Unusual Large English Glass Candlestick, circa 1800

This mahogany commode has the fluted rails and canted corners typical of case furniture made along the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas around 1800. More difficult to pinpoint, however, is the exact place of its making, since this geographical region stretches from Germany to Russia, and north from Poland to Scandinavia. That said, a strikingly similar, if slightly plainer commode in a private German collection bears an old paper label that identifies it as having been made in the city of Altona. It also bears the seal of King Christian VII of Denmark who reigned until 1808. At the time, Altona was in the independent Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, located between Denmark and Prussia. Both nations tried to annex the Duchy, and in 1848 it was ceded to Prussia, which became part of Germany in 1871. A North Sea port, Altona was a member of the Hanseatic League, an association of seaports that was established in the 14th century to foster trade and police the high seas. Around 1800, the aforementioned King Christian of Denmark, who was also the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, allowed Jews to freely settle in Altona to increase the tax base. This allowed them to conduct business in neighboring Hamburg, a larger financial hub that maintained quotas. The prosperous Jewish families of Altona built villas there, and decorated them with furnishings that were made locally and imported. Many of those makers owned copies of furniture-pattern books, which were widely disseminated among these seaports, accounting for the difficulty in determining if a piece was made in Altona, Stockholm, or St. Petersburg. We can’t trace our commode to a Danish king or a known Altona merchant, but we can link it to the New World empire builders...

This trompe l'oeil drawing depicts the artist's tools -- a black and a red crayon, and a folding steel ruler that was painted with silver pigments, which have blackened with age. They're shown on a sheaf of papers that include a medieval manuscript page, a musical score, and a group of prints. The unifying theme is the artistic patronage of the Medici, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, who intermarried with the Habsburgs, who were the Holy Roman Emperors. Among the papers are prints by Stefano Della Bella, the Florentine artist who worked for the Medici. They depict a negro page with a horse, and portraits of Lorenzo Lippi...

These over-scaled chairs were said to have been designed by Chicago architect Sam Marx, but they were probably made by William Quigley, whose workshop ...

This charming yet substantial Neo-Rococo bracket was made in Berlin by KPM, the royal porcelain manufactory. Finely modeled, and pierced, the animated design is attributed to Alexand...

Pair Antique English brass candlesticks, circa 1800-1810.

Pair of cast & patinated bronze candlesticks with applied stamped & polished brass embellishments and foliate luster ring. Hung with tear drop cut crystal lusters...

Late Georgian hollow core cast miniature brass candlestick. The candle cup with bobeshe is supported by an inverted trumpet candle shaft to a quarter round & waist to a circular base...

Pair of cast bronze patinated candlesticks with applied stamped & gilt lacquered brass embellishments. The foliate luster ring is hung wi...