Renaissance Decorative Objects

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...

A pair of replica stone lions that were originally created by Antonio Canova (1757-1822). The renowned Italian artist, created the originals of these lions as a part of the monumenta...

Italian Alabaster Figure of the Medici Lion Late 19th century Italian carved alabaster 'Grand Tour' souvenir sculpture, after the antique, "The Medici Lion". Carved alabaster mode...

Bronze male sculpture signed. Fonderia Giorgio Sommer Calabritto Napoli Thomas, sculptor, lived and worked in the Naples area, and especially on Capri, from 1889 to 1906. Given this ...

This is a pair of mid-century vintage Italian hand painted pottery urns with lids. This pair of urns have beautiful hand sculpted handles on either side with sculpted leaves and my...

Majolica amphora made and painted by hand, following the original Renaissance painting technique. This sumptuous vase is characterized by the elegant presence of naturalistic ornamen...

19th century Large Maiolica Tin-Glazed Wall Plate with Frolicking Cherubim Probably Cantagalli family workshop Florence, Italy; 19th century Tin-glazed baked clay Approximate size:...

Tall Baluster Ceramic Vase by Faïencerie de Gien, France, 1970s – Hand-Painted Majolica A tall and impressive baluster-form ceramic vase by the celebrated Faïencerie de Gien, France...

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 exceptional 15th-century Venetian painted casket is a rare example of early decorative art from the late Medieval to early Renaissance period in the Republic of Venice, Italy. H...

Middle age Gothic European Renaissance style for the jewelry box in steel with golden parts. We recognize middle age figures all around and on the top of the box and the renaissance architectural...

Red coral branch embellished with natural emeralds mounted on a 19th-Century French white bronze fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to your collection or cabinet. During ...

Renaissance bronze medallion made by Master IOFF in the mid 15th century, showing the mythological scene of Ariadne on Naxos. Made in the mid-15th ...

19th century Italian frame in Renaissance style wood marquetry. 19th century Italian Renaissance style wood marquetry frame. Frame: H: 25.5cm, W: 20cm, D: 1cm Interior view: H: 14,8...

Italian Renaissance style wrought iron floor standing candle pricket on 3 legs.

Antique Lusterweibchen Depicting Lucretia, Germany 1900 An impressive antique chandelier depicting Saint Lucretia, the Roman heroine who turns the dagger against herself and commits...

Antique Emmanuel Villanis "Saida" Pewter Clad Small Female Bust Sculpture Statue on Marble Base. Circa Early 20th Century. Measurements: 11" H x 7" W x 5" D.

Pair of Renaissance Alabaster Columns Attributed to Cornelis Floris de Vriendt Flemish, Mid-16th Century 
Alabaster 
H: 27 cm; D: 10 cm This refined pair of all’antica alabaster col...

Inkwell Calamelli workshop (attr.). Faenza, second half of the 16th century Height 4.33 in; length 8.07 in; depth 2.95 in (11 cm; 20.5 cm; 7.5 cm) Weight: 0.800 lb (363 g) State of conservation: some chipping to the top of the mask around the mouth. Handle glued, without any restorations; minor chips in some raised areas. This object has the shape of a foot wearing Greek-style footwear, as can be seen in some raised areas. The foot is anatomically modeled with bare toes, while the ankle is partially covered by the footwear. On the heel, there is a small circular handle to support the object. The mouth of the container is shaped like a mask. The interior, completely enameled, suggests that the piece was intended to be used as an inkwell or to contain some other liquid. The base, however, is not enamelled. The painted decoration, scant and brief, consists of rapid cobalt blue shading between the toes of the foot, with more precise emphasis on the nails. It is accompanied by yellow citrine accents to enhance the forms. The mask is painted with the tip of the brush, to accentuate the tense nature of the eyes and to accentuate their outline. Thin strokes of yellow-orange line the interior of the mouth. Since the Renaissance, this decoration has been referred to as "compendiaria" and it characterizes the period of production extending from the mid-16th century to approximately the middle of the following century. It significantly influenced tastes at the time. It evolved from the polychrome style "istoriato" and transformed into a new style that "summarized" (compendia), or condensed, the ornamentation of the works into a few colors, placing greater prominence on the shapes. It was often inspired by metal specimens. Since the Renaissance, this decoration has been referred to as "compendiaria" and it characterizes the period of production extending from the mid-16th century to approximately the middle of the following century. It significantly influenced tastes at the time. It evolved from the polychrome style "istoriato" and transformed into a new style that "summarized" (compendia), or condensed, the ornamentation of the works into a few colors, placing greater prominence on the shapes. It was often inspired by metal specimens. This artwork finds parallels in similar objects all characterized by this refined style and produced in the city of Faenza and other Italian centers starting from the mid-16th century. The closest comparable example in majolica is a foot acquired by the British Museum in 2011 (inv. 2011, 8008.1). This was previously published by Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti in 1996 and later by Dora Thornton in 2016 during the conference on Renaissance ceramics...

Big Majolica vase Ginori Italy, 1850-1890 Very good codiction Difetto di cottura sotto la base (vedere fotografia)

A Very Rare and Important Marble Relief of the ‘Resurrection of Christ’ Attributed to the Master of the Mascoli Altar Marble Venice, Italy Second half of the 15th Century SIZE: ...

17th Century Italian Ebonized Inlaid Milanese Table Cabinet. Cabinet is an exceptional rectangular box-form cabinet veneered in richly toned ebony and rosewood, lavishly inlaid with ...

Pair of gothic revival carved cherubs circa 1970. Good quality pair of hardwood cherubs which are coloured to match walnut. Each figure seated on a plinth base of carved rock, tree...

