16th Century Decorative Objects

This medium-sized Echizen ware jar, a representative example of ancient Japanese pottery, is believed to have been produced during the late Muromachi period to the Azuchi-Momoyama pe...

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

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...

It is "Shigaraki ware". Shigaraki is a historical kiln located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. (Shigaraki Kiln is marked with a red circle on the map.) It is said to have originated in t...

This is a small black-glazed jar made in Korea between the 15th and 16th centuries. White porcelain is famous in Korea, but this was a type of porcelain that was only allowed to be u...

This Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) storage jar is attributed to the kilns of Yunnan province, loosely decorated with cobalt underglaze in a manner typical of the region. Dated to the 15th...

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 delicate ceramic bottle is a Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) vessel originally used for serving rice wine or spirits. The gracefully curved form is known as a yuhuchunping, or pear-sha...

A wonderful 16th century draped female torso in classical style. Made in France under Italian Renaissance influence this female torso is finely sculpted with great detail to the stol...

It is a very old jar in Japan. This is a pottery called Tokoname ware. Tokoname is a kiln located in Aichi prefecture, Japan. It is said to have originated around the 12th century. A...

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 lovely carved sandstone torso of the Buddha, Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), Thailand. Wonderfully simplistic, the only ornamentation this torso displays...

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...

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,...

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 ceramic ex...

16th century Thailand Sawankhalok ceramic vase from the old city of Sawankhalok known for its pottery. Beautiful and abundant fossil growth from being submerged under water. Natural ...

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...

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

Carved wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene, circa 1500. Large limewood sculpture with traces of polychromy representing Mary Magdalene, German work, circa 1500. H: 80cm. W: 35cm, D: ...

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

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 ceramic ex...

Hostiary. Bronze. 16th century. A circular, tubular bronze box with a finial lid, to which a piece of tubing is attached, forming a press for the interior of the case. It features a...

A fine and large Chinese brown ochre glazed stoneware storage jar, commonly known as a Martaban or Martavan jar, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. The elegant ovoid jar with a slen...

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

Religious sculpture representing the nativity, carved wood from the 16th century. Carved wood sculpture, walnut wood and oak wood base, sculpture representing the nativity, circa 16...

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...

Ming Dynasty (16th century) pottery vase with vivid turquoise glaze, decorated with dragons. The vase is partially moulded, with circular bosses around the mouth rim and a hexagonal ...

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

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...

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 ceramic ex...

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 ceramic ex...

Large high relief in carved and gilt wood, with many traces of polychromy, representing the Adoration of the Shepherds. The evangelist Luke first mentions that the scene takes place at night. A sudden light, which frightens the shepherds, signals the arrival of an angel who announces "great joy". He gives them a sign: they will find "a newborn baby wrapped...

Very rare Ming dynasty porcelain ewer with ottoman gem-set tombak mounts Chinese and Turkish, 16th/17th century Measures: Tombak: height 20cm,...

Beautiful in its imperfection, this ceramic storage jar from Yunnan province has a crawled glaze finish that reveals the maker's hand. Dated to the 15th/16th century, the sculptural ...

Christ crucified in silver 16th Century Italian school Measure: height: 40cm. very good condition.

An Unusual and Rare English ‘Memento Mori’ Carved Shrine with Two Human Skulls to the underside, a carved ‘Dragonfly’ Marble 16th / 17th Century England Size: 36cm high, 28cm w...

French Bronze Sculpture of Youth Wrangling a Horse by Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746). Best known for his monumental statues of horses, Coustou was the royal sculptor for Louis XIV an...

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 ...

⁠It's 17th century chinese porcelain, Ming period, made for the Japanese market. This unusual Kosumetsuke Koro would have been used for incense that is added to the charcoal fire dur...

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...

Elegant solid walnut small box, entirely hand-carved. The rectangular chest features an opening top, ideal for storing objects. The front, back, and sides are decorated with geometri...

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...

Amazing 16th Century Castilian Virgin of Sorrows with an 18th-century Silver Crown, Virgin of Peñaranda Exceptional 16th-century Castilian school Virgin of Sorrows of Peñaranda, car...

A pair of Ming dynasty sancai blue glazed pottery figures. Circa 1500 AD Ming Dynasty I have owned over 250 ming tomb figures including over 80...

Lovely decorated piece. A rare type with landscape China Jingdezhen kilns Ming Dynastie, Jiajing or Wanli Reign Provenance: – Private collection Netherlands Additional information: ...

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

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...

A Pair of Chinese Enameled Sancai Glazed Pottery Attendant Figures Representing Dignitaries. Ming Dynasty Period. Circa 1600AD Dimensions; 23 x 5.5 x 5.25 inches (58.4 x 13.7 x 13.3 ...

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 ceramic ex...

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...

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 ceramic ex...

This Ming-dynasty (1368-1644) bowl is attributed to the kilns of Yunnan province, painted in dark cobalt underglaze with floral motifs and sweeping brushstrokes. Dated to the 15th/16...

Marked Qian Long Dynasty. Large decorative painted bowl. Constructed from high quality, high temperature fired Chinese porcelain. Features hand applied images of an Asian courtyard s...

In Medieval Europe and even more during the early 16th century fantastic beasts could be found in Bestiaries, a literary genre close to poetry. A bestiary used the characteristics of...

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...

A striking Japanese late Muromachi Period (1333-1573) lacquered and giltwood figure of Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha, seated upon an elaborate car...

16th century China Ming Dynasty hand painted porcelain plate on stand. Dragon motif. Two available and sold individually. S7086 7.5" diameter x 11.5" height S7087 7" diameter x 13" h...

The monk is depicted with an oval face, marked with high and strong cheekbones, sunken cheeks, strong jawbones and a cleft chin. His almond shaped eyes are opened under very strong a...

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