18th Century Collectibles and Curiosities

Beautiful baroque gilded metal procession cross with a great patina. France circa 1750. weathered and small losses. Measurements include the wooden pedestal.

A lovely and rare Spanish colonial statue of a madonna or female saint in carved and polychromed wood with movable arms and hands. Philippines, circa 1700s. In her time and within th...

Pocket Globe Nicholas Lane London, post 1779 The globe is contained in its original case, which is covered in leather. The sphere measures 2.75 in (6.9 cm) whereas the case measure...

1793 Map of Saint Domingue (Haiti and DR) – Colonial Island Plan This antique map is titled “A Map of the Island of St. Domingo” and dates from circa 1793. It depicts the entire isl...

Antique map titled 'Carte de la Coste d'Arabie (..) - Kaart van de Kust van Arabië (..)'. This is a Dutch version, engraved by J. van Schley, of Bellin's map of Arabia and the Red Sea...

Journals of Congress. Containing the Proceedings From Sept. 5. 1774. to Jan. 1. 1776. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by R. Aitken, 1777. Volume I. First Edition. 8vo. Rebound in ¼ br...

Authentic horse armour face mask or chanfron, dated circa late 18th-early mid-19th century from Northern Italy in wrought iron. During the late Middle Age...

Early religious work of art, presented in the original antique frame. This beautiful and uplifting portrait of Saint Joseph holding hands with the child Jesus is an oil on canvas an...

Hand Wrought Lock Box. Beautiful patina. Painted inside with date, which is after the original creation date. Box W 13.25 x D 10 x H 10 in. Key L 4 in.

A very stunning Portuguese 18th century Altar console in painted wood and gilt accents. Beautifully sculpted form resting on a faux marble painted base.

Beautiful weathered neoclassical Madonna with child. Traces of original color and gilding visible, Italy, circa 1760-1800. Weathered small losses and old repairs. More photo's availa...

Antique print, titled: 'Le Pape va en ceremonie prendre possession du pontificat (…)' - This very large original antique print shows the procession for the Papal inauguration in the ...

1711 Star Chart of the Southern Sky - "Mappa Stellarum Australium quae in Altitudine Poli Borei Graduum" This beautiful star chart, engraved by Arnold van Westerhout in 1711, shows ...

Title: Rare 1757 Jesuit Map of California and Baja, Dedicated to the King of Spain This rare and detailed map, titled *Carte de la Californie Levee par la Société des Jésuites*, wa...

A gold, large antique French Louis XVI period barometer, signed by Torricelli in gilded wood and of oval shape with original scientific illustrations, in good condition. The detailed wall décor piece is consisting its original glass. Framed with gilt foliate trim and important pediment. Minor fading, due to age. Wear consistent with age and use, circa 1750, France. The Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli...

Oil on Glass — "Our Lady of Sorrows," 18th Century, Reverse Glass Painting A refined and emotionally evocative 18th-century devotional painting depicting Our Lady of Sorrows, execut...

Antique map titled 'Karte von dem groessten Theil des Landes Jemen'. Original map of Yemen, this map is the first printed map specifically of Yemen, and t...

