Collectibles and Curiosities
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Collectibles and Curiosities For Sale
A Dutch Architectural Bird Cage, 19th Century
Located in ARMADALE, VIC
A Dutch Architectural Bird Cage, 19th Century
Provenance: Private Australian Collection.
Description:
The birdcage comprising two levels, the upper floor with a trefoil gallery sur...
Category
19th Century Dutch Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
Antique Walnut & Oak Church Railing
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This stunning antique architectural piece is a conversation starter in any space! Originally it would have served as an altar rail at the front of a church....
Category
20th Century French Other Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Oak, Walnut
Set of FIVE Silhouette Miniatures All Hand Painted by Dorothy Turton RMS, 20thC
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
A fine collection of Five original silhouette portrait miniatures by the Miniaturist painter Dorothy Turton ( 1900 to 1990s). These are all hand painted...
Category
20th Century English Georgian Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
BR Western Highlands Original Vintage Travel Poster by Edward Halliday, 1950
Located in Devon, GB
Produced for British Railways to promote rail travel to the Scottish Highlands, this scarce British quad royal travel poster for the Western Highlands features a picturesque and peac...
Category
1950s British Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper, Linen
Pinball Rolling Stones Collector 1980s Completely Revised
Located in Paris, FR
Collector pinball, first rolling stones pinball 1980s,
functioning completely revised, in excellent condition.
Exceptional collector piece.
Category
Late 20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Steel
Flower Color Guide
Located in New York, NY
The ultimate color-by-color flower reference guide - from New York's pre-eminent floral designers, Putnam and Putnam Planning a wedding, a dinner, a birthday party, a romantic evenin...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Wilhelm Boeck and Jaime Sabartes, "Picasso" 1955
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage, 1955, first edition, Picasso, S.P.A.D.E.M. Paris, Boeck and Sabartes,
Vintage, Picasso, First Edition, 1955.
Description: Pablo Picasso. Wilhelm Boeck and Jaime Sabartes.
Pu...
Category
20th Century Spanish Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
1960’s Italian Green Onyx Ashtray and Table Lighter Smoking Set - a Set of 2
Located in Charleston, SC
1960’s Italian Green Onyx Ashtray and Table Lighter Smoking Set - a Set of 2
A beautiful green onyx marble ashtray and table lighter for the sophisticated or medicinal smoker. This lovely set was made in Italy and still obtains the original sticker. Circa 1950’s...
Category
1960s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Onyx
The Godfather
Located in London, GB
Original British film poster for Francis Ford Coppola's gangster masterpiece starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Robert Duvall. The American poster only used the puppeteer art work...
Category
1970s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Opium Parfum Made in France Collectible Bottle 1980's
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Opium Parfum made in France Collectible Bottle 1980's
This is vintage, hard to find, discontinued, collectible per...
Category
1980s French Chinoiserie Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Bakelite
Italian Medieval / Renaissance Style Full Suit of Armor
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Medieval / Renaissance-style (19th Century) metal life size suit of armor with fluted breast plate on a square wooden base.
Condition: Good; Wear consistent with age and use...
Category
19th Century Italian Renaissance Revival Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" Book by William L. Shirer
By William L. Shirer
Located in valatie, NY
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. First edition BCE hardcover with ...
Category
20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
A paradoxical orrery that demonstrates the earth-moon system. Italy circa 1860.
Located in Milan, IT
A paradoxical orrery that demonstrates the earth-moon system and its movement. The base of the planetarium is made of fruit wood, circular in shape with three bell-shaped wood feet. ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Italian Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Coral Branch with Shell in. Japanese Red Enamel Vase
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Composition of Antique Japanese red enamel bronze vase with a coral branch and sea shell.
Category
1950s Japanese Organic Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Coral
19th-Century English Barometer & Fahrenheit Thermometer in Mahogany Case
Located in Opole, PL
19th-Century English Barometer & Fahrenheit Thermometer in Mahogany Case
Barometer in a mahogany case, dated to the 1st half of the 19th century, featuring a Fahrenheit thermometer,...
