17th Century Historical Memorabilia

MUSEUM PERFECTION ! AZTEC INFLUENCED LATIN AMERICAN COLONIAL ART AMAZINGLY RARE PIECE ! Approx. 14" x 8" x 2 1/2" After Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec empire, painting and sculpture schools were set up within missions to produce art for Roman Catholic worship in Spanish America to promote Christian evangelization. The works that emerge from this period are great historic treasures and tell us much about this time in history. Icons were important in this conversion process. Here is an Imagene that was likely employed in a church from the 17th century. It features 5 elaborately carved faces and figures depicting angels and saints. This piece is magnificent for many reasons, but the most important reason is that this piece illustrates the bridge between the Spanish and Aztec art schools. The Aztecs had developed the most splendid feather art in the world. Feather mosaics (arte plumario in Spanish, amantecayotl in Nahuatl), were created by specially trained and talented Aztec nobles. The blue green iridescent color of hummingbird feathers had made them a regular form of tribute to Aztec rulers and art that featured these feathers were incomparable. The Spanish art instructors adopted feathers into traditional Catholic imagery and this piece shows the result of such hybrid. Here feathers are prominently sculpted into the background and were polychromed with sensational hues to reflect the native love and cultural appreciation for feather art. Few feather mosaics survive because of their temporal frailty, but the wood worked feathers in this piece give scholars and collectors a lasting indication of how Aztecs stylistically used the feathers in their pieces. Aztec religious leaders wore headdresses and garments made of feathers - and here these saints appear to be wearing feather headdresses! Even after centuries, the colors of this piece are incredibly compelling. Fragments of the rich blue green pigment that was applied to mimic the hummingbird feathers are still present. The golds, yellows and browns display spectacular understanding of complementary colors. What's more this piece also shows Aztec sun imagery incorporated into the design! On the reverse side of the Saints' faces we see a vivid blue sun burst type design which clearly was an Aztec motif of the period and has no comparable counterpart in Catholic holy treasures...

EVERY LAWYER AND JUDGE MUST HAVE! This extraordinary bronze gavel, dated 1603 and weights 1,3 kg. It is a rare and evocative example of early ceremonial instruments. Cast in the form of a clenched fist- symbolising authority, resolve, and order- it is mounted on a worn, aged wooden handle that enhances its historic character. The craftsmanship and materials suggest it originated in medieval or early Stuart England, a period when guilds, courts, and civic bodies often used symbolic tools to assert power and structure in meetings and proceedings. While the term “gavel” became widely recognised in the 18th and 19th centuries, mallet-like instruments were used much earlier, particularly in English trade guilds and legal contexts, where they served as emblems of control and decision-making. The clenched fist design is highly unusual, possibly denoting a unique ceremonial role or elevated authority within a guild or council. This piece is not only a striking object of early design but also a rare surviving example from the transitional period between the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras...

"Silver Reformation Commemorative Medal 1630, 100th Anniversary Of The Augsburg Confession" Silver Reformation Commemorative Medal 1630 — Johann the Steadfast — 100th Anniversary of ...

A large crest with shell and scroll carved frame enclosing an azure ground with gilded coat of arms featuring a cross with four birds over lions and fleur de lis and Tudor roses. Onl...

Faisandiere or Daubiere or Chaponniere, Louis XIV, oval tripod in bronze, with a crenellated lid with a U-shaped handle, from the end of the 17th / beginning of the 18th century. Su...

Antique Italian ballot urn shaped wooden box, carved and painted, coming from Tuscany, Monte San Savino near Arezzo in Central Italy. This ballot urn is an excellent example of a 17th century wooden voting box...

Beautiful authentic Italian metal and wood portable tabernacle in style of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. A civil and military architect, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger was tr...

A fine example of a Queen Anne letters patent on vellum with a partial Great Seal and beautifully detailed portrait of the Queen. This document dates to the late 17th or early 18th c...

Very rare William and Mary pewter trefid spoon the handle molded in relief with portraits and dating from around 1690. The spoon has an elongated rounded ...

1990s style open armchair made in Italy Size H. 29 .5" x W. 21.5, sold as is in raw unfinished beechwood Only one left.  

Antique portrait titled 'Basilius Magnus (..)'. Portrait of Ivan IV (1530-84, 'the Terrible'). This print originates from 'Tooneel der keyseren ende coningen van christenryck sedert den onderganck van het Griecks keyserdom vervatende hare beeltnissen afcomsten ende voornaemste daden (..)'. Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Russian: ???´? ????´??????; 25 August 1530 – 28 March [O.S. 18 March] 1584),[2] commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible...

Very beautiful baluster censer decorated with gadroons from the Louis XIV period. This censer / incense burner / church clock / perfume burner in openwo...

2 Forged iron keys from the 17th century Uncleaned condition, old patina Length 13 and 15.5 cm, width 3.8 and 4 cm

Antique engraving with the title Arrival of the English King Charles II from Delft in The Hague, 25 May 1660. Episode during his tour through and departure from the Netherlands. Arrival at the Vijverberg and Het Groene Zoodje, salute shots are fired at the Hofvijver. In the air the fame and putti with the arms of the English king, Holland and The Hague. On the left part of the signs of the zodiac. Marked at the top: Page. 34. In the top the Arms of the King with the text: Honi soit qui mal y pense. This a maxim in the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old Norman French spoken by the medieval ruling class in England, meaning "shamed be whoever thinks ill of it", usually translated as "shame on anyone who thinks evil of it" It has been used as the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter. In current French usage, the phrase may be used ironically to insinuate the presence of a hidden agenda or a conflict of interest. Makers (mentioned on the engraving): Pieter Philippe after a design of: Jacob...

Antique print titled 'De Academia van Vrieslant'. Original antique print of the university of Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. This print originates from volume 1 of 'Chroniqve ...

Antique map titled 'Belagerung des Besten Schloss und Passes Gennep'. Old map of the Siege of Gennep, the Netherlands. This map originates from 'Theatrum Europaeum' by M. Merian. Art...

Lock. Wrought iron. Spanish School, 17th century. A working wrought iron deadbolt with a key features a push-button mechanism on the lower right side to lift the cover concealing th...

A rare and fully handmade stoneware beer jug attributed to Raeren, a historic pottery center in present-day Belgium. Dating from around 1680 to 1720, this jug is a striking example o...

Very pretty Haute Epoque / Louis XIII bronze ladle from the beginning of the 17th century. Probably decorated with a lion's head on the end of the handle. Wonderful witness to the h...

17th century Italian Gravure/Cartography Le Theatrum statuum Regiae Celsitudinis Sabaudiæ Ducis or at Theatrum Statum Sabaudiæ, is a representative and iconographic representation f...

Fantastic antique American Pioneer cooking Pan, truly an absolutely unique Museums Piece! Total weight is ca 15 kg, the Pan itself is made out of iron and sits on a solid wooden stump...

An outstanding 17th century pair of brass,copper and silver inlay Stirrups with David’s Star -each stirrup has two stars hand hammered from lef...