Ptolemaic armillary sphere Charles-François Delamarche Paris, ante 1798 Wood and papier-mâché covered with printed and partly hand-colored paper It measures 16.37 in in height x Ø 10.94 in (41.60 cm - Ø 27.80 cm) It weights 2.33 lb (1,058 g) State of conservation: consistent with its age and use, the paper shows some signs of use, stains and abrasions. The sphere is Ptolemaic, with the Earth placed at its center, surrounded by the Moon and the Sun mounted on two metal arms. The sphere is composed of six horizontal and two vertical rings (armillae), each bearing graduations and its own name. The first horizontal ring is illegible. The others, in descending order are: North Pole, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, South Pole. The vertical rings consist of two double meridians. The sphere is then connected to the large meridian by two pins, a vertical ring inserted perpendicularly into the circle of the Horizon, in turn supported by four semicircles connected to the turned and black-stained wooden base. Each element is covered with printed paper. It contains various pieces of information: latitudes, length of days, names and zodiac symbols, calendar, wind directions, etc. The vertical circles mention the latitudes and longitudes of different cities: Rome, Bordeaux, Madrid, Boston, Batavia (Jakarta), Acapulco, etc. Even the small terrestrial globe is covered with printed paper: continents and oceans appear with numerous geographical markings indicating the most recent explorations. In the Pacific Ocean, west of South America bears the following inscription: GLOBE TERRESTRIAL à Paris chez Delamarche Géog Rue du Foin Jacques Au Collège de M.e Gervais The North American coasts are well delineated and California appears correctly as a peninsula - reports from Spanish explorers in the region had given rise to confusion as to whether it was connected to the mainland or not. The geographical nature of California was confirmed after the explorations of Juan Bautista de Anza (1774-1776). Alaska is not described and is only partially traced; it would become part of the United States in 1867. Various Pacific islands are indicated. Australia (the name definitely used from 1824) is called "Nouvelle Hollande." Tasmania is still represented as a peninsula and this is an important detail for the dating of our armillary sphere. The island is separated from Australia by Bass Strait, which was crossed by Matthew Flinders for the first time in 1798, showing that it was not a peninsula. Delamarche certainly would not have waited a long time to update such an important geographical datum: presumably he did so shortly after receiving the news. Charles-François Delamarche (1740-1817) founded his laboratory around 1770 and, in a few years, he became the most famous French cartographer and globe maker between the 18th and 19th centuries. After having acquired the laboratory of the late Didier Robert de Vaugondy (1723-1786; himself a renowned cartographer who continued the family business founded by his grandfather Nicolas Sanson in the seventeenth century) and after having purchased, between 1788 and around 1800, the businesses of Jean-Baptiste Fortin (1750-1831) and Jean Lattré (around 1750-1800), he began to call himself "Successeur de MM. Sanson and Robert de Vaugondi, Géographes du Roi and de M. Fortin, Ingénieur-mécanicien du Roi pour les globes et les sphères." Thus, at the end of the eighteenth century, Delamarche possessed the warehouse stocks, as well as the manufacturing skills of the globes of his main rivals in Paris. In addition to this aggressive acquisition policy, the key to its success also lay in the combination of high-quality cartography combined with extremely attractive globes and armillary spheres; and, of course, its famous red paint finishing touch. His laboratory was located on Rue de Foin St Jacques "au Collège Me. (or "Mtre") Gervais" in the Latin Quarter of Paris until around 1805, when he moved to rue du Jardinet No. 13. On the death of Charles-François in 1817, the reins of the company passed to his son Félix (1779-1835), who continued to publish, often in collaboration with the engraver Charles Dien, Sr. In 1835 the company first moved to rue du Jardinet No. 12 and a little later to rue du Battoir No. 7. Bibliography: Dekker, Elly, et al. Globes at Greenwich...

This print, titled "Occasus Ortus", showcases a highly detailed engraving of an 18th-century measuring device, likely related to astronomy or navigation. The design features various components of the instrument arranged systematically, with each part labeled by figure numbers. The centerpiece is a large circular protractor...

A beautifully preserved devotional oil painting on copper plate, depicting the Virgin Mary tenderly holding the Christ Child. Executed circa 1700–1750, this 18th-century work embodie...

Antique map Switzerland titled 'Territorium Reipublicae liberae Helveticae Scaphusiensis (..)'. Regional map of Switzerland. Artists and En...

These are the now very scarce set of two catalogues produced by Christie's for the sale of the contents of Dumfries House which contained a large collec...

Aesop (S. Croxall transl.) The Fables of Aesop; With a Life of the Author; and Embellished with one Hundred & twelve Plates London: John Stockdale, 1793. FIRST EDITION - 2 vol., La...