Category
Early 19th Century English Sheraton Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Glass, Wood, Mahogany
Antique Eastman Kodak "No. 1 Pocket Kodak" Folding Camera c.1909-1920
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT
A "No. 1 Pocket Kodak" folding camera. The body of camera is all leather with a leather handle and it folds smoothly closed to 1.25 inches. This camera has retained its orig...
Category
Early 20th Century Industrial Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Chrome
Detailed 1795 Map of the Americas with Exploration Tracks and Nice Cartouche
Located in Langweer, NL
This is a very handsome and rare 1795 map of the Americas titled "Amerique ou Nouveau Continent Dressee sur les Nouvelles Relations Decouvertes et Observations" by Jean Baptiste Noli...
Category
1790s Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Montecito Style: Paradise on California's Gold Coast
By Phaidon
Located in New York, NY
A privileged peek at the homes and gardens of the exclusive Southern California enclave, Montecito.
The seaside town of Montecito is often overshadowed by its neighbor Santa Barbara—which is generally how its residents like it. Though home and refuge to numerous celebrities, Montecito’s intentional cultivation of a low-key profile has allowed for a unique community to emerge, and with it, a multifaceted interior and garden design culture. Montecito Style: Paradise on California’s Gold Coast is the first book to present twenty houses and landscapes in an eclectic range of styles and rich architectural legacy that coalesce into a quintessential "California style."
The residences featured in this book reflect the diversity of design that has defined California living for more than a century: early standard-setters by George Washington Smith and an Andalusian-style abode by his protégé (and Santa Barbara’s first licensed female architect) Lutah Maria Riggs, Beaux-Arts mansions, converted carriage houses, nouveau palazzi, low-slung midcentury modern abodes, an iconic concrete-and-glass house from the 1970s, and even a studio apartment...
Category
2010s Chinese Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Flight of Elegance: Stunning Wall-Mounted Mallard Taxidermy
Located in New York, NY
This stunning taxidermy mallard is a masterful example of craftsmanship and natural beauty, perfectly capturing the essence of this iconic waterfowl. Mounted in mid-flight on a rusti...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Victorian Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Feathers, Wood
Gentleman's Art Deco Pocket Knife in Sterling Silver, by H.J & Co Denmark
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A stylish gentlemans pocket knife featuring a hammered silver frame in hall-marked sterling. The two knives are made by G. Felix in Solingen Germany. Suitable for pipe cleaning or fr...
Category
Early 20th Century Danish Art Deco Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Sterling Silver, Steel
20th Century Italian Sterling Silver Miniature pr. of Tables by Sacchetti
By Argenteria Sacchetti
Located in VALENZA, IT
The table is sterling silver with marble top and structure in precious wood.
The figures, the friezes and the fruit basket are in sterling silver
Category
1970s Italian Other Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Marble, Sterling Silver
The Modulor, Le Corbusier, third printing, 1954
By Le Corbusier
Located in Philadelphia, PA
The Modulor - Le Corbusier - third printing - 1954
In overall good condition.
A classic for all designers and lovers of design.
Category
1950s Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
50th Anniversary Gold-Plated Slinky Toy in Wood Box
Located in San Diego, CA
50th Anniversary gold-plated brass Slinky toy in wood box, circa 1995. This item is in very good vintage condition and appears to never have been played with. This Slinky was release...
Category
Late 20th Century American Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Gold Plate, Brass
Rodan Walnut Backgammon
Located in Paris, FR
Backgammon Rodan Walnut with all structure in solid ash wood
in walnut stained finish, with pawns made with ivory and with suede
leather backing in english green color.
Dimension...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Suede, Ash
Decorative Antique MODEL CARS, Rare Rolls Royce Cream Car Franklin Mint 1911 UK
Located in Wembley, GB
Arising from the collaboration of the automobile brands, this exclusive antique model car is a 1:24 scale model that took over 4,000 hours to develo...
Category
1910s British Hollywood Regency Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal, Aluminum, Berlin Iron, Brass, Bronze, Cut Steel, Foil, Iron, Nick...
