Paint Decorative Objects

Sculptural 18th century Italian fragment with elestial quartz and mounted on an agate slice. The fragment was originally from a historical Italian church. It is mounted with the ele...

Swedish 19th Century painted long case clock or Grandfather clock. This Scandinavian folk art clock is from the region of Småland, where the village of Lönshult is (see the name of t...

1940s Art Déco Torino painted and glazed ceramic figurine 'Ambretta Dancer' by Sandro Vaccetti for the firm Essevi, Italy By: Sandro Vaccetti Material: ceramic, paint, enamel, clay ...

This beautiful pair of 19th century French porcelain apothecary jars exemplifies the artistry and craftsmanship of early pharmacy containers. Each jar features a slightly domed lid with a round finial, delicately highlighted with gilt accents. The bodies are hand-painted with rich polychrome decoration, including palm trees, medical caduceus symbols, and stylized serpents entwined around classical columns—traditional emblems of medicine and healing. The jars are inscribed with their original Latin labels: CONS: TAMAR: (Conserve of Tamarind) and EXT: PAPAV: (Extract of Poppy), both once commonly used in apothecaries for medicinal remedies. Their elegant design combines functionality with refined decoration, making them as decorative as they are historic. These jars would have originally been displayed in a 19th century pharmacy, both as storage vessels and as visible markers of important remedies. Today, they make striking decorative pieces for collectors of antique medical instruments...

A rare and remarkable pair of antique French opaline glass vases, dating from the early to mid-19th century, showcasing the height of French decorative arts and craftsmanship. These ...

Sculptural 17th century hand-carved Florence Fragment mounted with a fossil shell with barnacles and adorned with crystals. This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found ...

A wonderful, original Mid-Century Modern Madoura pottery pitcher/vase by renowned Spanish artist Pablo Picasso titled "Têtes (Heads)". The piece features two hand painted images of ...

Original 1960s ceramic pot by renowned female artist Amy Donaldson. This piece embodies nature and the craft movement. It has a substantial size at 12" wide x 8" tall. No damage, and...

A magnificent 19th-century blue overlay crystal vase, finely hand-cut and richly decorated with enamel and gold. The deep cobalt blue crystal has been expertly overlaid and cut to re...

Top quality, hand carved and truly impressive antique clock with 8 music melodies. Over the years we have had the pleasure of owning and selling a number of beautiful Black Forest antiques, but never did we come accross a 19th century Black Forest clock with musical box of this size and with such amazing natural details and patina AND with the original clock and music box inside. And if that was not enough, this finest of Black Forest clocks is top quality carved from top to bottom in the form of a detailed Swiss chalet. Mind you, this very rare antique clock is entirely hand carved out of nutwood only, which is another sign of the quality of the workmanship and the richness of materials. We have added a large variety of photos so that you can see the many incredibly detailed parts of this Swiss chalet, such as the roof and chimney, the many doors, the stacked lumber outside, the doghouse, the outhouse on the side, the striking balconies, the goose sticking its head out through the balcony, the picked fence, the ladder going up to the barn loft, the clock inside the facade of the house, the music box cilinder in the base etc etc. This antique clock from the 1800s really comes with the most realistically carved chalet house you will ever see. To us, that too is a sign that this Black Forest music box...

A charming wooden frame that is suitable for most style artwork including prints, watercolors as well as oil on board paintings. This frame certainly captures that vintage European v...

A lovely pair of Mid-Century Dutch Delft faience candlesticks. Maker's mark on reverse. These fine candlesticks are hand painted with a floral design in the traditional Delft colors ...

A pair of cast metal Sculptures, male and female. The finish is newly painted in black. The pair are heavy and substantial, but we do not believe them to be Bronze. They do make ...

This exquisite 1950s vintage Florentine wastebasket, crafted in Italy, showcases the timeless elegance of mid-century design. Made from carved giltwood, it features an ornate floral ...

Found in Paris, a charming Limoges porcelain rectangular trinket box painted in blue with a fantastic cross hatch design on the lid. This piece would certainly be a fantastic additio...

