16th Century Decorative Objects

Beautiful weathered oak winged angel head Renaissance ornament. France, 16/ 17th century. Weathered Measurements include the wooden pedestal.

A Rare 16th-Century Ko-Bizen Stoneware Jar: A Masterpiece of Muromachi-Period Art This exceptional stoneware jar dates back to the late Muromachi period (16th century), a golden era...

This piece is an old Tokoname ware jar produced in the Tokoname region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is believed to date from the Momoyama period to the early Edo period (late 16th ...

This Bizen ware jar was fired in the Bizen region of Okayama Prefecture. Bizen ware is one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns and is known as one of the oldest pottery styles in Japan. Its...

A rare German late Gothic brass candlestick (Spulenleuchter), dating to around 1500. This finely crafted piece features a broad circular base with a gently sloping profile, supportin...

An extraordinarily rare and visually striking 16th-century Venetian iron treasure coffer, showcasing the height of Renaissance artistry and engineering. Crafted in the early to mid-1...

This piece is an Iga ware jar fired around the 16th century, during the late Muromachi period to the Momoyama period. Iga ware is pottery produced in the Iga region of Mie Prefectur...

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...

This rare Venetian frame entirely carved in high-relief shows a rich decor of scrolls, garlands, daisy flowers and thistles. At the four corners of the frame are depicted large acant...

16th Century Spanish Terracotta Vase Hand made marks around the vase.

The soft, matte texture and eroded wear of this petite porcelain box suggest it spent many years submerged in saltwater, likely excavated from a sunken trade ship carrying Chinese ce...

Great pair of very old wrought iron candleholders. Unique pieces, Spain circa 1500-1700. Weathered. H:68-78cm W:19-23cm

16th century, Bottega degli Embriachi, Venice or Florence Little Toilet Bone and wood, 14 x 12 cm Shellac on the base This box set is a classic example of the work of the renowne...

An extraordinary and exceptional 16th century Statue of Saint Francis of Xavier (1506 - 1552). Magnificently carved from wood with traces of the original polychromed finish. The st...

This centuries-old ceramic vessel from Thailand is an excellent specimen of a salvaged ceramic jar from a shipwreck during in the Ming gap period. This antique jar from Thailand, circa early to mid 16th century, stands just over 20 inches in height and has a rounded body, with a thickly rounded top lip, and set of four loop-hole projections arising from the shoulders (which would have been used to secure a lid at top). There is a fabulous texture about the jar, from the centuries of being submerged underwater, which has encrusted it with barnacles and tales of sea-life. Should you wish to have a collection of these Ming gap jars...

The eroded surface of this petite, Ming-dynasty medicine jar tells a story of trade, tradition and lost treasure. A matte texture and traces of marine life suggest the jar spent many...

Rare Venetian 16th century Italian traveling jewelry chest profusely decorated in Arabesque black and gilt decoration featuring rare specimen stone drawer fronts in a Palladian archi...

The soft, matte texture and eroded wear of this petite porcelain box suggest it spent many years submerged in saltwater, likely excavated from a sunken trade ship carrying Chinese ce...

The soft, matte texture and eroded wear of this petite porcelain box suggest it spent many years submerged in saltwater, likely excavated from a sunken trade ship carrying Chinese ce...

Very good pair of 16th century Italian bronze candlesticks of unusually bold design, turned balustrade form and good scale. One pricket lacking.      

An absolutely stunning Bizen ware stoneware vase/jar/vessel - produced sometime during the late Momoyama period (1568-1600) / Early Edo Period (1603-1867). Bizen yaki...

Set of two 16th century oak panels, one representing a character accompanied by a dog, the other a character in flames, probably saints. These ...

This hand carved Chinese wooden horse is a type of centuries-old burial figurine known as míngqì. Depicting the pleasures of daily life, míngqì f...

Paolo di Giovanni Sogliani (Florence 1455-1522) Processional Cross Florence, around 1515 Enameled, chiseled, engraved, stippled, and gilded copper; wooden core ; Inscription: "OPA...

An antique Cotswold limestone corbel of a medieval English King, salvaged from the base of an archway in a period building in Oxfordshire. This fragment of stone is an impressive ha...

The carvings of this marble stemma cartouche dates to the 1500’s. Hand-carved in Tuscany, Italy, the marble was mounted onto a geometrically shaped iron stand within the last century...