Ernest HEMINGWAY. Green Hills Of Africa. 1935 - FIRST EDITION - PRESENTION COPY
Located in Hillsborough, NJ
AUTHOR: HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
TITLE: Green Hills Of Africa.
PUBLISHER: NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935.
DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION PRESENTION COPY. 1 vol., 8-3/8" x 6", inscribed ...
Category
1930s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Fabric
Rare Set of Twelve Toadstool Mushroom Christmas Ornaments Vintage, German, 1940s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A rare Christmas ornament set of twelve mushrooms. Each is made from thin mouth blown glass. This would be a great antique addition for your Christmas or feather tree. Found at an Es...
Category
1940s German Folk Art Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wire
Adorable and Therapeutic Musical Clown Automaton Figure Toy French
Located in Miami, FL
A fine quality therapeutic musical automaton clown toy in wonderful vintage working condition.
Features porcelain head, hands and feet.
Made in France circa...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Rare Pierre Cardin Pop Art Futuristic Ambiance Phone
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Rare and highly collectable Pop Art futuristic Ambiance phone.
Category
1980s Taiwanese Futurist Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Plastic
Early 20th Century Shield, Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Early 20th Century Shield, Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
This large, post contact, shield is traditionally decorated in bold colors with a central circle. This ...
Category
Early 20th Century Papua New Guinean Other Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Enamel, Wire
Alfred Dunhill Gold Plated RollGas Cigarette Lighter with Box and Papers
Located in Reading, Berkshire
Alfred Dunhill Gold Plated Briquet Rollagas Cigarette Lighter
Vintage boxed Dunhill lighter with booklet stamped at purchase 1988
Stamped Dunhill and Swiss Made on base.
Category
1980s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Gold Plate
Guhl & Harbeck Style Chain Stitch Hand Crank Sewing Machine
Located in Guaynabo, PR
This is a Guhl & Harbeck style chainstitch hand crank sewing machine. The C shaped cast iron machine is painted black and its rectangular bas...
Category
20th Century German Industrial Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Iron
1970s German Industrial Cast Aluminum and Glass T8 Explosion Proof Striplight
Located in Leicester, Leicestershire
A vintage Industrial flameproof ceiling striplight / tube light made by Wittenburg of Germany. Originally designed for hazardous areas in factories and on cargo ships.
The build i...
Category
1970s German Industrial Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Aluminum
The Paris Review No. 114 Spring 1990
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Paris Review No. 114 Spring 1990
Publication features Robie Macauley "Silence, Exile, and Cunning"
Artwork reproduction after Jean Michel Basquiat (Cover) and Meyer Vaisman
Stori...
Category
1990s Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Mid-Century Modern Cabinet Console Record Player attributed to Ico Parisi design
By Ico Parisi
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Cabinet Console of the 1930s in burr walnut and walnut flame applied veneered. Cabinet with two shelves, the upper with central flap drawer with internal turntable Record...
Category
1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Walnut
3 Vols British Battles on Land and Sea, Antique, Military Reference Book, C.1900
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique set of three volumes of 'British Battles on Land and Sea' by James Grant. An English, illustrated military reference series in intact, original order with light, c...
Category
Early 20th Century British Late Victorian Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
4' Large Antique Ship's Wheel, English, Oak, Decorative Maritime Helm, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a very large antique ship's wheel. An English, oak and bronze decorative maritime helm, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1900
High maritime appeal with a strikingl...
Category
Early 1900s British Victorian Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Leather English Riding Saddle
Located in Los Angeles, CA
English Riding Saddle - All Leather by the Ansur Saddle Company. The style is the The Elite...
The piece was acquired from an Estate in Los Angeles -...
Category
20th Century Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Steel
Middle Eastern Yemeni Jambiya Arabic Dagger with Belt
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Middle Eastern Yemeni Jambiya, which is the name for the Arabic dagger.
