Mid-18th Century Models and Miniatures

A Charming 18th Century Miniature Chest, Constructed Extremely Unusually From Yew Wood Timbers, Having Four Long Drawers Retaining Original Turned Brass Knobs, Raised On Elegant Orig...

A Charming and Relatively rare mid 18th century, Georgian, oak miniature kneehole desk, having seven drawers with original turned brass knobs flanking central cupboard door with geometric inlaid decoration. Often there is debate over miniature furnitures original purpose. Was it was made as an apprentice piece, which is where somebody who is looking for a job in a workshop would create something to showcase their talents, or was it made as a travelling salesman...

An Extremely Attractive And Particularly Charming Mid 18th Century, Georgian Mahogany Miniature Chest, Retaining Exceptional Untouched Colour And Patina Throughout, Having Two Short And Three Long Drawers, Retaining Original Brass Ring Handles, Raised On Original Shaped Bracket Feet. Although there has always been a large amount of discussion and conjecture as to the original purpose of antique miniature furniture it will be almost impossoble for a definitive answer to be given for by far the majority of surviving pieces. The two well known and accepted purposes were either as an apprentice piece, meaning that the item may well have been made by a hopeful young man looking to secure himself a job at the local cabinet making workshop and using the piece as an audition for entry, or alternatively as a travelling salesmans sample piece where scale models of the full size items which a workshop could produce were created, allowing the salesman to take them away and use them for taking orders. We believe that this wonderful little antique miniature chest...

A superb quality 18th century mahogany George II Period miniature table having well figured circular Tilting top over vase turned central stem with Elegant bold tripod legs terminating on Pointed pad feet (Almost certainly made as a travelling salesman...

An early 19th century wooden and paper model of York Minster. Housed within its original mahogany and glass case on stand, English, circa 1835.

French 18th century gold mounted walking stick French, 1769 Height 116cm, diameter 3cm Dating back to 1789, this walking stick exemplifies the remarkable craftsmanship of 18th cent...

The Louis XV Provincial Walnut Parquetry Miniature Armoire. Opening to reveal a shelves and drawers.

- Collector's specimens - Lignum vitae is sought after for the beauty of its grain, coloring, patina, density and toughness Translated from Latin, vignum vitae means “wood of lif...

The three drawers lined with jacquard silk pattern.

A very rare Louis XVI period serinette or bird organ in the form of a transitional style gilt bronze mounted and marquetry inlaid miniature commode in the manner of gilbert, by Robert Richard, Paris. With a label for ' RICHARD - maitre facteur d’orgues et mécanicien / Rue de richelieu à la bibliothèque Du Roy / Paris 1775'. This rare Serinette or Bird Organ has a wooden cylinder barrel mounted by twelve pins and linked to twelve sound pipes. A crank attached to the front panel controls the bellows that activates the mechanism. The exceptional marquetry inlaid case is in the form of a gilt bronze mounted transitional style miniature commode. The top of the commode is inlaid with a landscape scene with buildings, opening to an interior with an allegory of Love Conquering All, represented by two doves perching on a bow and quiver. The front of the commode depicts two obelisks centred by a Fine musical trophy and each side is inlaid with panels depicting the Medici Vase. The back of the commode is decorated with floral marquetry. A closely related Serinette dating from circa 1770, also in the form of a miniature commode, with the marquetry case stamped by the master marqueteur Leonard Boudin, is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. The term serinette is derived from serine, French for finch. The instrument worked like a small barrel organ with a barbed cylinder, wind box and lead pipes and produced a high, thin sound in imitation of birds. Other versions included a merline, which copied blackbirds and a turlutaine, which copied curlews. Used to teach caged birds to sing tunes, different barrels could be inserted to train different birds. It first appeared in France circa 1730 and became a popular drawing-room toy for fashionable women. An interesting painting commissioned in 1751 for Louis XV by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and now in the collection of the Louvre, depicts a refined lady seated in her salon playing a bird organ to encourage her bird to sing. Robert Richard Robert Richard was a Parisian organ and harpsichord maker and the mécanicien du roi to Louis XV and Louis XVI and was based in the Bibliothèque du Roi in rue de Richelieu. Initially working alongside the Cliquot family who acted as 'facteur d'orgue du Roi', he is recorded as building an organ for the church of Notre-Dame de Quebec, in Montreal in 1753 (destroyed in 1759) and as the inventor of a mechanical concert shown in an engraving by d'Eisen in 1769. Canon Jean Marie De La Corne described Robert Richard as : ''Le plus habile ouvrier de paris, fameux mechanitien et Homme de probité''. French, Dated 1775. Literature: Pierre Kjellberg, The French Furniture of the 17th century, The Editions of the Amateur, 2008 Count Francois de Salverte, Cabinetmakers of the 18th century, Editions of Art and History, 1934 Raymond Russell, Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Musical Instruments, Volume I - Keyboard Instruments,(London, 1968; p. 69.) Elizabeth Miller...

An Extremely Rare Mid 18th Century, George II Period Elm Table Top, Miniature, Bureau Retaining Exceptional Colour And Patina To Figured Timber Throughout, Having Fall Front Enclosin...

18th century rare Dutch mother of pearl pin booklet with a silver back and lock A mother of pearl pin booklet with a silver back and lock. On ...

These fine wood lacquered wood boxes in Baroque style, are painted both on the sides: there's an elegant lady portrait on one side and on the other side, a natural landscape, so fine...

These fine wood lacquered boxes are in Baroque style. There are natural landscape and one of these has the scene of the fire in the town of Edimburg...

These fine wood lacquered wood boxes are in Romantic style and they are painted both on the sides: on one of these there's an elegant lady on one side and on the other side, a natura...

These fine wood lacquered wood boxes are in Flemish style; the cover are hand painted with a natural landscape, so fine as Flemish painting can be. The other one has an home interior...