Mid-19th Century Wall Decorations

Title: Tinted Lithograph of Kettle Falls on the Columbia River, 1856 Description: This stunning lithograph, "Kettle Falls, Columbia River," captures the raw power and striking g...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of a Multi-Level Medieval Siege Tower This impressive hand-coloured lithograph features a detailed depiction of a multi-level medieval siege ...

The image is a hand-colored engraving titled "Louis IX," representing the 13th-century King of France, also known as Saint Louis, renowned for his Christian zeal and justice. It is p...

The image depicts Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, known for being a significant figure in the early history of Brandenburg-Prussia. Albrecht is shown in a kneeling po...

A pillow book was meant to teach a young bride about the art of lovemaking. This rare museum-quality 19th century example is composed of 12 masterfully pai...

Title: "Eleanor of Portugal: Regal and Resplendent" Description: This print depicts Eleanor of Portugal, a figure of royalty and grace. Her attire is sumptuous and befitting her sta...

The print illustrates a variety of fossilized marine creatures, specifically cephalopods and gastropods, as well as coral: 1. **Élément d'ostreidé** - This could refer to a part of ...

Antique print titled ‘Histoire Sainte, AncienTestament, Départ du jeune Tobie.’ This plate shows a scene from the Old Testament; The Departure of young Tobias.’ This print origina...

Napoleon Shows Mercy to Princess Hatzfeld, 1806 - Emotional Historical Engraving This striking 19th-century engraving portrays the poignant scene of Princess Hatzfeld imploring Napo...

Antique print titled 'Jeune Fille de l'Ile Madisson'. Hand colored woodcut of Piteenee, a young woman of Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia). She wears a white gown, cowrie necklace...

Title: Collaborative Fishing at Jervis Bay: Astrolabe Sailors and Indigenous People Description: This engaging lithograph, circa 1836, depicts a lively scene at Jervis Bay, New Ho...

This hand-colored engraving depicts a dramatic battle scene titled "St. Domingue - Prise de la Ravine aux Couleuvres" (Capture of the Ravine of Snakes in Saint-Domingue). The image s...

Original hand colored lithograph on paper of the multi colored Japanese Pheasant, with accompanying notes by John Gould. The work was drawn on stone ...

Great image of an Indian and a lesser two horn rhino Unframed. It gives you the option of perhaps making a set up using your own choice of frames. Lithograph after Cpt. brown with ...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Knightly Helmets with Vibrant Plumes Description: This striking hand-coloured lithograph features four elaborately decorated knightly he...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Swords, Axes, and War Hammers Description: This finely executed hand-coloured lithograph features an impressive display of medieval and Re...

Original antique print of inhabitants of the Mariana Islands. This print originates from 'Costume Antico e Moderno: Palestine, China, India, Oceania' b...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph: Ornate Jousting Knights with Striking Heraldry This exceptional original hand-coloured lithograph, dating to 1842, offers a vibrant and detail...

This is an illustration of a soldier from Venice, known as a "Soldat Vénitien." The image is likely from a historical or military costume book, detailing the dress and equipment of v...

Title: Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Armoured Knight and Horse in Tournament Dress Description: This exquisite hand-coloured lithograph presents a fully armoured knight mounted on a similarly armoured horse, highlighting the grandeur of medieval tournament culture. Drawn from *Der Rittersaal: Eine Geschichte des Ritterthums* (1842) by Friedrich Martin von Reibisch and Dr. Franz Kottenkamp, the plate exemplifies the craftsmanship of tournament armor and equestrian regalia. The knight is clad in articulated plate armor, intricately engraved and polished to perfection, reflecting the martial prowess and status of a noble warrior. He holds a ceremonial poleaxe, often seen in jousts or tournaments as both a practical weapon and a symbol of chivalry. His plumed helmet, adorned with vibrant red and yellow feathers, adds an element of spectacle befitting a medieval tournament. The horse is draped in a richly patterned caparison, a cloth covering adorned with intricate geometric designs, likely symbolizing the knight's heraldic identity. The ornate horse armor...

A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....

Mexican Indians Bringing Flowers and Fruits to Market, Lake Chalco, 1866 This vibrant hand-colored wood engraving, published in Harper's Weekly on November 10, 1866, beautifully i...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of a Knightly Joust in Bold Red and Green This rare and original hand-coloured lithograph, produced in 1842, transports the viewer back to the ...