Gustavian brass box with perpetual calender based on the rune staff. The box is from the late 18th Century and was used as a perpetual calendar and...

Title: 1720 Chatelain Map of the Holy Land with Biblical Family Trees and Chronology Description: This fascinating 18th-century folio map by Henry Abraham Chatelain combines geo...

Antique map titled 'A Map of the East Indies (..)'. Large antique map of Southeast Asia, India, and part of China, extending to Tibet, the Maladives, Sumatra, part of Borneo, Hainan,...

Ptolemaic armillary sphere Charles-François Delamarche Paris, ante 1798 Wood and papier-mâché covered with printed and partly hand-colored paper It measures 15.55 in in height x Ø 10...

This original 18th century frame is silver gilded over copper. It is elaborately embossed and chiseled. The cartouche is surrounded by rocaille and volute motifs. The Carta is mounte...

Pocket globe London, between 1775 and 1798 Re-edition of the globe of Hermann Moll (1678-1732) dated 1719 The globe is contained in its original case, which itself is covered in shark skin. There are slight gaps in the original paint on the sphere. The case no longer closes. The sphere measures 2.7 in (7 cm) in diameter whereas the case measures 2.9 in (7.4 cm) in diameter. lb 0.22 (kg 0.1) The globe is made up of twelve printed paper gores aligned and glued to the sphere. In the North Pacific Ocean there is a cartouche with the inscription: A Correct Globe with the new Discoveries. The celestial globe is depicted on the inside of the box and is divided into two hemispheres with the cartouche: A correct globe with ye new cons relations of Dr. Halley & c. It shows the ecliptic divided into the days of the zodiacal calendar and the constellations represented as animals and mythological figures. On the globe are delineated the equinoctial line, divided by degrees and hours, the ecliptic and the meridian (passing west of Greenwich). The continents are shaded and outlined in pink, green and yellow. It shows: the Cook routes; a wind rose in the Southern Indian Ocean; Antarctica without land; Africa with Negroland (Hermann Moll is considered the first geographer to name the West African region in his 1727 map. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, ed. 1902, under "States of Central Africa"); Tartary in Central Asia; the Mogul kingdom in northern India; in North America only New England, Virginia, Carolina, Florida, Mississippi are identified; California is already a peninsula; the northwest coast of America is "unknown parts" (Alaska is not described and it is only partially delineated, it was to become part of the United States in 1867); Mexico is named "Spain"; Central South America "Amazone America". Australia (which was to be so named after 1829) is called New Holland. The route of Admiral Anson is traced (1740) and the trade winds are indicated by arrows. (See Van der Krogt, P., Old Globes in the Netherlands, Utrecht 1984, p. 146 and Van der Krogt, P. - Dekker, E., Globes from the Western World, London 1993, pp. 115.) Elly Dekker, comparing Moll’s 1719 globe and his re-edition (of which the one described above is a sample), identifies the differences between them: the two editions are quite similar to each other, but in the "anonymous" globe, compared to the previous globe of 1719, California looks like a proper peninsula - the reports of the Spanish explorers of the region had given rise to uncertainty over whether it was connected to the mainland or not. The geographical nature of California was confirmed after the explorations of Juan Bautista de Anza (1774-1776). The routes of Dampier's journey were partially erased and the route of Captain James Cook's first voyage was superimposed on them, and the geography of Australasia was adapted accordingly, including the denomination of the Cook Strait. See Dekker, Elly, Globes at Greenwich, 1999. An important ante quem element is represented by Tasmania: it is not separated from Australia by the Bass Strait...

This set of four antique hand painted pottery tiles are all unsigned, so no specific artist can be identified, but are presumed to have be...

Italian Tabletop Diamond Front Iron Safe 18th century This remarkable 18th-century tabletop safe represents an exceptional fusion of security innovation and decorative metalwork. Co...