A Lovely Pair of Medici Bronze Lions Lovely Patina and Definition C20th

This large Italian faience tulip vase is conceived in a three-tiered architectural form with a total of nineteen openings for the display of flowers, arranged as six openings on each...

Antique (late 19th to early 20th century) patinated bronze sculptures of Mercury and Fortuna after the original models by Giambologna (1529-1608), aka Giovanni da Bologna (Italian) a...

Antique Lusterweibchen of a Patrician Lady, Germany 1900 A finely hand-carved and polychrome painted wooden Lüsterweibchen depicting a seated patrician lady. She wears a green long-...

These Renaissance style antique French patinated bronze ewers depict very busy and mischievous Bacchanalian putti at play. A cherub sits atop the handle holding an item in his hands....

A rare enamel, gold and rock crystal figure of Emperor Maximilian I by Reinhold Vasters, Aachen, In the Renaissance style, circa 1870. The g...

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 lovely vase, crafted in the Italian Renaissance style, was meticulously painted by an artist, and it's in excellent condition. The motifs are absolutely stunning, and they show ...

A very finely cast late 19 century Grand Tour bronze replica of the renowned statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni on horseback set on a verde antico marble base after the life sized bronze statue by the Renaissance sculptor Andrea Del Verrocchio...

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...

Vintage 1970s Franklin Mint 1976 Baccarat France Julius Caesar Purple Sulphide Glass Paperweight with Original Box. Circa Late 20th Century. Measurements: Box: 2.5" H x 4.25" W x 4.2...

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

Black coral sea fan embellished with tourmaline and a showy quartz druzy shell specimen mounted on a 19th-Century French bronze doré fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to ...

Red coral branch mounted on a 19th-Century French bronze doré fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to your collection or cabinet. During the Renaissance, Cabinets of Art an...

An extremely rare, so-called, Rotterdammer tile, with the decoration of a sailboat. Country: The Netherlands Place: Rotterdam Date: circa 1615 - 1620 Workshop: Claes Wijtmans This tile comes from one of the most rare and sought after tile series...

Indo-Portuguese sculpture "Lady Conception" 17th century, H 147cm. Our Lady Conception Indo-Portuguese teak wood carving from the 17th century. Upholstered and polychrome . T he ...

Italian Renaissance style (19th Century -German) small brass box having putti and tendrils in heavily reliefed design (Maker\'s mark: Erhard and Sohne)

A handsome Continental rectangular iron-bound bullion (or strong) box or coffer chest of patinated walnut from the Renaissance 17th century, featuring a paneled exterior with decorat...

18th Century Italian Majolica Albarello Pharmacy Jar. Jar is in a cylindrical shape with flared rim and foot. Jar features blue and white pattern with the word "Charitas" in an oval ...

By IN Ceramique Handmade White Ceramic Vase The DAL model with motifs based on abstract paintings that are applied to the vase before its first firing, by using a 'dripping' techni...

An important early antique Italian Renaissance table box, handcrafted in Northern Italy in the 17th/18th century, cassone chest form, richly inlaid, the top and front panel with fruitwood banding framing...

Jacques Bergé "King David" - Terracotta or Fired Clay with Polychrome Remnants Dated 1736 14.5" h x 5.5" w x 4.5" d A rare and exceptionally refined terracotta sculpture of *King ...

This large, gilt bronze wall clock is a magnificent and highly unusual piece. At the centre of the design is a circular enamel dial, with Arabic...

Hand-carved Italian Corpus Christi with traces of polychromy. This sculpture reflects the transition from Gothic to Renaissance style.

Antique Tiffany & Co number 2114 bronze sculpture portraying a scene from Quentin Durward. Written by Walter Scott and published in 1823, Quentin Durward is the story of a young Scot...

An 18th Century carved & polychromed Saint, various old repairs & losses, but truly great original surface! 42 1/2"h. We are a family business that has been a major source f...

These two busts, monumental in both their size and artistry, come from the renowned Italian majolica workshop of the famed Angelo Minghetti. Depicted are the Renaissance political an...

Chest. Carved wood, metal. Spanish school, 16th century. Rectangular casket with a flat lid decorated on the outside with a series of figurative reliefs in a symmetrical arrangemen...

Fantastic reproduction of the famous saltcellar of Benvenuto Cellini, symbol of the world goldsmith's art. The master goldsmith made only very few copies of this wonderful object that makes it a unique piece in the world. 6.641 grams of solid silver. Some information on the original piece by Benvenuto Cellini: The Cellini Salt...

Black coral sea fan embellished with natural quartz mounted on a 19th-Century French Napoleon III bronze doré fragment. This is a lovely objet d'art to add to your collection or cabi...

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...

Cercle of Juan Martinez Montañés (1568-1649) Infant St John the Baptist Spanish, 17th century H 74 cm Saint John the Baptist is here represented naked, sitting on a rock, with...

Impressive realistic plaster statue of a muscular nude male that sits on top of a square block base. The elegant design shows intricate detail and qualit...

Elegant bronze mortar from the 17 century from Italy dated 1630. Really rare mortar due to his big size. In very good condition and beautiful patina.

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...

Antique French Renaissance Don Juan & Don Cesar Spelter Metal "Cavaliers" Sculptures - 2 Pcs. Circa Late 19th Century. Measurements: 21" H x 8" W x 6" D.

Elegant 19th century French centerpiece, finely cast in bronze with gilt patina, featuring a putto holding a beautifully cut crystal dish. The richly decorated base shows intricate s...