16th century German hand carved painted wood St. Sebastian.

Beautiful weathered wooden panel with an wonderful primitive angel figure and garlands. Original paint and gilding. Spain, circa 1550-1650, weathered, small losses and old repairs M...

Antique Ovoid Jar from Ming Dynasty, China. Large jar with textures and a russet glaze (brown). Top part has light yellow glaze and body has black specks or pigments.

A fine and unusual Japanese black lacquer and mother of pearl inlaid box, Momoyama Period, 16th century, Japan. The large box and cover featu...

An exceptionally rare antique German Renaissance carving by Stephan Rottaler (1581-1533), Bavaria circa 1500. The carving is by Stephan Rottaler, Landshut, Germany, an architect who ...

A 445-year-old late medieval 16th century heraldic encaustic tile of Flemish origin (unmarked). Made from terracotta and glazed, this 6-inch antique tile is an excellent collector’s ...

A striking pair of large Chinese glazed and painted pottery figures, Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), circa 16th century, China. The impressive and realistically modeled figures each portrayed standing upright upon a sancai (three color) glazed pedestal of kang table form. The man is dressed in a short black surcoat over a long robe and pants, a smart cap upon his head. His face is warm and welcoming, with wide eyes and a slight smile on his lips. He holds his hands out in front of him, palms up, almost as if shrugging, though presumably originally holding an object or offering, now lost. The woman of slightly smaller stature, and dressed in a longer surcoat over a long robe and skirt. She wears a fitted cap upon her head. Her hands also held out in front, grasping long lost objects. Her face is slightly more severe, with a somewhat pinched look, and slight frown upon her lips. The size of these figures is remarkable, as is the realism and attention to detail, almost as if they were modeled after real people, as opposed to the more common and generic Ming Dynasty pottery...

Mary Magdalene in Polychromed Carved Walnut 16th Century Devotional figure in carved wood, depicting Mary Magdalene. Walnut, most probably Flemish and from the 16th century. It de...

A stunning pair of 16th century stylophore lions, cast and gilt bronze figurative sculptures from Germany, Nuremberg. The Stylophore Lions were figurative sculpture used in the Re...

Magnificent and Monumental 16th Century Renaissance Carved Oak Bust of Christ, Flemish Netherlandish, C. 1550 A powerful and deeply expressive Renaissance carved oak bust of Jesus C...

SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA ORIGIN : SWABIA, ULM REGION PERIOD : ca. 1510-1520 Height : 118 cm Length : 39 cm Depth : 17 cm Limewood...

16th Century Spanish Terracotta Vase Hand made marks around the vase.

A large 16th-century hand-carved wooden fragment depicting a kneeling angel in adoration, arms extended and wearing a gentle, serene expression. Likely of Northern European origin, t...

Papal Tiara (triregnum) fragment Italian (Papal States), circa 16th - 17th century White marble 20 cm wide 26 cm high 20 cm deep This fragmentary 16th / 17th century papal tiara w...

This is a Shigaraki ware jar made in Japan during the late Muromachi period (around the 16th century). Shigaraki ware is known as one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan and has been ...

Renaissance period painted and giltwood candle holder or pricket - featuring four elaborately hand carved winged cherubs beneath an octogonal platform with the original hand forged i...

16th C. Hand Carved Capital Stone Base Architectural Element Sculpture Pedestal. Very rare 16th Century Renaissance corner Capital . Hand carved limestone Chapiteau Capital from a Cloister in France . From an ornamental point of view , it is the coronation , the upper part of a post or a column or pilaster pillar . A beautiful Architectural element garden ornament . It can used as a Base for a coffee glass table , or as a side table for drinks or to mount books. A stunning Fragments to be used as stand for a sculpture . Use it as a pedestal or as a mounted decorative object. In an entryway a bathroom a living room , in an office , it will create an incredible focal point . It can make a beautiful base for a floor lamp by a leather reading chair...

Important and refined oval polychrome stucco depicting the Madonna and Child. The mother and child are held in a tender embrace, and in addition to the Madonna's typical robes, two h...

These beautiful wall candle holders come from a private castle that was decorated in the style of the Gdansk Baroque. The candlesticks were bought in the 1960s in a Gdansk candlestic...

