18th Century and Earlier Furniture

A striking hand-carved wooden sculpture, nearly 200 cm tall, with a twisted form that evokes organic movement and architectural rhythm. Painted in delicate layers of soft pink, green...

An important LARGE Flemish tapestry 16th-17th century Old Testament subject of King Solomon, standing before his tent in armour and receiving a gift of two peacocks, from an old m...

A double-sided illuminated manuscript on parchment hand-written and coloured from the Gothic period (15th century) This is a page from a liturgical book such as the Psalters and cour...

18th Century French Louis XV Walnut and Oak Chest of Drawers Superb 18th century serpentine commode. The case is fitted with two small and two large drawers. It is raised on short c...

Chinese Export Porcelain Famille Rose Plates Painted with Flower Baskets, Yongzheng (1723-1735) The pair of Chinese Export Yongzheng period "Rose-Verte" porcelain plates depict an o...

An exceedingly rare and beautifully-illustrated work by Carl Gustav Jablonsky and JFW Herbst, whose Natursystem is one of the first attempts at a complete survey of exotic and European butterflies, and edited following the system of Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), the father of modern taxonomy, as stated in the subtitle of the work. Jablonsky, Carl Gustav & J.F.W. Herbst. Natursystem aller bekannten in- und ausländischen Insekten: Schmetterlinge; Nach dem System des Ritters Carl von Linné...

This is a beautiful pair of Derby figures called the "Garland Shepherds", made in about 1765. The pair is one of Derby's most famous figure pairs and it bears the catalogue number E2...

This antique Dutch Delft charger is hand painted in a vibrant array of polychrome hues, including cobalt blue, green, yellow, iron red, ochre, and manganese purple. We see a beautifu...

Rare and beautiful small medieval treasure. Hand carved Romanesque marble capital, Italy, circa 1250-1400. Weathered, small losses. More photo's avai...

From Christian Dior, France, a 1960s Era belt made of five gold-tone snake chains bound at three intervals with soldered rectangular stations. The chains hang in a graceful swag. The Christian Dior stamped...

Immerse yourself in the captivating hues of this exceptional hemimorphite specimen from China. This unique piece showcases a mesmerizing gradient of colors, transitioning smoothly fr...

Korean inlaid ceramic celadon oil bottle, of compressed circular form inlaid in black and white slip of three flower blossoms on the shoulder, narrow nec...

Beautiful weathered hand carved stone angel head ornament that once adorned a facade. France, circa 1650-1750. Weathered. Measurement includes the wooden base.

Description: Antique map titled'Theatrum Historicum pars Orientalis.' Finely engraved historical map with a profusion of details. It shows the Middle East and Asia. Decorative ti...

Madigascar Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old Dimensions: 6.5 x.5.25 × 1.25 in./ 16.5 × 13.5 × 3 cm Weight: 1 lb 9 oz/ 710 gms A richly colored example wit...

A good quality Georgian 18th century mahogany rectangular tea caddy having replacement brass axe drop handle to hinged lid enclosing cavity with attractive inlaid decoration throughout. Tea was of course a very precious commodity throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and the purpose of a tea caddy was not just to preserve the and extend the life of the precious tea leaves...

1720 Weigel Map of Jerusalem Based on Josephus' Writings This intricate 1720 bird's-eye view map of ancient Jerusalem by I.H. Coccejo, engraved by Christoph Weigel, offers a fasc...

A Flemish Tapestry Panel Dating from 17th century Hand woven using naturally dyed wools and silks Featuring a full length Cherub, a Phoenix and a pair of baby Rabbits Antique cond...

ANTIQUE PAINTED DOMED TRUNK A highly decorative chest of lovely proportions with a slightly domed top. Made of softwood in its original paint with hand-painted floral decoration on...

A handsome walnut & marble commode from France, an 18th century original in the Louis XVI style, fitting with traditional to transitional interiors equally well. The removable stone ...

This is an antique mail carriage strong box. An English, oak security chest, dating to the early Georgian period, circa 1720. Fascinating George I lock b...

Stunning 17th Century Verdure Tapestry pillow with foliage and petite tassels that will brighten up any sofa, canapé or settee! Tan velour backing and petit tassels. They each measur...