Mid-Century Modern Period Florentine Gold Gilt and Black Painted Pedestals, circa 1950-60's Italy. Classic and versatile Florentine Mid-Century stands. These can be stand-alone state...

1920s Art Déco French Le Verre Français hand-painted frosted glass vase designed by Charder By: Chander, Le Verre Français, Schneider Material: glass, art glass, paint Technique: ca...

Stunning religious wall panel in thick relief with strong hook for easy mounting. For the collectors of stunning antique church relics we are also offering this marvelously hand carved pelican sculpture for wall mounting. The character ascribed to the pelican in this context is nearly as fabulous as that of the phœnix. From a clumsy, gluttonous, piscivorous water-bird, it was by the growth of legends transformed into a mystic emblem of Christ, whom Dante terms "Nostro Pelicano". St. Hieronymus gives the story of the pelican restoring its young ones destroyed by serpents as an illustration of the destruction of man by the old Serpent, and his salvation by the blood of Christ. The pelican in Christian art is an emblem of Jesus Christ, by "whose blood we are healed" and it is also a symbol of charity. Many early painters and carvers mistakenly represented it more similar to an eagle (much like in this antique church relic), and not as a natural pelican which is why most people today still are a bit confused at first when this stunning hand carved, symbolic bird is called a pelican. This striking and all hand carved, symbolic panel was originally part of a church or monastery communion rail...

This French 19th century banjo shaped case clock is an eye catching piece in any space. Topped by an ornately carved cornice above the dial faced door. Supported by an intricate bras...

More information coming soon… A stunning pair of French gros-relief barbotine vases from circa 1880, with gilt bronze handles and mounting. The vases have a variegated ground, rang...

Arts & Crafts Box with Decorative Hand made marquetry Decor, circa 1910 About: A wooden box from the Arts & Crafts period, Made in Austria. Very Small piece of marketery is missing...

Hand sculpted ceramic statue. Made by German artist Dieter Eichelmann in the 1980s. Totem or phallus style abstract figure sculpted from terracotta clay with Polychrome glazing. T...

An abstract kinetic sculpture with balanced parts created by Arthur Bauman. Arthur Bauman originally created this piece in 1977 as a commission for a client's home in Singapore. The...

Sculptural 18th century Italian figure of Christ and metal sword with large red and white crystal quartz clusters and phantom quartz. The figure of Christ was originally part of a c...

Beautiful pair of red and gold tole urns

Pair of 19th C. Italian Baroque style candlesticks that feature eleborate scrollwork, floral motifs, and a multi-tiered structure. Each candlestick has a wide, decorative base with ...

Early 20th century continental decorative carousel horse circa 1900. Unique continental painted merry-go-round horse circa 1900. Excellent opportunity to own this highly decorative ...

A gorgeous neoclassical green & gold tole cachepot, planter, or vase with head-painted details and brass lion heads France, Circa Early 20th Century Measures: 5.75"W x 5.75"D x 5.2...

Great grouping of gold gilt frames and 2 small trays from Italy. Can be used in a grouping as part of a gallery wall or certainly stand alone. The trays are perfect for trinkets as w...

Small 19th century original painted sarcophagus box circa 1870. Beautiful decorative box with original paint.   Sarcophagus shaped lidded box in original paint with traces of origin...

PRESENTING A STUNNING Early 19C French Gold Box with Enamel and Miniature Portrait. Box made with brass but has been plated with 18ct Gold with beau...

18th century Italian gilded and hand-carved tabernacle adorned with an 18th century Italian gilt chalice and Sabina Faye Braxton gaufrage fabric. This tabernacle once belonged in a h...

A Mid Century Chinese Export Rose Medallion Punch Bowl on Wood Stand Great vintage condition. No cracks, chips or repairs. Measures 14.125" in diameter and 8" tall on wood stand. 6.5...

Japanned steel clock face with English roses in the spandrels and center with an Arabic numeral dial. The clock face retains its original steel ha...

Early 20th century Art Déco hand-painted ceramic cosmetic powder bowl of a lady sitting over a cushion by Aladin, France By: Aladin Material: ceramic, enamel, paint Technique: molde...