A Very Large and Exceptionally Fine Quality Antique Italian Micro-Mosaic Plaque Depicting "The Saint Peter Square" in Rome. The center medallion surrounded by a beautiful Laurel Wreath in multiple shades of Green Mosaic amidst a black Belgium Marble border. The interior rounded subject depicts Saint Peter Square which is found in Rome, Italy. The entire center panel is made up of a captivating array of tesserae in a variety of shapes and colors, which create this stunning mosaic construct. When inspected from up-close, small rectangular tesserae are found in an assortment of colors, which include: white, green, blue, red, black, brown, orange etc. When the subject is seen from afar, a fantastic image of the entire Saint Peter Square can be viewed as if a painting has been created. The oil on canvas of this scene, by was sold in Christie's Auction for over $2,000,000 USD. The plaque rests in a custom ebonized and gilt square frame. This can be used as a decorative object on the wall to serve as a painting, or, be converted to a table-top by mounting it on a table stand. Rome, Circa: 1850 Giovanni Paolo Panini (Piacenza 1691-1765 Rome), View of Saint Peter's Square, Rome. From Christie's Auction: Giovanni Paolo Panini arrived in Rome in 1711, painting capricci and architectural pieces in a vigorous if slightly eccentric style, and by 1719, when he was admitted to the Academy of St. Luke and the virtuosi al Pantheon, he was a rising star in the Roman art world. From around 1719-1726 he was much in demand for decorative frescoes, including quadratura, ornament and landscape and other genres, often in collaboration with figure or flower painters. During this period he worked for Cardinal Patrizi at Villa Patrizi, Cardinal Annibale Albani at Palazzo Albani (now del Drago) alle Quattro Fontane, Livio de Carolis at Palazzo de Carolis, Cardinal Alberoni at Palazzo Alberoni, Innocent XIII Conti in the Quirinal and in the library of S. Croce in Gerusalemme. In 1724 he married Caterina Gosset, the sister-in-law of Nicolas Vleughels, the director of the French Academy in Rome, to which he was admitted in 1732, and as a result he was much patronized by the French. During the 1720s he developed his figure style away from the awkwardness of his early works into one that concentrated on groups of stylishly-dressed aristocrats and skillfully modelled bystanders, sibyls and pseudo-antique figures. These he noted down in drawings (such as a sketchbook in the British Museum) that he drew upon to populate his paintings. He also began to receive commissions to design and record temporary festivals, often for French ambassadors to Rome. By the beginning of the 1730s Panini was developing a distinctive subgenre of the capriccio in which recognizable monuments are placed in imaginary topographical relationships, which were well-received in the classicizing era of Clement XII Corsini. In 1732 he was one of the panel of judges for the competition instituted by Clement for the Lateran façade, and in the following year painted an impressive View of Piazza del Quirinale for the pope. At about this time he was developing his best-known topographical subjects, interior views of St Peter's and the Pantheon, which were much in demand, to judge by the number of extant versions extending into the 1750s. By about 1734 he was beginning to attract the attention of English patrons, who ordered sets of Roman views, such as those at Marble Hill House (1738) and Castle Howard. In 1736, through Filippo Juvarra, he received important commissions from Philip V of Spain for scenes of the life of Christ in the Chinoiserie room at La Granja in Spain (1736). From as early as the 1720s he had been producing some vedute (view-paintings), initially based on prototypes by Gaspar van Wittel, and he developed the genre in subsequent decades in works that would include impressive panoramic views of the Forum or Palatine, although his staple genre was the capriccio rather than the veduta. He also expanded his repertory of church interiors, adding such churches as S. Paolo fuori le Mura and S. Agnese in Piazza Navona, as well as church interiors recording special events. His son by his first marriage, Giuseppe (1718-1805), began to support him in architectural and festival design projects. By the 1740s Panini was at the peak of his powers, and evidently had a considerable workshop helping him meet demand, especially of capricci to be used as overdoors and other decorative installations. Giovanni Paolo was successful in elevating himself socially above the usual artisanal status of genre painters, and would sometimes include a self-portrait in paintings commissioned by the great and powerful. He also appears to have been successful financially, and owned a substantial palazzo in via Monserrato. He increasingly concentrated on important commissions, such as a view of the Lottery in Piazza Montecitorio (London, National Gallery, 1743-1744), the designs for the festival decorations for the birth of the Dauphin in Palazzo Farnese (Waddesdon Manor, 1751), or the view of an imaginary picture gallery housing the collection of Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga (Wadsworth Atheneum, 1749). In the mid-1750s he received an important series of commissions from the Duc de Choiseul, French ambassador to Rome and soon to become one of the most powerful men in France, that included his best-known compositions, Ancient Rome (Roma Antica) and Modern Rome (Roma Moderna). These large paintings, of which there are three sets (in Boston and Stuttgart, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Louvre) represent imaginary picture galleries based on the Valenti Gonzaga composition but hung with what purport to be Panini's own vedute of ancient and modern sites respectively (with corresponding pieces of sculpture). These paintings sum up the eighteenth-century canon of the greatest works of architecture and sculpture, and the equivalence between modern and ancient Rome. By this time Panini was being assisted by his son by his second marriage, Francesco (1748-1800), who was a skilled draughtsman and painter who continued his father's work after his death in 1765. The Farnborough Hall paintings The Piazza S. Pietro and the Campidoglio are important vedute by Panini painted in 1750 and originally installed, with other works by Panini and Canaletto, in the seat of the Holbech family, Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire (National Trust). Farnborough Hall had been inherited in 1717 by William Holbech (circa 1699-1771), who is documented on the Grand Tour in Florence, Rome and Venice from late 1732 until his return home at the end of April 1734 with his brother Hugh. Holbech is said to have gone on the Grand Tour to recover from a broken heart and to have spent a considerable time there prior to these documented appearances. During his time in Rome he acquired two Paninis, which were seen by an anonymous antiquary around 1746, who referred to various sculptures "all brought from Rome with two pictures, one of the Rotunda, and the other of diverse buildings by Panino" (British Library, Add. MS 6230, pp. 31-32). The Rotunda (the Pantheon) is a painting now in a private collection in New York, and is signed and dated 1734. The Diverse Buildings, which was probably one of Panini's capricci, has not been identified. On his Grand Tour Holbech seems also to have acquired two Canalettos, although they are not mentioned by the antiquary, who may only have had eyes for things Roman. In about 1746-1747, Holbech remodelled the house by creating a Saloon, now the dining room, at the back of the house. This room, the entrance hall, the staircase, library and closet were stuccoed by William Perritt of York, and a bill for this work dated 14 November 1750 survives (or survived until recently; G. Beard, Decorative Plasterwork in Great Britain, London, 1975, p. 233). The two Canalettos acquired on the Grand Tour were installed in the Saloon, together with two new works commissioned from Canaletto, who was then in England and working nearby at Warwick Castle in 1748. The two Paninis acquired on the Grand Tour may have been installed in the Library, as Alastair Laing assumes (op. cit.), while three new works commissioned from Panini in Rome were placed in the Hall and Saloon: the Piazza S. Pietro for the overmantel in the Hall (fig. 1), the Campidoglio as the overmantel in the Saloon (fig. 2), and an Interior of St Peter's (now in Detroit) (fig. 3) on the adjacent wall facing the windows. Two of the Canalettos flanked the Campidoglio, while the others were on the opposite wall. The Interior of St Peter's was therefore effectively the fifth member of the Canaletto set, distinct from the two overmantels. Holbech's installation of his Canalettos and Paninis in fixed stucco frames was unusual for England in 1750, and had probably been inspired by what he had seen on his Grand Tour in Northern Italy, where fixed stucco installations of canvases were common in the 1720s and 1730s (Cornforth, II, p. 51). The Campidoglio and the Interior of St Peter's are both signed and dated 1750, a date that corresponds to the payments for the stucco. The commission for the new Paninis would have been made through an agent, possibly the Roman dealer in antiquities Belisario Amidei from whom some of the antique busts in the Hall were acquired in 1745, who was also a picture dealer; or perhaps the painter Pietro Berton, who on 7 December 1750 shipped a Panini to England. The paintings were sold to Savile Gallery in 1929 and replaced by copies by one Mohammed Ayoub. The four Canalettos were exhibited at Savile Gallery in 1930 and entered the London art trade, finding their way at various times to Augsburg, Melbourne, Ottawa and a private collection. The Paninis seem to have been resold immediately to Knoedler & Co. in New York. When the stucco was removed from the library by Holbech's great-grandson, another William Holbech, shortly after his succession in 1812, the Interior of the Pantheon and the Diverse Buildings