A rare and very fine bronze corpus of Christ after a model by Michelangelo, cast ca. 1597-1600 by Juan Bautista Franconio and painted in 1600 by Francisco Pacheco in Seville, Spain. The present corpus reproduces a model attributed to Michelangelo. The best known example, lesser in quality, is one on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). The association of this corpus with Michelangelo was first brought to light by Manuel Gomez-Moreno (1930-33) who studied the wider circulated casts identified throughout Spain. The attribution to Michelangelo was subsequently followed by John Goldsmith-Phillips (1937) of the MET and again by Michelangelo expert, Charles de Tolnay (1960). While Michelangelo is best known for his monumental works, there are four documented crucifixes he made. The best known example is the large-scale wooden crucifix for the Church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito in Florence, made in 1492 as a gift for the Prior, Giovanni di Lap Bicchiellini, for allowing him to study the anatomy of corpses at the hospital there. In 1562, Michelangelo wrote two letters to his nephew, Lionardo, indicating his intention to carve a wooden crucifix for him. In 1563 a letter between Lionardo and the Italian sculptor Tiberio Calcagni, mentions this same crucifix (a sketch of a corpus on the verso of a sheet depicting Michelangelo’s designs for St. Peter’s Basillica [Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille] may reproduce this). That Michelangelo was working on small corpora in the last years of his life is further evidenced by the small (26.5 cm) unfinished wooden crucifix located at the Casa Buonarroti, considered his last known sculptural undertaking. Michelangelo’s contemporary biographer, Giorgio Vasari additionally cites that Michelangelo, in his later years, made a small crucifix for his friend, Menighella, as a gift. Surviving sketches also indicate Michelangelo’s study of this subject throughout his career, most notably during the end of his life but also during the 1530s-40s as he deepened his spiritual roots. The occasional cameo of crucified Christ’s throughout his sketched oeuvre have made it challenging for scholars to link such sketches to any documented commissions of importance. All the while, in consideration that such objects were made as gifts, it is unlikely they should be linked with commissions. Nonetheless, a number of theories concerning Michelangelo’s sketches of Christ crucified have been proposed and some may regard the origin of the present sculpture. It has been suggested that the corpus could have its impetus with Michelangelo’s work on the Medici Chapel, whose exclusive design was given to the master. It is sensible smaller details, like an altar cross, could have fallen under his responsibility (see for example British Museum, Inv. 1859,0625.552). Others have noted the possibility of an unrealized large marble Crucifixion group which never came to fruition but whose marble blocks had been measured according to a sheet at the Casa Buonarroti. A unique suggestion is that Michelangelo could have made the crucifix for Vittoria Colonna, of whom he was exceedingly fond and with whom he exchanged gifts along with mutual spiritual proclivities. In particular, Vittoria had an interest in the life of St. Bridget, whose vision of Christ closely resembles our sculpture, most notably with Christ’s proper-left leg and foot crossed over his right, an iconography that is incredibly scarce for crucifixes. The suggestion could add sense to Benedetto Varchi’s comment that Michelangelo made a sculpted “nude Christ…he gave to the most divine Marchesa of Pescara (Vittoria Colonna).” Of that same period, two sketches can be visually linked to our sculpture. Tolnay relates it to a sketch of a Crucified Christ at the Teylers Museum (Inv. A034) of which Paul Joannides comments on its quality as suggestive of preparations for a sculptural work. Joannides also calls attention to a related drawing attributed to Raffaello da Montelupo copying what is believed to be a lost sketch by Michelangelo. Its relationship with our sculpture is apparent. Montelupo, a pupil of Michelangelo’s, returned to Rome to serve him in 1541, assisting with the continued work on the tomb of Pope Julius II, suggesting again an origin for the corpus ca. 1540. The earliest firm date that can be given to the present corpus is 1574 where it appears as a rather crudely conceived Crucifixion panel, flanked by two mourners in low-relief and integrally cast for use as the bronze tabernacle door to a ciborium now located at the Church of San Lorenzo in Padula. Etched in wax residue on the back of the door is the date, 27 January 1574, indicating the corpus would have at least been available as a model by late 1573. The Padula tabernacle was completed by Michelangelo’s assistant, Jacopo del Duca and likely has its origins with Michelangelo’s uncompleted tabernacle for the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Rome. The impetus for the Padula tabernacle’s Crucifixion panel begins with a series of late Crucifixion sketches by Michelangelo, depicting a scene of Christ crucified and flanked by two mourners (see British Museum Inv. 1895.0915.510; Ashmolean Museum Inv. 1846.89, KP II 343 recto; Windsor Castle RCIN 912761 recto; and Louvre Inv. 700). A faintly traced block possibly intended for sculpting the sketch of the crucified Christ on its recto was discovered by Tolnay on a version of the composition at Windsor Castle. The Windsor sketch and those related to it appear to have served as preparatory designs for what was probably intended to become the Basilica of St. Mary’s tabernacle door. Vasari documents that the project was to be designed by Michelangelo and cast by his assistant, Jacopo del Duca. Michelangelo died before the commission was complete, though on 15 March 1565, Jacopo writes to Michelangelo’s nephew stating, “I have started making the bronze tabernacle, depending on the model of his that was in Rome, already almost half complete.” Various circumstances interrupted the completion of the tabernacle, though its concept is later revitalized by Jacopo during preparations to sell a tabernacle, after Michelangelo’s designs, to Spain for Madrid’s El Escorial almost a decade later. The El Escorial tabernacle likewise encountered problems and was aborted but Jacopo successfully sold it shortly thereafter to the Carthusians of Padula. An etched date, 30 May 1572, along the base of the Padula tabernacle indicates its framework was already cast by then. A 1573 summary of the tabernacle also describes the original format for the door and relief panels, intended to be square in dimension. However, a last minute decision to heighten them was abruptly made during Jacopo’s negotiations to sell the tabernacle to King Phillip II of Spain. Shortly thereafter the commission was aborted. Philippe Malgouyres notes that the Padula tabernacle’s final state is a mixed product of the original design intended for Spain’s El Escorial, recycling various parts that had already been cast and adding new quickly finished elements for its sale to Padula, explaining its unusually discordant quality, particularly as concerns the crudeness of the door and relief panels which were clearly made later (by January 1574). Apart from his own admission in letters to Spain, it is apparent, however, that Jacopo relied upon his deceased master’s designs while hastily realizing the Padula panels. If Michelangelo had already earlier conceived a crucifix model, and Jacopo had access to that model, its logical he could have hastily employed it for incorporation on the door panel to the tabernacle. It is worth noting some modifications he made to the model, extending Christ’s arms further up in order to fit them into the scale of the panel and further lowering his chin to his chest in order to instill physiognomic congruence. A crude panel of the Deposition also follows after Michelangelo’s late sketches and is likewise known by examples thought to be modifications by Jacopo based upon Michelangelo’s initial sculptural conception (see Malgouyres: La Deposition du Christ de Jacopo del Duca, chef-d’oeuvre posthume de Michel-Ange). Jacopo’s appropriation of an original model by Michelangelo for more than one relief on the Padula tabernacle adds further indication that the crucifix was not an object unique to Jacopo’s hand, as few scholars have posited, but rather belongs to Michelangelo’s original...

