19th Century Animal Sculptures

Unique and highly decorative, work of art coat rack. When we find an antique that is this good in terms of its design AND in terms of the quality of the workmanship then the first thing we do is to look for a signature. And we were really (and pleasantly) surprised to find the signature of MJ Slager in the far right, bottom corner. Only once before have we seen and owned and sold another stunning antique by this highly skilled artist. And when you realize that there have never been any other pieces of this artist available on the internet anywhere (apart from the stunning folding screen that we sold via 1stdibs and that you can see in image 19 of this listing) then you will understand how special it was for us that this coat rack by MJ Slager too landed on our path. Thinking of the odds of this happening, we can only describe it as a blessing. Like we described in that previous listing: when you look at the beauty, the detail and the overal workmanship it is unbelievable that such a skilled artist did not go on and have a bigger career. As more often has been the case here in Holland, maybe the first world war had something to do with it. So this antique coat rack is unique for more reasons than one, but one of them is the design. Antique corner coat racks...

One of a kind coat-rack with hand carved oakwood deer heads. With hand carved items being one of our favourite, we are always thrilled to find rare hand carved antiques. Especially ...

A very rare and unusual antique Royal Worcester majolica pottery figure of a camel and howdah by renowned potter James Hadley (British, 1837-1903) and dated 22nd June 1870. James H...

Arts and Crafts Leather Model of a Horse This is a rare and beautiful find, it was probably made for Liberty but the label is no longer attached This handsome beast is free standin...

Superb bronze animal group with brown patina representing two dogs, a greyhound and a King - Charles , by Pierre - Jules Mêne . Signature of the sculptor "P.J.MÊNE" on the naturalist...

A rare and important pair of stoneware grotesque amphibious creature andirons by Robert Wallace Martin for Martin Brothers dating from the mid 1870’s. The heavily made andirons portray two grotesque amphibious creatures crouching on their hind limbs and bound back to back by a blue band. The creatures stand on a large rectangular stepped plinth base and are decorated in shades of ochre and blue, one slightly darker glazed than the other. Both have incised makers marks the edge of the plinth bases. Provenance: Acquired directly from a private US Collection. For a similar pair, see Bonhams, Decorative Arts from 1960, 26th November 2013. Lot 3. This pair of unrecorded figural andirons, are amongst the most unusual pieces of Martinware and are believed to have been completed as a private commission during the mid-1870s. These scarce and curious objects foreshadow the inception of the iconic ‘Wally Bird...

Wonderful and large original antique sculpture of a beautiful chimpanzee / ape. Over the years we have owned and sold a fair number of beautiful ...