Mikhail Krikheli Studio, Sterling Silver, Enamel and Gilt Snuffbox, 21st Century

Weight: 5 troy ounces (142.1 grams) This fine work of silversmith art was made during the era of Pavel Sazikov, the original founder of the firm, which makes it especially valuable ...

Illegibly signed by the artist on the base, this laconic in form anodized iron sculpture’s rough and brutal surface is further enhanced with only a few segments of circles painted wi...

Chinese Art Deco Bird & Flower Motif Cloisonné enamel trinket box ca. 1920 DIMENSIONS: Height: 1.75 inches Width: 6.75inches Depth: 3.75...

ABOUT BOX This unusual, finely handcrafted tabletop box most likely was intended to hold money. It unmistakable appearance immediately evokes the distinc...

Dimensions & weight: Height: 10.75 inches Width: 3-1/2 inches Depth: 5.25 inches Weight: 27.4 troy oz This wonderful sterling silver & wood coffee & tea kettle, made by the famous New York master-silversmith William Lawrence deMatteo, very delicately decorated with the sprouts of young sweet peas. Although at first glance, this object casts thoughts about Art Deco, the unusualness of organic decorative elements in combination with the traditional form certainly speaks of its explicit Mid-Century Modern design. William Lawrence deMatteo (American, 12 October 1923 - 14 May 1988), silversmith and master craftsman, was born in New York City and was the son of Elizabeth Rommelman deMatteo and William Gaitano [Gaetano] deMatteo, an accomplished silversmith who immigrated to the United States from Acciaroli, Salerno, Italy, with his family when he was a boy. William Lawrence deMatteo grew up in suburban Bergenfield, New Jersey, and attended schools in nearby Tenafly, all the while observing and absorbing his father's skillful work. DeMatteo began studying sculpture and fine arts at Columbia University in 1941, but after the United States entered World War II he joined the navy in November 1942 and served in the Pacific theater as a torpedo bomber pilot. On 14 November 1946, in Asbury Park, he married Jayne Walpole, a painter who later co-founded an art gallery. They had three daughters and one son. DeMatteo resumed his apprenticeship with his father and may have continued his studies at Columbia before being recalled to active duty with the navy during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1953. Bill deMatteo, as he was usually known, visited the restored capital of colonial Virginia while he was still in the service and asked to see the silversmith's shop. Told that Colonial Williamsburg had none, he saw an opportunity for himself. Soon after deMatteo left the navy, he returned to Williamsburg and in July 1953 joined the staff as a silversmith. He created the entire silversmith program and was responsible for the James Geddy Silversmith's Shop, where he trained shopkeepers in interpreting craftsmanship to visitors, instructed and supervised apprentices in all kinds of metalworking, and handcrafted reproductions of eighteenth-century silver items for sale in the shop. DeMatteo also revived colonial silversmith James Craig...

Fully hallmarked on the edge.     

Round snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling Silver gold plated with hand-painted miniature pastoral image fired enamelled. 18th century French style. Diameter cm. 8 cm high. 1.8. Weight gr. 171. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1968 on inspiration from previous boxes also manufactured in the Salimbeni company headquarters with manual workmanship by talented artisan artists with a thick plate suitable for supporting numerous glazing firings at high heat at around 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature...

21st century Italian Sterling Silver hexagonal Tea/Caddy Box Hexagonal sterling silver tea box, shaped completely by hand. The body has rounded edges and has been left completely s...

Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with hand-painted fire-enamelled miniature on the lid. Early 1900s English Art Nouveau style. Measurements cm. 5....

Rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with two-tone translucent stripes fired enameled on guillochè and fine hand-engraved on all sides, French Empire Napoleon...

Shaped snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fired enamel inserted in a fine hand engraving and with round miniature diameter cm. 3.3 hand painted always with fire enamels depicting a sailing ship. Early 19th century Viennese Baroque style. Fine hand engraving on all sides and bottom. Measurements cm. 7.5 x 7.5 x 2. Weight gr. 151. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1976 on inspiration of ancient original artifacts and manufactured in Florence at the Salimbeni company headquarters in several specimens, also with different colors and miniatures, with completely manual execution by artisan artists with thick slabs and large reinforcements suitable for supporting numerous high-fire enamelled firings at approximately 750 < 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real ivory...

A luxurious humidor, hand made in selected ripple sycamore veneer. With solid sycamore edge mouldings, and sides. The outside of the box is finished in a full gloss, hand burnished lacquer, with a slight pink tint to the colour. The sycamore inside is finished in its natural state, without the colour tint. The humidor has a solid aromatic cedar lining. It is fitted with hand polished brass quadrant hinges and hand polished screws. The lid is an almost air tight fit, and the solid cedar lining will absorb and hold moisture to keep the cigars in perfect condition. The sliding cedar tray is designed to hold a humidifier (not supplied) and other accessories, or single cigars. The capacity of this humidor is about 150 cigars depending on size, stored either in boxes, or separately. Archer and Smith...