Peacock Candle Holder by Jacob Petit

Splendid continuous hand-painted scenes adorn these graceful and rare Viennese silver and enamel candlesticks. Adorned with scenes of gods and goddesses from classical mythology, these lights are executed with exceptional detail and artistry. A fantastic testament to the skilled artisans of Austria, they exemplify remarkable design and craftsmanship. Enameling is one of the oldest forms of decorative art with examples dating back almost 3,000 years to Mycenaean Greece. The methods used in the enameling process have changed very little since that time. Enamel is actually glass colored with metallic pigments that are fused to metal by firing. Because different colors fire at different temperatures, it was essential that the artist paint the colors that required the highest heat first, adding the others in descending order of their firing temperature. The forte of the Viennese enamellers...

Malachite is one of Russia’s most prestigious stones, and its use in the creation of this rare and opulent inkwell indicates commission and ownership by an individual of considerable status. Wonderful doré bronze accents are the perfect complement to the vivid green stone. Two dipping wells and pen tray make this inkwell as functional as it is beautiful, circa 1890. Dimensions: 18 1/4” wide x 11” deep x 5 1/2” high. The 19th century proved to be the golden age of Russian malachite. The stone became a sign of prestige and a token of wealth so much so that Russian papers of the time wrote: “To afford having a big piece wrought in malachite is synonymous to owning diamonds.” Due to malachite's relatively close proximity, Russian tsars could easily obtain the malachite they needed to decorate their lavish palaces, such as the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, paneling walls and commissioning beautiful inlaid works of art. Year after year the Russian (Romanov) treasury paid increasingly unreasonable prices to hoard the best malachite, much of which went into Romanov palaces and extravagant objects d’art. The Hermitage Museum possesses a collection of over 200 examples of this “palatial” malachite...

Schiller Majolica vase which features a peacock seated on a pedestal. Coloration: blue, green, yellow, are predominant. The piece bears maker's marks for ...

Japanese Meiji Period Glazed Katan Ware Peacock, ca. 1890 DIMENSIONS: Height: 5.5 inches Depth: 9 inches Width: 3.5 inches ABOUT This finely craft...