Comes with a very thick hand embroidered belt with intricate designs and ornate ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Yemeni Islamic Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal
Christopher Radko Circus Stripes Star Reflection Waterford Gold Icicle Ornaments
By Waterford Crystal, Christopher Radko
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage late 20th century Christopher Radko and Waterford hand painted, blown glass Christmas / holiday ornaments. Christopher Radkos feature - red, orange and blue Bright Circus St...
Category
Late 20th Century Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Blown Glass
Antique Brass Club Fender
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Vintage Brass Club Fender.
A wonderful club fender with an open front, brass uprights and a shaped brass base. The upholstered seat is 20 cm wide with the measurements inside the sea...
Category
Late 20th Century British Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Original Antique Map of the Roman Empire
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Carte de l'Empire Romain'. Original antique map of the Roman Empire, two sheets joined. Engraved by Pierre Francois Tardieu and published by Edme Mentelle, circa ...
Category
Late 18th Century Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Miki Dora Da Cat Signed Surfboard shaped by Greg Noll (1998)
Located in Haleiwa, HI
Greg Noll Mickey Dora “Da Cat” model limited edition longboard shaped in 1998. Serial #120/250. Featuring a gorgeous Hawaiian coffee color floral patterned nose reveal, with matching...
Category
1990s American Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Fiberglass, Foam, Softwood
Bronze Porthole With Mesh Screen #3
Located in Bridgeport, CT
Vintage bronze porthole with mesh screen and four dogs, 3 bolts and a brushed nickel or aluminum flat flange. Maker's name stamped into porthole.
Dimensions: 14" W overall
Conditio...
Category
20th Century Industrial Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Metal, Bronze
Rare vintage engine turned Hermès box, France, circa 1960s.
By Hermès
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Rare vintage engine turned Hermès Box, France, circa 1960s.
Sleek and sophisticated, this table Cigar / cigarette box is a mid-century design by Ravinet d’Enfert for Hermès. A slim...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
Frank Stella Abstract Artist Metropolitan Museum of Art Book, 1970, New York
By Frank Stella
Located in New York, NY
A hard-cover book with dust-jacket on abstract American artist Frank Stella, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970, New York, NY. This book presents a decade of Sella's work from 1959 - 1...
Category
1970s American Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Design: The Leading Hotels of the World
Located in New York, NY
Explore iconic destinations with The Leading Hotels of the World in this celebration of exceptional hospitality through architecture and design
Embark on a stunning visual journey through The Leading Hotels of the World, a collection of the world’s most exclusive independent luxury hotels, which consistently dominates prestigious awards, securing top honors in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards and Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
Richly illustrated, exquisitely arranged, and expertly edited, this lavish volume celebrates legendary hospitality and extraordinary design, featuring a carefully curated selection of over 70 hotels from LHW’s 400-plus-member collection across 80 countries. From Norman Foster’s sinuous courtyard structure in Singapore, to Jacques Garcia’s indulgent interiors in Paris, to Axel Vervoordt’s Zen penthouse in New York City, discover how great aesthetics serve exceptional luxury hospitality. This volume – the first in a multi-volume series – includes five in-depth feature stories capturing LHW’s essence: Ambiente A Landscape Hotel in Sedona, Arizona; Botanic Sanctuary in Antwerp; La Réserve in Paris; The Okura in Tokyo; and Portrait Hotel in Milan.
Edited and produced by Spencer Bailey and the New York–based editorial studio of The Slowdown, the book comprises a foreword by the Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger and contributions from leading design and travel writers such as Maria Cristina Didero, Mark Ellwood, Christina Ohly Evans, Cynthia Rosenfeld, Warren Singh Bartlett, and Janelle Zara. Two feature-length interviews – Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm in conversation with fashion designer Gabriela Hearst in New York City, and architect Michael Rojkind with fashion designer Carla Fernández in Mexico City – are also found in its pages, as well as expert travel tips from dozens of notables, including André Fu, Stephanie Goto, Samuel Ross, and Kulapat Yantrasast.