may have been taken down. Although there is no record of either painting being at Farnborough subsequently, the Interior of the Pantheon at least must have remained there, since it appeared at Knoedler's in 1930 at about the same time as the other Paninis, and was presumably acquired at the same time from the same source. The Campidoglio was a rare subject for Panini: this is the only known extant version, apart from fictive versions in the Metropolitan Museum (1757) (figs. 4) and Louvre (1759) versions of his Roma Moderna composition (but not in the first Boston version of 1757). Probably Holbech insisted on the choice of subject in order to represent the centre of Rome's civic administration to complement the religious one of St Peter's. The Campidoglio may have been of interest to English patrons because it represented the seat of a form of government they were more comfortable with than the papacy. For example, Canaletto painted the subject, together with English subjects, for Thomas Hollis, 'the most bigoted of all Republicans' in 1755, who may have wanted to 'represent London as the heir to the legacy of Ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy' (see Michael Liversidge and Jane Farrington, eds., Canaletto and England, exhibition catalogue, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, London, 1993, p. 25). Canaletto also painted the subject for Sir Richard Neave, Ist Baronet (1731-1814) of Dagnam Park, Essex, at the end of his English stay or shortly afterwards (i.e. 1755-1766) (sold, Sotheby's, London, 10 July 2002, lot 8). Like Holbech, Neave mixed Venetian and Roman subjects, but his Roman subjects steer clear of St Peter's: the others were the Piazza del Quirinale and Piazza Navona. While Holbech had gone to both Venice and Rome and commissioned views of both cities, Rome sets the keynote for his decoration: antique busts line the Hall, and its religious and civic centres are the overmantels in the Hall and Saloon respectively. The Piazza S. Pietro The Piazza S. Pietro shows the piazza much as it appears today, apart from the absence of Valadier's late eighteenth-century clocks on the towers. Bernini's colonnade (1656-1667), both ends of which are visible, reaches out its arms to embrace the viewer. In the center of the piazza is the obelisk moved by Sixtus V in 1586 from the left side of the church where it had formed part of the Circus of Nero. On either side are two fountains, the one on the right by Carlo Maderno (1613) and the one on the left created to match it by Carlo Fontana in 1677. Beyond is the rectangular forecourt to the church, the piazza retta, leading to the façade by Maderno, completed in 1610, and the dome by Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana. To the right of the façade the roof of the Sistine Chapel is just visible, followed by the Cortile di S. Damaso, the palace of the Swiss Guards and the palace of Paul V. A Cardinal is being driven in a carriage across the piazza at the right in the direction of the Borgo Nuovo and Ponte S. Angelo with his blue-liveried retinue and subsidiary carriages. Unlike the later versions of the subject that depict the Duke de Choiseul, there seems to be no intent to portray any particular cardinal: the procession of a cardinal here is presented simply as characteristic activity within the piazza. Various groups of figures, including well-dressed women in brightly colored dresses, Swiss Guards, priests, gentlemen, idlers and a pilgrim are distributed around the piazza. In the foreground an imaginary heap of fallen masonry provides visual interest in an otherwise dead space. Panini painted the Piazza S. Pietro on a number of occasions, and his works falls into two types, one with the viewpoint shifted slightly to left of the axis, as in the Farnborough Hall version, and one with it shifted slightly to the right. The first type is based on a composition by Gaspar van Wittel, of which there are numerous versions from 1684 until 1721 (Fig. 9 van Wittel). The work by Panini that seems closest to Van Wittel and therefore probably the earliest is the version in the Circolo della Caccia, Rome, which has been dated to the second half of the 1730s, but is probably a decade or so earlier. Another, on the London art market in 2002-2009, and a version with workshop participation at Sotheby's, Milan (20 November 2007, lot 137) and currently on the art market in Rome, are closer to an important painting in Toledo (Arisi no. 308) that is signed and dated 1741 (fig. 6). Van Wittel employed a wide format (about 2:1), showed both of the end faces of the colonnade almost to their full extent, and introduced the theme of a heap of masonry to enliven the foreground. His choice of perspective implies a viewpoint located in the small piazza between the Borgo Nuovo and Borgo Vecchio, now the Piazza Pio XII at the top of the Via della Conciliazione. From this viewpoint a building at the left tended to interfere with the view of the end of the left arm, as can be seen from the Nolli map...