A very interesting Baroque period carved oak figure of a saint or prophet said to come from a demolished Russian Orthodox church. This compelling figure is ...

18th century Altar Modell, South Germany, with original painting, wood A rare altar model with original painting, in the middle Jesus Christus and on the ...

15 Volumes. William Shakespeare. The Plays. With corrections & Illustrations of various commentators to which are added notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. Fourth Edition Wi...

Antique 18th Century Diptych Sundial and Compass a portable wooden boxwood sundial with compass, of German origin, by David Beringer, Nuremberg, dating back to the 1790 circa, in good age related condition, with signs of wear consistent with age and use. David Beringer (1756 – 1821) was a German scientific instrument maker and craftsman active in Nuremberg and famous for his cubic wooden sundials visible in Metropolitan Museum of Art di New York. A portable sundial...

18th Century miniature bronze gilt cabinet with underglass paintings 18th Century gilt Bronze Miniature, Gold Sewing tools Cabinet A 18th Century bronze gilded miniature cabinet, se...

Thomas, Antoine Jean-Baptiste Un an à Rome et dans ses environs; Recueil de dessins lithographiés, représentant les costumes, les usages et le cérémonies c...

Antique map titled 'Kaart van Londen enz. en van het naby gelegen land ruim een Uur gaans rondsom dezelve Stad; getrokken uit de groote gemeeten Kaart van Hr. John Rocque'. In the se...

AUTHOR: (SWIFT, Jonathan). TITLE: The Hibernian Patriot: Being a Collection of Drapier's Letters to the People of Ireland, Concerning Mr. Wood's Brass Half-Pence. Together with Con...

Antique print titled 'Gesicht by de Doelen over de Korte Vyverberg tot Gravenhaghe'. Beautiful view on the Korte Vijverberg, next to the Hofvijver in The Hague. On the right-hand sid...

Persian Manuscript Page depicting a garden scene. Circa 18th century. Hand painted scene depicts a hilly outdoor landscape where people are congre...

Carte des Isles de Java, Sumatra, Borneo – Decorative Map by Bellin & van Schley, 1750s This richly detailed and decorative map titled Carte des Isles de Java Sumatra Borneo & les d...

Published London, 1788, John Bell. Nicely leather bound in brown with fine tan, brown and gilt spines. Watery green inside the boards. 5 3/4" H x 3 7/8" W x 1" D Condition: the spi...

Antique print titled 'View in Anamooka and the Inhabitants'. Depicts the marketplace that was established in a ring in front of the main house in Anamooka, Tonga - named the Friendly Islands because of his reception when James Cook's third Pacific voyage arrived there in May 1777. Artists and Engravers: Engraved for Bankes's 'New System of Geography'. Published by Royal Authority. Condition: Good, age-related toning. Please study image carefully. Date: c.1790 Overall size: 38.6 x 23.2 cm. Image size: 30.6 x 21.5 cm. A View at Anamooka This engraving after a drawing comes from the official account of Cook's third voyage, 'A voyage to the Pacific Ocean'. Captain James Cook (1728-1779) made three separate voyages to the Pacific (with the ships Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure, and Discovery) and did more than any other voyager to explore the Pacific and Southern Ocean. Cook not only encountered Pacific cultures for the first time, but also assembled the first large-scale collections of Pacific objects to be brought back to Europe. He was killed in Hawaii in 1779. Cook was in Nomuka (Annamooka), Tonga or Friendly Isles from May 1-14, 1777. "On May 2 1777 the expedition reached Nomuka and anchored in the harbour on the north side of the island, which Cook had already used in June 1774. Both ships were in want of refreshments. A camp was erected on shore both as a trading post and a workshop for repairs. Watering, cutting wood...