A charming antique 1904 Swedish large dome top trunk shaped chocolate tin would add a beautiful Scandinavian accent to most anywhere in your house. The exterior is a stunning turquoi...

Painted French tole mushroom decoration for planters or gardens. Circa 1950s. Probably originally created as a prop for a Parisian department store window or a theater. Twenty-six in...

Antique Swedish Mora Grandfather clock with original blue painted finish. The monogram indicates this clock was likely a wedding or dowry present. Pine longcase with original folk a...

Antique Hand Painted Bisque Porcelain Mother & Child Figure in the Manner of Meissen c1920 Measures- 17.25"H x 9.25"W x 9.25"D

Explore the charm of this exquisite antique German porcelain decorative vase, adorned with intricate hand-painted floral and foliate scenes on both sides. Each detail is rendered in ...

Pair Antique Japanese Cloisonné Enamel Vases Measures 5" in width, 5" in depth and 8" in height.  

Presenting an exquisite Mid 20th Century Limoges porcelain jardiniere and stand set. This two-piece ensemble features a stunning white, pink, and green-toned planter, adorned with lu...

Beautiful polychrome porcelain crucifix from the Meissen factory, one of the oldest and most prestigious European porcelain manufacturers. The brand...

Freeform abstract wooden sculpture, hand-carved forms that are connected via dowels and mounted on a black wooden base. Each element of the sculpture relate to one another to create ...

Vintage and rare - Vintage Rosenthal Wiinblad Sheherazade Concertina Oriental Night Music Arund Vase - Rosenthal Studio Line, small vase or home decor. Designed by Bjorn Wiinlad in G...

Set of four selenite logs or ruler selenite with a white fireplace grate. Selenite logs are single, prismatic selenite crystals from Morocco that were formed in extensive beds by th...

This exquisite antique vase, crafted in the 19th century by the esteemed Royal Bonn Company in Germany, is a splendid example of fine porcelain artistry. The vase features a captivat...

This stunning Art Nouveau sculpture is a large-scale painted plaster figure of a partially draped female nude adorned with flowers and flowing drapery. Sculpted with remarkable grace...

This vintage gilt wood storage or jewelry box features one drawer and flip up top with mirror. with storage below lined in an orange velvet fabric. The box has has lots of character,...