A rare and impressive English Gothic Medieval style Cabinet, Circa 1714. Built during the reign of King George I in honor of Hugh Lupus the First Earl of Chester and his castle. Hu...

Chinese export porcelain octagonal plate decorated in the Chinese Imari taste. The plate is decorated in cobalt underglaze blue and ...

Hepplewhite hollow front flip top game table with gated leg. The solid figured mahogany top is mounted to a conforming brick laid apron veneered in figured mahogany, and the borders ...

A Pre-Columbian pottery vessel. There are hand-sculpted vestiges of a face reminiscent of early figurative efforts. Patina includes traces of red cinnabar and mineral deposits, attes...

A charming unusual small proportioned Neoclassical chest of drawers from 18th-century Sweden in muted blue-blackish tone. The chest comprises three drawers, including a top drawer wi...

George III Mahogany Lattice back armchair. Seat with new top fabric. The rectangular lattice back above an upholstered tight seat with mahogany arms on sq...

Beautiful 18th century French fireback with an Allegory of Love. The date of production of the fireback, 1743, is also cast in the fireback. The fireback is made of cast iron and has...

A French giltwood mirror in the Louis XVI style, circa 1790, with incredible, carved motifs set off by the deep green painted backpanel. Flowing from the top of the piece, ribbons ca...

An original antique burgundy hard stone bloc with a central lower part. Perfect to be used as a tabletop or for a Wabi Sabi spirit fireplace base and ca...

This engaging sculpture of Memento Mori dated Late 17th Century, is part of a production of small terracotta figures for private use, which Giuseppe Maria Mazza, created throughout h...