A scarce Baroque Period Spanish altarpiece retablo / reredo, by (attributed) Luis Salvador Carmona (1708-1767), depicting thorn crowned Christ crucified / Cristo crucificado hand carved, polychromed wood with forged iron nails, mounted on later plaque. This rare antique religious work / object of art, circa 1750, most likely commissioned by the Catholic Church of Spain, destined to be prominently displayed as an altarpiece / retablo or as part of a much larger reredo, directly behind the main altar at a Spanish or Continental European Catholic Church (French, Italian, Iberian, Portuguese) The Crucified Christ, displayed mounted on a later faded red fabric upholstered shaped backboard plaque with textured gilt border. The exceptional hand sculpted, carved, gessoed, polychrome painted figure depicting bloodied Jesus, with crown of thorns atop his head, only wearing a undulating shaped cloth around his loin, arms extended and feet crossed, spear head form iron nails through both. The verso covered in an old paper printed backing with metal hook hardware at top for wall hanging. Dimensions (approx): Overall: 22" High, 14.5" Wide, 3.25" Deep Figure only: 16" High, 10" Wide, 3" Deep Historical background: Artist: (attrib) Luis Salvador Carmona (1708, Nava del Rey – 1767, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque sculptor who came from a family of artists, including uncle of Manuel Salvador Carmona. He was sent to be trained in Madrid in the workshop of Juan Alonso...

Montagu, Mrs. (Elizabeth), 1718-1800 An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespeare; An essay on the writings and genius of Shakespeare, compared with the Greek and French dramat...

Elegant 18th-century reliquary in solid silver, finely hand-engraved, with ornamental decoration typical of Baroque religious art. Its oval shape features floral and symbolic details...

A fine 18th century model of a field cannon, the carraige with brass details and tools to the sides, the barrel cast in bronze. Circa 1770 Barrel length 26cm

Antique religion print titled 'Een der tien Kopere Waschvaten in den Tempel van Salomon'. This print depicts one of the ten Brass Lavers in Solomon's Temple. This print originate...

Carved wooden representing Christ on the cross.

European signal cannon from the late 18th-19th century. An antique piece made and used in Europe, circa 1800. This kind of small scale toys were made to be used in the navy of some ...

A scarce Baroque period Spanish or Italian hand carved polychrome painted wood Santo sculpture with inset colored glass eyes, original white robe garb and later wood rosary. Intrica...

Jacques Bellin's copper-plate map entitled "Partie de la Coste de Guinee Dupuis la Riviere de Sierra Leona Jusquau Cap das Palmas", depicting the coast of Guinea and Sierra Leone in ...

Russian (18/19th Cent) ornately painted and carved sleigh with carved shell front sleigh

18th Century mahogany and brass telescope by Nairne & Blunt of London, having a mahogany barrel with a thumb wheel to the side of the main barrel, supported on a solid brass tripod s...

Description: Antique map titled 'Kaart van het Zuidelykste Gedeelte van Zuider Amerika (..) - Carte de la Partie Meridionale de l'Amerique Meridionale (..)'. Detailed chart tracking the route of Capt. George Anson's ship The Centurion in 1745. The chart shows the tracks of Anson's ships around South America & Cape Horn to the Juan Fernandes Islands, with notes on currents and positions. In 1740 Capt. George Anson (1697-1762) of the Royal Navy, was given command of a squadron of ships. As England was at war with France and Spain, Anson's task was to intercept and capture a Spanish treasure...

A wood sculpture wonderfully carved depiction of the Virgin Mary with Jesus Child gilded with gold leaf and polychrome painted, Spain, mid-18th century...

Antique religion print titled 'Het Heilige der Heilige binnen den Tempel van Salomon'. This print depicts Solomon's Temple, the Holy of Holies, showing the Ark of the Covenant...

English bronze thunder mug signal cannon with decorative central ring, original side handle, lower fuse port, and resting on circular ringed base. Late 18t...

A late 18th century brass lacquered Culpepper design microscope by Adams, London in the original mahogany case. The two drawers contain a good selection of lenses and accessories. Th...