A rare and very fine bronze corpus of Christ after a model by Michelangelo, cast ca. 1597-1600 by Juan Bautista Franconio and painted in 1600 by Francisco Pacheco in Seville, Spain. The present corpus reproduces a model attributed to Michelangelo. The best known example, lesser in quality, is one on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). The association of this corpus with Michelangelo was first brought to light by Manuel Gomez-Moreno (1930-33) who studied the wider circulated casts identified throughout Spain. The attribution to Michelangelo was subsequently followed by John Goldsmith-Phillips (1937) of the MET and again by Michelangelo expert, Charles de Tolnay (1960). While Michelangelo is best known for his monumental works, there are four documented crucifixes he made. The best known example is the large-scale wooden crucifix for the Church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito in Florence, made in 1492 as a gift for the Prior, Giovanni di Lap Bicchiellini, for allowing him to study the anatomy of corpses at the hospital there. In 1562, Michelangelo wrote two letters to his nephew, Lionardo, indicating his intention to carve a wooden crucifix for him. In 1563 a letter between Lionardo and the Italian sculptor Tiberio Calcagni, mentions this same crucifix (a sketch of a corpus on the verso of a sheet depicting Michelangelo’s designs for St. Peter’s Basillica [Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille] may reproduce this). That Michelangelo was working on small corpora in the last years of his life is further evidenced by the small (26.5 cm) unfinished wooden crucifix located at the Casa Buonarroti, considered his last known sculptural undertaking. Michelangelo’s contemporary biographer, Giorgio Vasari additionally cites that Michelangelo, in his later years, made a small crucifix for his friend, Menighella, as a gift. Surviving sketches also indicate Michelangelo’s study of this subject throughout his career, most notably during the end of his life but also during the 1530s-40s as he deepened his spiritual roots. The occasional cameo of crucified Christ’s throughout his sketched oeuvre have made it challenging for scholars to link such sketches to any documented commissions of importance. All the while, in consideration that such objects were made as gifts, it is unlikely they should be linked with commissions. Nonetheless, a number of theories concerning Michelangelo’s sketches of Christ crucified have been proposed and some may regard the origin of the present sculpture. It has been suggested that the corpus could have its impetus with Michelangelo’s work on the Medici Chapel, whose exclusive design was given to the master. It is sensible smaller details, like an altar cross, could have fallen under his responsibility (see for example British Museum, Inv. 1859,0625.552). Others have noted the possibility of an unrealized large marble Crucifixion group which never came to fruition but whose marble blocks had been measured according to a sheet at the Casa Buonarroti. A unique suggestion is that Michelangelo could have made the crucifix for Vittoria Colonna, of whom he was exceedingly fond and with whom he exchanged gifts along with mutual spiritual proclivities. In particular, Vittoria had an interest in the life of St. Bridget, whose vision of Christ closely resembles our sculpture, most notably with Christ’s proper-left leg and foot crossed over his right, an iconography that is incredibly scarce for crucifixes. The suggestion could add sense to Benedetto Varchi’s comment that Michelangelo made a sculpted “nude Christ…he gave to the most divine Marchesa of Pescara (Vittoria Colonna).” Of that same period, two sketches can be visually linked to our sculpture. Tolnay relates it to a sketch of a Crucified Christ at the Teylers Museum (Inv. A034) of which Paul Joannides comments on its quality as suggestive of preparations for a sculptural work. Joannides also calls attention to a related drawing attributed to Raffaello da Montelupo copying what is believed to be a lost sketch by Michelangelo. Its relationship with our sculpture is apparent. Montelupo, a pupil of Michelangelo’s, returned to Rome to serve him in 1541, assisting with the continued work on the tomb of Pope Julius II, suggesting again an origin for the corpus ca. 1540. The earliest firm date that can be given to the present corpus is 1574 where it appears as a rather crudely conceived Crucifixion panel, flanked by two mourners in low-relief and integrally cast for use as the bronze tabernacle door to a ciborium now located at the Church of San Lorenzo in Padula. Etched in wax residue on the back of the door is the date, 27 January 1574, indicating the corpus would have at least been available as a model by late 1573. The Padula tabernacle was completed by Michelangelo’s assistant, Jacopo del Duca and likely has its origins with Michelangelo’s uncompleted tabernacle for the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Rome. The impetus for the Padula tabernacle’s Crucifixion panel begins with a series of late Crucifixion sketches by Michelangelo, depicting a scene of Christ crucified and flanked by two mourners (see British Museum Inv. 1895.0915.510; Ashmolean Museum Inv. 1846.89, KP II 343 recto; Windsor Castle RCIN 912761 recto; and Louvre Inv. 700). A faintly traced block possibly intended for sculpting the sketch of the crucified Christ on its recto was discovered by Tolnay on a version of the composition at Windsor Castle. The Windsor sketch and those related to it appear to have served as preparatory designs for what was probably intended to become the Basilica of St. Mary’s tabernacle door. Vasari documents that the project was to be designed by Michelangelo and cast by his assistant, Jacopo del Duca. Michelangelo died before the commission was complete, though on 15 March 1565, Jacopo writes to Michelangelo’s nephew stating, “I have started making the bronze tabernacle, depending on the model of his that was in Rome, already almost half complete.” Various circumstances interrupted the completion of the tabernacle, though its concept is later revitalized by Jacopo during preparations to sell a tabernacle, after Michelangelo’s designs, to Spain for Madrid’s El Escorial almost a decade later. The El Escorial tabernacle likewise encountered problems and was aborted but Jacopo successfully sold it shortly thereafter to the Carthusians of Padula. An etched date, 30 May 1572, along the base of the Padula tabernacle indicates its framework was already cast by then. A 1573 summary of the tabernacle also describes the original format for the door and relief panels, intended to be square in dimension. However, a last minute decision to heighten them was abruptly made during Jacopo’s negotiations to sell the tabernacle to King Phillip II of Spain. Shortly thereafter the commission was aborted. Philippe Malgouyres notes that the Padula tabernacle’s final state is a mixed product of the original design intended for Spain’s El Escorial, recycling various parts that had already been cast and adding new quickly finished elements for its sale to Padula, explaining its unusually discordant quality, particularly as concerns the crudeness of the door and relief panels which were clearly made later (by January 1574). Apart from his own admission in letters to Spain, it is apparent, however, that Jacopo relied upon his deceased master’s designs while hastily realizing the Padula panels. If Michelangelo had already earlier conceived a crucifix model, and Jacopo had access to that model, its logical he could have hastily employed it for incorporation on the door panel to the tabernacle. It is worth noting some modifications he made to the model, extending Christ’s arms further up in order to fit them into the scale of the panel and further lowering his chin to his chest in order to instill physiognomic congruence. A crude panel of the Deposition also follows after Michelangelo’s late sketches and is likewise known by examples thought to be modifications by Jacopo based upon Michelangelo’s initial sculptural conception (see Malgouyres: La Deposition du Christ de Jacopo del Duca, chef-d’oeuvre posthume de Michel-Ange). Jacopo’s appropriation of an original model by Michelangelo for more than one relief on the Padula tabernacle adds further indication that the crucifix was not an object unique to Jacopo’s hand, as few scholars have posited, but rather belongs to Michelangelo’s original...