Category
2010s American Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Antique Pair of Cased Binoculars, English, Brass, Optical Instrument, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique pair of cased binoculars. An English, enamel brass optical instrument, dating to the Victorian period, circa 1900.
Appealing weathering and presented in an attrac...
Category
Early 20th Century British Late Victorian Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Brass
The Lives of Artists Collected Profiles by Calvin Tomkins
Located in New York, NY
The definitive collection of artist profiles by legendary journalist and New Yorker writer Calvin Tomkins, from the 1960s to today
In 1959, Calvin Tomkins interviewed Marcel Duchamp for Newsweek, beginning his six decade- long career writing about art. He then joined The New Yorker, where he has contributed dozens of profiles on the most interesting artists of the time, from Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg to Cindy Sherman and Mark Bradford.
This six-volume set includes 82 of Tomkins's most significant profiles dating from 1962-2019. Part art history, part human interest, Tomkins offers insights and observations about the artists, their work, and the ever-changing art world they inhabit.
Calvin Tomkins has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1960. He has written more than a dozen books, including The Bride and the Bachelors, Merchants and Masterpieces, Living Well Is the Best Revenge, Off the Wall, Duchamp: A Biography, and Lives of the Artists...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
Elipson AS 30 Speakers 1969
By Elipson
Located in Santa Gertrudis, Baleares
Original 1969 Elipson AS30 speaker in staff with its round, sensual and warm shape, was an Elipson bestseller. It was relatively compact for its time (30 cm in diameter, with a 16 cm...
Category
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Plaster
1960's Vintage Bunger Custom Surfboard/ Longboard
Located in North Miami, FL
Vintage 9'5" single-fin 1960s Bunger Custom Surf Shop long board. An outstanding vintage collectible art piece. It's not cosmetically perfect but it's in darn good shape for its age....
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Fiberglass, Foam, Softwood
Roulette, Gaming Counters, Poker Chips and Cards
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Vintage Gaming Chips, Cards and Container.
A nice set of gambling counters (poker, gambling, gaming chips) and two decks of cards in a rectangular beech-wood keeper with chrome centr...
Category
1950s British Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood
RONSON 1935 Art Deco Bartender Lighter Cigarette Dispenser Box In Steel & Lcquer
Located in Miami, FL
Barman dispenser box with lighter designed by Ronson.
An exceptional and very beautiful desk piece, created in New Jersey United States by The Ronson Lighter Co. during the art deco...
Category
1930s American Art Deco Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Steel
Ejection Seat from Percival Aircraft Jet Provost by Martin Baker
Located in Paris, FR
A Martin Baker ejection seat from a Percival aircraft BAC jet provost,
royal air force trainer aircraft used from 1955 to 1993.
Exceptional piece.
Category
1970s English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Chrome
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, 1887
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, Translated out of the Original Tongues: And with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty’s Spec...
Category
1880s English Late Victorian Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Leather, Paper
Monet Hardcover Art Book
Located in Bradenton, FL
Monet hardcover art book with text by William C. Seitz. Published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. of New York. Text printed and bound in the Republic of Korea, illustrations printed in Japa...
Category
Late 20th Century Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Paper
A rare mid-19th century French Louis Philippe musical automaton framed wall cloc
Located in London, GB
A rare mid-19th century French Louis Philippe musical automaton framed wall clock
A picturesque and highly decorative example of a rare mid-19th century French Louis Philippe musical automaton framed wall clock. A 5-cm enamel dial with Roman numerals in a hand painted church behind houses with an automaton watermill and windmill, with papier Mache 3D hills in the foreground with metal staircase...
Category
1880s European Early Victorian Antique Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Wood, Paper
ALFRED DUNHILL Paris 1960 Short Automatique Rollalite Petrol Pocket Lighter
Located in Miami, FL
An automatic rollalite lighter designed by Alfred Dunhill.
This is a very scarce petrol pocket lighter, created in Switzerland by La Nationale company for the Alfred Dunhill Company...
