)
Estimated Production Time:
Available Now
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: 1111-271stDibs: LU1075835414102