Exceptional polychrome wood low-relief depicting a werewolf and saint george after a woodcut by lucas cranach (“DER WERWOLF” 1512) Provenance : collection Brimo de Laroussihle colle...

This is a fired jar made in southern China or northern Laos or the surrounding area in the 15th to 17th century. Its unique shape has long been loved in Japan as a wabi-sabi flower v...

16th century Vietnamese Animist ceramic vase. Beautiful and abundant fossil growth from being submerged under water. Natural original patina. Part of a very large collection of shipw...

A very handsome 16th century Vasque or vessel from the Catalan region of Spain. Hand-carved with one whole to a side. An very wonderful piece to serve as a jardinière or planter. Ver...

A magnificent antique fall-front box with scarce Medieval period bronze lockplate and hasp attributed to Jacopo and Lodovico del Duca. Featuring an important Lockplate and Hasp designed circa 1570, exact date of manufacture unknown, attributed to the late 16th century Roman foundry of Jacopo 1520-1604) and Ludovico (1551-1601) del Duca, with no apparent signatures or hallmarks which is typical of the era, but we did not remove it and inspect the back. Boxes such as this hand various uses but were frequently used by merchants as a writing box - slope during travel and trade, as a small coffer - strong box for storing important documents, money and valuables, as well as a jewelry casket. This hand-crafted European drop-front box dates to the late 19th century, signed L'PUPLET, adorned with a significantly older Italian fine quality cast bronze lockplate with intricate Renaissance era reliefs, including figures, coat-of-arms, and elongated hasp, mounted on a chest of drawers form solid wooden case, wrapped in exotic Japanesque embossed and gilded metallic paper, having a locking fall-front panel with original key included, opening to reveal three interior drawers, all lined in red velvet. circa 1875 The visually striking textured wallpaper covering the box's exterior displays bamboo, birds, and flowers in the oriental Japanesque taste popular in Europe in the 1860s and 1870s following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858 and the ensuing Japonisme craze. To the interior of the fall front panel is a gilt circular stamp with the somewhat obscured name of the workshop or store (likely) "L'PUPLET" and the city "Burxelles" which is in Brussels, indicating the box was likely made or retailed there. Marks to box: L'PUPLET, BRUXELLES Inscription: 13, 14, 15 (Interior drawers inscribed on the verso of their backboards in script from top to bottom, respectively) Provenance / Acquisition: The origin of the elaborate lockplate with hasp on the front of the piece is more intriguing. At least 76 lockplates of this design have been recorded in major museums, private collections, and in the antiques trade across the Western World. For example, lockplates of this pattern are in the collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the State Museum of Prussian Cultural Heritage in Berlin, the Museum Cicico in Bologna, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museo di Palazzo Venezia in Rome, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.[1] Specialists in Renaissance bronzes, especially Charles Avery...

A wonderful example of a 16th Century Sawankhalok jar from a Shipwreck off the Coast of the Indonesian Island of Batam. Batam was one of the most substantial and influential ports in...

This petite ceramic vessel is a Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) bottle originally used for storing cooking oil or condiments. Dated to the 15th/16th century, the bottle has a gracefully cur...

Unique and wonderful folk art coat of arms, Depicting a eagle holding a rabbit, two crosses and two castle's and on the top a grotesque head. This beautiful period piece is made out ...

A 445-year-old late medieval 16th century encaustic tile of Flemish origin (unmarked), detailed with a rampant lion. Made from terracotta and glazed, this 6-inch antique tile is an e...

400-600 year old sandstone figure of a "Demon" carved in deep relief. In good original condition with a natural age-related patina that emphasizes the figure's age and authenticity. ...

Pair of massive Gothic style brass candelabra of impressive size. Can be electrified or used to hold large pillar candles.

Impressive wrought iron tabletop safe with engraved decoration and original patina. This type of safe was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries to hold valuables, alms, or doc...

Warped by fire and eroded by time, this ceramic storage jar from Yunnan province is a testament to the wabi-sabi beauty of provincial Chinese pottery. Dated to the 15th/16th century,...

A Korean ceramic bottle-form vase circa 16th century Joseon Dynasty. It was likely intended as a wine bottle, the pear-shaped vessel with flaring neck feature a celadon glaze exterio...

Saint Anthony with the Child Jesus. Wood. Mechelen School, 16th century. Sculpture in carved wood worked, as was usual in that center, on the front because it was designed to be pla...