Category
1960s English Mid-Century Modern Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities
Materials
Silver, Sterling Silver
Antique and Vintage Collectibles and Curiosities for Sale
Antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities can bring whimsy and wonder to any interior.
Decorating with old scientific instruments, historical memorabilia and vintage musical instruments, as well as other authentic collectibles and curiosities that can be found on 1stDibs, presents an opportunity to create a unique, natural history museum-like atmosphere in your home that can provoke conversation as often as it pays tribute to how far we’ve come in understanding our world.
And bringing collectibles and curiosities into your space is actually on trend — Wunderkammern, or curiosity cabinets, were all the rage in Europe during the 1500s and continued to have adherents there and in the U.S. in the following centuries. Today, however, they’re experiencing a real surge in popularity and influencing how many interior designers are furnishing and decorating homes — combining contemporary with antique, scientific with tribal, earthly with extraterrestrial, Les Lalanne tables with Flemish tapestries.
The original Wunderkammern were entire rooms filled with objects demonstrating their owners’ worldly knowledge: A proper one included artificiala or preciosa (objets d’art); naturalia (such as skeletons, shells, minerals); exotica (taxidermy or dried plants); and scientifica (scientific instruments), frequently alongside religious relics and ancient artifacts.
Pay tribute to a history of rich and diverse musical traditions that have taken shape all over the world by decorating your home with a collection of antique and vintage musical instruments — with a little help from strong hanging wire or some wall hooks, vintage brass instruments such as a gong, French horn or trumpet can help elevate a home office or complement the efforts you’ve made to ensure a welcoming vibe in your home’s entryway. Bells or antique wind instruments can add provocative metallic contrasts to dark woods as tabletop decorative objects.
Create an intriguing focal point with Georgian scientific instruments, such as stick barometers with mahogany cases or lacquered brass telescopes. These items stem from an era named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who ruled England in succession starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign, which lasted until 1837). Just as there was beautiful jewelry produced during the period that today is coveted by collectors, there is much to be found in the collectibles and curiosities realm too.
Wanderlust, nostalgia and a shared love of good design are contributing factors to certain trends in decorating — just as vintage trunks and luggage have reappeared as furniture or home accents in a bedroom or foyer, decorating with globes, maps or nautical objects is similarly rooted in the allure of travel and a penchant for the stylish finishing touch that collectibles bring to our homes.
Find a wide range of antique and vintage collectibles and curiosities on 1stDibs.
Read More
Medal-Worthy Memorabilia from Epic Past Olympic Games
Get into the games! These items celebrate the events, athletes, host countries and sporting spirit.
Ahoy! You’ve Never Seen a Collection of Sailor Art and Kitsch Quite Like This
French trendsetter and serial collector Daniel Rozensztroch tells us about his obsession with objects related to seafaring men.
Pamela Shamshiri Shares the Secrets behind Her First-Ever Book and Its Effortlessly Cool Interiors
The sought-after designer worked with the team at Hoffman Creative to produce a monograph that beautifully showcases some of Studio Shamshiri's most inspiring projects.
Moroccan Artworks and Objects Take Center Stage in an Extraordinary Villa in Tangier
Italian writer and collector Umberto Pasti opens the doors to his remarkable cave of wonders in North Africa.
Montecito Has Drawn Royalty and Celebrities, and These Homes Are Proof of Its Allure
Hollywood A-listers, ex-pat aristocrats and art collectors and style setters of all stripes appreciate the allure of the coastal California hamlet — much on our minds after recent winter floods.
Whaam! Blam! Pow! — a New Book on Pop Art Packs a Punch
Publishing house Assouline and writer Julie Belcove have teamed up to trace the history of the genre, from Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama to Mickalene Thomas and Jeff Koons.
The Sparkling Legacy of Tiffany & Co. Explained, One Jewel at a Time
A gorgeous new book celebrates — and memorializes — the iconic jeweler’s rich heritage.
What Makes a Gem-Encrusted Chess Set Worth $4 Million?
The world’s most opulent chess set, weighing in at 513 carats, is literally fit for a king and queen.