1870s Models and Miniatures

Marble Grand Tour object of the Temple of Castor & Pollux. It’s an ancient temple on the Forum Romanum in Rome. It was built after the victory of the Battle of Lake Regillus ( the Ro...

A framed plaster portrait plaque of the Glasgow Reformist MP James Oswald, signed and dated Carlo Marochetti, 1842, of circular form, shown facing to the right within a black border and the original glazed giltwood frame. Another version of this plaque is in the collection of Glasgow Museums and can be seen on the Art UK website James Oswald (1779-1853) was a successful Glasgow merchant who later inherited various landed estates due to the early death of his cousin. Oswald was one of the first members of the Glasgow Bank when it was established in 1809. He traded largely in cotton and other raw textiles and in his spare time he commanded the Glasgow branch of the volunteer mounted Yeomanry. It was his political career however that captured the hearts of many of his countrymen and led to his eventually being immortalised in sculptural form. The Liberal Party MP for Glasgow from 1832-1837, Oswald was a staunch opponent of Sir Robert Peel...

A rare English oak pillar form country house letter box with a circular base and cylindrical body ending in a carved hexagonal lid with a domed to...

Doll's vaisselier in grey lacquered wood opening by two partially glazed doors. Entirely furnished with porcelain and fine earthenware dishes, including a large number of plates, covered pots, pitchers, tea service, ... glassware, a scale and copper weights...

A lovely pair of miniature portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine De Beauharnais. The detailed portraits with oval gilt bronze easel back frames,...

From France, a signed Palissy style majolica paperweight, a lizard on a mound, Thomas Sergent, School of Paris, circa 1875-1879. Thomas-Victor Sergent developed an enthusiasm for cr...

An extremely scarce glazed earthenware desk weight or paperweight of a Stag Beetle, from the workshop of Manuel Mafra, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, circa. 1870-80. In the Palissy style, the life cast beetle is molded in a naturalistic manner, and glazed in tones of brown. The insect sits on an oval base of green extruded clay creating a moss effect, he holds something yellow in his front pincers. The base has a blue scalloped rim. The clear glazed underside is indented. Manuel Cipriano Gomes (1831-1905) was born near Mafra. In 1850, he moved to Caldas da Rainha, a spa town in central west Portugal known for ceramic making. He adopted the name Mafra and set up his workshop in 1853, having purchased the existing workshop of Maria dos Cacos, for whom he had at first worked. In 1870, he gained royal patronage. The artisanal workshop specialized in zoomorphic vessels...

People like to use the term ‘apprentice pieces’ when referring to small pieces of miniature furniture,but more often than not this isn’t the case. But what is an apprentice piece and why are they often confused with miniatures? Here we aim to answer these questions! The majority of miniature furniture are in fact sample pieces used by travelling salesmen. Workshops would send out salesmen on lengthy country-wide tours, with a miniature of each piece on his sales cart. This meant the cabinet maker could use the smaller form to show off his skills, without the salesman having to carry a full size piece of furniture wherever he went. Using exactly the same skills and techniques as used on the full sized pieces, the miniatures offered a way of potential buyers being able to get a feel of the quality of goods the workshop produced, before committing to a purchase. Better than a flat ink drawing in a catalogue. A much smaller number of these miniatures are termed ‘apprentice pieces’. Apprentice pieces, although again a scaled down version of the workshops’ offerings, were made by an often inexperienced apprentice. They were given lesser quality materials to work with and the craftsmanship was often less refined. Antique miniature furniture...

A fine half hull model of ‘Barque Peace’, the planked hull set on a stained yew wood backboard, with a plaque reading ‘”Barque Peace” Tonnage 450 B.M....

From a neoclassical sample, a pair of columns with base and elevation, in standard module. The bases are made of yellow marble and has a wavy profile that closes upwards with a disti...

From a neoclassical sample, a column with base and elevation, in standard module. The base is made out of yellow marble and has a wavy profile that c...

Charming sculpture in spelter with bronze patina, in the style of Auguste Moreau, representing a young flute player dressed in country clothes, carrying his flute in his left hand an...