The Loom of Art by Germain Bazin, 1st Ed

Art at Auction: The Year at Sotheby's & Parke-Bernet 1970-71. By Philip and Annamaria MacDonald. Viking Press, NY, 1970. Numerous color photos of important lots from all of Sotheby's...

Art At Auction 1973 - 1974 The Year At Sotheby's Parke-Bernet. Viking Press NY, 1973. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Numerous color photos of important lots from all of Sotheby's...

1,773 Milestones of Art: A Pictorial Survey of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Published by Harrison House, New York, 1985. Hardcover with dust jacket. Presents the great works...

Sotheby's Catalog, An Important Russian Imperial Jewel. Geneva 17 November 2005. 1st Ed hardcover. "An impressive and highly important diamond ornament from the collection of the Russian Imperial Family, Russia, second half of the 18th century. This diamond necklace with bowknot clasp is not only a remarkable jewel in itself, but its Russian royal provenance puts it in a class of its own. It evokes the blinding splendour of Catherine II, Empress of Russia: the magnificence of her court, her parks, her palaces, her art collections, and monuments. The most striking and colourful figure on the stage of European political life, for thirty four years she ruled a mighty empire which stretched from Siberia to Poland and left it stronger, larger and richer than when she came to the throne in 1762. After her death in 1796, her friend the Prince de Ligne, who had named her Catherine the Great, declared that this title- which has never been lost- resumed all her genius, courage, sense of justice, and force of character. Using her court as a stage, she played the part of an autocratic but enlightened ruler to perfection, imposing in her public appearances, kind and charming in private. The French ambassador, the Comte de Ségur who noticed how “her majestic head and brow, proud look and dignified deportment made her seem taller than she was”, was also impressed by her feminine grace “ her aquiline nose, well shaped mouth, Saxe blue eyes beneath dark lashes, gentle glance and seductive smile”. In spite of her success, she once confided to the Prince de Ligne that she could have served Russia better if she had been born a man. Ever the courtier, he assured her that being a woman was a positive advantage. “Believe me, you are so much more impressive in your beautiful embroidered orange red velvet dolman or tunic than a man decked out in boots and shoulder sash can ever be. In addition the five huge diamonds blazing out from your hair are far more effective than a man’s hat which is either ridiculously small or ridiculously big”. He was right. Her diamond jewellery proclaimed her power and her rank as Empress and appealed to the Russian taste for sumptuous goods. It impressed the Rev. William Coxe, visiting St. Petersburg in 1778: “the glory and the splendor of the clothing of the court and abundance of precious stones leave the opulence of other European courts far behind” and his opinion was shared by the acute Madame de Stael...

A History of Art by Lawrence Gowing / Great large heavy art table book. History of art. Reference-introduction to Classic masterpieces. Painters, scul...

These are two sales catalogues, the first dating from 1975 and being from Sotheby Parke Bernet Monaco relating to "Meubles et Objet D'Art" provenant de L'Hotel Lambert et du Chateau de Ferrieres, with 309 lots, many of which are illustrated in black & white with descriptions in French and English. The second is a Sotheby's Monaco catalogue from 1994 relating solely to Ferrieres and Baron Guy de Rothschild with 152 lots - many of which are illustrated in colour. Both Baron Guy de Rothschild and Baron Alexis de Rede...

Paintings in the Louvre by Lawrence Gowing, with an introduction by Michel Laclotte. Published in 1987 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang of New York. Printed in Japan, over 800 color illust...

The Collins Big Book of Art, from Cave Art to Pop Art, General Editor David G. Wilkins. Stated first edition, published in 2005 by Collins Design. Hardcover w...