Engraved Nautilus shell - Netherlands, 18th century

18th century Grand Tour Cinerarium Limestone, inlaid with Roman marble fragments and fresco's Annotation of finding spot indistinctively written on the fragments ("forum trajan","for...

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...

A terracotta bust "Ecce Homo" Florence, 15th century 53 x 44 x 31 cm

Gothic canopy France, 15th century Alabaster, some traces of polychromy 33 x 23 x 20 cm Provenance: - Private collection Genève, Switzerland ...

Mid century sculpture crafted in oak and ash woods with striking precision creating a mind blowing double sided nautilus seashell. Presented on a lucite base.

An impressive and most attractive Italian early 18th century Baroque Period patinated Wood and Giltwood Conch Shell architectural element. This most decorative carved Giltwood Conch ...

Marble nautilus shell sculpture, signed.

A rare pair of 18th Century Dutch Delft cows, blue and white, made in the De Twee Scheepjes (The Two Little Ships) factory, circa 1780. 24 cm (9 inches) lo...