Pair of Early 19th Century Georgian Pinewood Oil-Painted Dummy Boards

This beautiful maple and ebony compendium box has a hinged lid and a pair of front doors that swing open to reveal the boxwood and ebony hand-carved chess pieces. Each chess piece si...

From the 1700s through the early 1800s, European aristocrats developed a fascination with ancient Egyptian culture and design that culminated in a full Egyptian Revival. Prominent figures such as Marie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned rooms decorated with Egyptian motifs. This cultural moment reflects a fascination with a sophisticated civilization of great artists and pharaohs. The Regency era possessed very little knowledge of the Great Pyramids or hieroglyphics, a quality that lent Egyptian art interpretation a compelling air of mystique. This English Regency period gilt carving depicts a popular figure of borrowed Egyptian motif: the Sphinx. Recognized among educated circles as a symbol of brilliance in the ancient past, the Sphinx was well-known as a mythological creature who destroys those who failed to answer her riddle. Such a piece as this, excellent in detail and craftsmanship, may have once graced the mantle of a gentleman’s study or been exchanged as a gift between British scholars. The beautiful gold surface has been achieved by an artful combination of gilt and gesso; the art enthusiast will appreciate the intricate texture realized in the carving’s hair and tail as well as the delicate detailing of the saddle. Borrowing from the Egyptians, the Greeks had their own interpretation of the Sphinx. Greek mythology chronicled the Sphinx as being the daughter of Orthous and Chimera or Laius and attributed the riddles, which she proposed, as having been taught to her by the Muses. Crowned with a Grecian diadem and having a refined expression, she evokes an ancient yet reserved intellect. For the modern-day enthusiast of classical Greek art...

Meticulously carved from beechwood, this cherub pair recalls the iconic Renaissance style of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Better recognized by their Italian name, putti—the singular putto refers to the Latin putus, meaning “boy” or “child”—these types of figures often recur in religious artwork as symbols of God...

This charming oil on mahogany board depicts a portrait of a young woman in typical early 19th-century fashion surrounded by foliage while she sits on a rock tending to her shoe. Hous...

19th century life-size corpus Christi figure leg We are proud to offer a very unusual religious artifact, dating from early to mid-19th century and either Spanish or Italian in orig...

19th century hand carved gold gilt cherub/putti fragment A high-quality hand carved 19th century gold gilt paint over sectioned pine example. This wonderful piece details realistic human features, which suggests it was carved for a special interior section of sorts. Likely to have been part of a larger collective at some point. It would look delightful and highly decorative positioned over a doorway entrance. Size in inches: H 10” x W 15” x D 5” Origin: France Material: Pine Date: 1850 - 1880 Completely solid in structure and form without any breaks. Detail loss across the painted surface as shown. We sell antique...

A fine large pair of Italian silvered metal over wood reliquaries with putti, grape, shell, and scrollwork design. Each have memorial pendant displays with names (The left reads S. Innocentii M & S Clementiani M,” while the other is illegible. The pair is in very good condition, with great overall patina, some metal lifting...

Pair of small obelisks out of red serpentine with hieroglyph decor (North side Cleopatra's Needle, today Central Park, NY - and Lateranobelisk situated o...