Pair of Empire Style Malachite Obelisks with Ormolu Mounts, 20th Century

A powerful and dramatic pair of Italian neoclassical carved and gilt wood mythical animal figures on faux painted bases, mid 19th century or earlier, Italy. The fantastic beasts are well carved, with dramatic wings that follow the sensuous curve of the neck, and a sinuous body ends in an eel-like tail gracefully curled in upon itself. The bearded heads feature a flattened snout with sharp teeth and a lolling tongue, and pointed horse ears and mane. The long forelegs stretched out in front of them and ending in pawed and clawed feet. The beasts have characteristics of several different mythical animals, making them hard to positively identify. The most likely candidates would be dragons, hippocampi, or chimeras. The beasts are unfinished to the back, indicating they were originally part of a relief decoration, possibly from a mirror. They have now been mounted to wooden bases faux painted to imitate porphyry. They would make perfect bookends or mantle sculptures.

A charming and delightful pair of Kutani glazed porcelain models, okimono, of Mandarin ducks, oshidori, Showa Era, circa 1930's, Japan. The two Mandarin ducks, called oshidori in ...

A monumental pair of Neoclassical ormolu mounted malachite obelisks, Circa 1920 in date. The square conforming malachite columns taper to pyramid shapes with applied decorative g...

An exceptional pair of Porphyry, marble and ormolu mounted Obelisks, of typical form surmounted with foliate-cast finial above ball feet, resting on a panelled plinth mounted with li...