1777 Le Rouge Map of Florida, Louisiana, and the Bahamas. Lot of 2 large maps: "Carte de la Floride Occidentale et Louisiane & La Peninsule et Golfe de la Floride" This rare and im...

Antique George III quality mahogany drop leaf table having a quality mahogany top with two oval drop leaves standing on turned tapering legs with pad feet A handsome 18th century e...

A superb quality and highly attractive 18th Century Welsh oak potboard dresser from the Swansea Valley region. This exceptional piece is constructed from well-figured oak and boasts ...

A fine pair of antique Neuozier pattern plates. By the Royal Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. Decorated with Deutsche Blumen floral sprays to the center and sides including roses...

Rare Antique Map of the Americas with Island California by Justus Danckerts, ca. 1696 This exceptional antique map titled Novissima et Accuratissima Totius Americae Descriptio per I...

16th century Italian carved and polychromed figure of a male saint or prophet with a wonderful presence. Shown holding an open book in his right hand with flames at his feet, mid-16t...

This exquisite 18th-century Chinese export porcelain bowl was hand-painted during the Qianlong era, circa 1770, using colored enamels in the Famille Rose palette. Pink peonies in ful...

Circa 1780-1800 Georgian Secretaire Bookcase, English. Neo-classical taste. The base raised on French splay feet with scalloped, line inlaid apron. Shield escutcheons. The handsome i...

Large Scottish 18th Century Solid Oak Blanket Chest. The antique blanket chest has a large top-opening box on top of a chest of drawers. The drawers are deep and fairly slim. Lovely ...

Vintage, polished rhodochrosite box with striking marbled veining in pink, black, and grey, topped with a smooth oval agate cabochon. The interior is lined in vibrant orange felt, wi...

Botanical Trio with Butterflies – From Nicolaas Meerburgh’s 'Afbeeldingen van Zeldzaame Gewassen' This elegant trio of hand-colored botanical prints, featuring delicately illustrate...

Unique Baroque red marble holy water font or stoup with great patina, Italy, circa 1750. Weathered, H:8,5cm W:28cm D:23,5-33,5cm

15th century period Gothic Tabernacle, extremely rare (Medieval) architectural religious art, museum quality ecclesiastical altar piece. This is an ...

A Memento Mori in wood with Chrismon, monogram of Christ. Valuable sculpture in fruit wood in almost true-to-life measurements, sculpted with art and finished with a wealth of detail...

Spanish wardrobe, with one door, entirely painted in black with flowers.

An early Eighteenth Century Spanish walnut Vargueno with original polychrome decoration and bone inlay. Highly decorated walnut cabinet resting on bun feet raised on a walnut stand o...

Fabulous Louis XV period console table of stunning marble top and intricately carved frame. The gray marble slab is elegantly shaped to a bowed front that aligns perfectly with the s...

An 18th Century Georgian Mahogany Bureau Having Well Figured Fall Flap Above Four Long Drawers With Original Water Gilt Handles Raised On Original Bracket Feet (Typical of the lat...

An English 17th Century Oak Wainscot armchair Ca 1680 English oak armchair with a carved panel backrest. The armrests have a beautiful patina,...

A rare handsome Chinese Heavenly jade Bi disk carved in a rarely found combination of mutton fat yellow and green jade with patches of brown accents in the stone that depict a green ...

George III Mahogany Corner Armchair, it’s carved backrest & carved eagle form arm rests raised on turned supports with pierced urn form back splats. With green silk slip seat raised ...

A very charming farmhouse table in the original yellow ochre paint with three drawers with the original wooden pulls, turned legs with "X" stretcher & finial. Sweden, circa late 1700...

A late 18th century French Louis XVI style marquetry demilune commode made of mahogany with inlaid veneers of mahogany, walnut and exotic woods. Fine craftsmanship with bookmatched v...

Six-legged dining tables are very desirable and relatively rare. They offer obviously greater stability than the four-legged form and cost a good deal more. Beautifully constructed ...

A sumptuous pair of George III carved giltwood wall brackets, the lavishly carved supports having highly detailed and delightful carving of rosa centifolia, the Rose of Provence ben...

This set of six plates, crafted by John Turner around 1795, features the exquisite Imari color palette of iron red, cobalt blue, and radiant gold. The color combination creates a vib...

Pair of 18th century Coromandel panels with Chinese Chippendale Frames. with a scene depicting figures with pavilions and having Chinese Chippendale ebonized fretwork carved frames.