17th Century Italian Hand-Carved and Gilded Crown with Himalayan Diamonds

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...

17th century Italian candlestick with aquamarine. The candlestick is from originally from a church in Florence. It hand-carved and hand-painted with hints of pale greenish-hues showi...

18th century Italian gilded hand-carved fragment crest mounted on a golden, polished hematoid slab and adorned with baroque pearls. The gilded fragment was originally from a historic...

Pair of 17th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' bases from Tuscany topped with polished ammonites and adorned with citron crystal quartz points. These fragments are from a church in...

17th c. Italian Carved Walnut Female Figure on original Giltwood base. The sculpture is 2 pieces. The base measurement is 2.5 inches H and 8.5 inches L.

A wonderful and charming Italian 17th century patinated wood carved statue of an angel. The captivating angel is raised by a circular base and dress...

A gorgeous and refined Burmese crowned and adorned seated bronze Buddha, Kingdom of Arakan, Mrauk-U period, 17th century. The Buddha is portrayed seated in vajrasana upon a high double lotus pedestal, hands in dhyana mudra, a ritual vessel resting in his upturned palms. He is festooned with jewelry – armlets, bracelets, anklets, a double necklace, a jeweled belt, and large earrings. His hair done up in a high chignon, covering the ushnisha, and topped by a stupa shaped finial. The Buddha wears a large five pointed crown tied with ribbons that flare dramatically behind either ear, and a thin scarf...

Cerberus Black painted stone Italy, 17th century Measures: 80 x 69 x 36cm (one head missing) Cerberus, cruel monster, fierce and strange, Through his wide threefold throat barks as a dog Over the multitude immers'd beneath. His eyes glare crimson, black his unctuous beard, His belly large, and claw'd the hands, with which He tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs Piecemeal disparts (Dante, Inferno, Canto VI). Cerberus figure seated, in his role of ferocious guardian of the underworld; he shows a nervous musculature, an adherent skin which reveals the ribs, long and robust limbs; his heads are broad and the eyes set well apart. Painted in black to amplify his menacing look, the infernal guardian is depicted with his famous attributes, writhing his heads, growling and barking furiously. Cerberus, in Greek mythology, was the monstrous watchdog of the underworld – also known as the “hound of Hades” – preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Only on three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades: Heracles did it with his strength, Orpheus with his music. In "The Inferno", Dante places Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was synonymous with the sin of Gluttony. Virgil gets past the monster by throwing mud in his three mouths, temporarily choking him. Very rare are the representations of Cerberus in ancient statuary...