A 20th century American Folk Art hand-carved and painted wood stop sign mounted on a custom steel stand.

A magnificent and impressive sized vintage Italian hand painted lidded Fiori urn form vase. Exquisitely polychrome decorated floral, scrollwork motif, rich color, shaped top surmounted with large finial, hexagonal base, signature, elegantly aged patina over the whole. Artist signed: "M Dalla Costa...

This Victorian cast iron revolving arm plant stand is a striking example of antique craftsmanship and enduring design, seamlessly blending functionality with ornate visual appeal. Fe...

During the 17th through 19th centuries, highly skilled artisans in Savona, Italy, produced beautiful tin-glazed earthenware known as maiolica (majolica). These blue and white lidded vases with serpentine handles, from circa 1800, are such an example. Early Savona offerings were painted cobalt blue on a white background, as seen on these vases. Because the scenes depicted on the main bodies are distinct, they are considered a near pair, although their dimensions do not vary. Both illustrations contain country houses surrounded by tall trees and fronted by vegetation emerging from rocky terrain. In each scene, people can be seen in front of the houses, with one having two citizens and the other having four. One of the renderings is bordered by roundels at the top and by a leafy vine at the bottom; the other vase does not have any surrounding motifs. The sides opposite the pastoral images are distinct as well: the one with the borders has curled vines surrounding the Savona Lighthouse (a production mark of studios from this region), while the other vase has the lighthouse above a pair of small foliate margents. Both vases have domed, removable lids with a conical finial emerging from a painted sunburst. Curled leaves have been painted along the circumference above a solid blue ring. The two curvaceous handles are each comprised of a pair of snakes bound with a ribbon. Our blue and white lidded Savona vases...

A pretty ceramic sea shell dish in gold and cream. This piece is made of ceramic, and would be fabulous for use as a change dish, trinket dish on a coffee table, or for jewelry on a ...

About This is an original rare cast iron elephant bottle opener manufactured by the Hubley Manufacturing Company in Lancaster Pennsylvania USA. The piece has retained its original...

Mid-20th Century Neoclassical Revival urn vase with faux-painted marble banded wood base featuring a Roman scene in bas relief. Decorative use only.

A truly extraordinary and evocative object: an 18th century hand-carved wooden skull, richly hand-painted and inscribed with the date 1769. This rare Memento Mori was created as a me...

Vintage Painted and Gilt Florentine Box. The top with a hand painted floral decoration.

A vintage CinZano vermouth ashtray or catchall. This dish is triangular in shape and created from crisp white ceramic. There are three sides, and each side is labeled with CinZano Ve...