Title: Original Hand-Coloured Knightly Combat Print from 'Der Rittersaal', Stuttgart, 1842 Description: This striking original hand-coloured lithograph originates from 'Der Ritter...

Exquisite 19th-Century Butterfly Lithographs: A Study of Exotic Lepidoptera by F. Hochmanz, Stuttgart This stunning compilation of 19th-century lithographs beautifully captures the ...

Antique print titled 'Ptychosperma rumphii - Ptychosperma angustifolia'. Original antique print of palm species. This print originates from 'Rumphia' b...

This is a remarkable early Victorian period wall charger, showcasing exquisite Persian craftsmanship, circa 1850. This large antique decorative presentation tray boasts intricate eng...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Knights Jousting in Ornate Black Caparisons This splendid original hand-coloured lithograph, created in 1842, captures the elegance, drama, and artistry...

Antique costume print titled 'Shah de Perse'. Original antique print of a Shah of Persia. This print originates from 'Moeurs, usages et costumes de tous les peuples du monde' by Augu...

Title: Rare Tinted Lithograph of Istanbul, 1852 Description: This exquisite tinted lithograph depicts a vibrant view of Istanbul, crafted by L. Haghe after Fossati and Gayer. Produc...

This matched pair of antique hand-carved walnut wall brackets were salvaged from an early Victorian house in Montreal, Canada. The brackets are unsigned, but presumed to have originated from Canada in approximately 1850 in the period Victorian style. The brackets are solid walnut in their composition and have ornate decorative carvings. These wall corbels...

Great image of a brown bear presented in an antique oak frame Lithograph after Cpt. Brown with original hand color. Please note the dark area to the right of the print is shadow P...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Jousting Scene with Vibrant Striped and Floral Caparisons This magnificent original hand-coloured lithograph, produced in 1842, offers a captivating gli...

These original antique prints are beautiful examples of botanical illustrations featuring tropical plants, drawn with precise detail and coloration. The Latin and English names of th...

Antique print titled 'General View of Tyre'. Tinted lithograph of Tyre. Tyre, modern Arabic Ṣūr, French Tyr or Sour, Latin Tyrus, Hebrew Zor or Tsor, town on the Mediterranean coast ...

These two lithographs are part of a series depicting Aboriginal people from Australia, originally drawn by the artist Nicolas-Martin Petit during the expeditions of French explorer N...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Knightly Parade Armour Print with Vibrant Heraldic Motifs This original hand-coloured lithograph, produced in 1842, provides a rare and striking view into...

Title: Zuni Sacred Spring - Lithograph from the Pacific Railroad Survey, 1856 Description: This lithograph, "Zuni Sacred Spring," presents a rare and evocative depiction of a sacr...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Fallen Knights and Horses Post-Joust This original hand-coloured lithograph, produced in 1842, offers a poignant a...

Title: 19th-Century Hand-Colored Lithograph of European Butterflies – Admirals, Tortoiseshells, and Peacocks in a Natural Setting Description: This vibrant 19th-century hand-colo...

This lithograph, created by Karl Joseph Brodtmann, depicts Tawadanega, an individual whose name suggests Native American heritage, likely from one of the Eastern Woodlands tribes. Th...

Eternal Devotion in Prayer: Handcolored Religious Adorer Print, Plate 77, 1862 This poignant handcolored lithograph, Eternal Devotion in Prayer, is Plate 77 from the 1862 second e...

Japanese Edo Period Nabashima Porcelain Blue Plate with Three Sake Bottles, Ca. 1850 PERIOD Edo Period ((1603-1868) – Mid-19...

Title: Scenic View of Butte de Morale - A Stunning 19th-Century Expedition Print Description: This lithograph captures the enchanting landscape of Butte de Morale, a serene and ve...

German Travelers - After Lucas Cranach, 1840 - Hand-Colored 19th Century Engraving This charming hand-colored engraving, titled "Voyageurs" ('Travelers'), is based on a design inspi...

Early 19th Century Portrait of Naval Captain William Compton Bolton (Anglo-American: 1799 - 1849), circa 1830s, an oil on canvas half-length portrait of a sea captain holding a spygl...

Title: 19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Medieval Axes, Maces, Daggers, and Firearm Description: This remarkable hand-coloured lithograph presents an eclectic collection of...

Title: Scenic View of the Rio Colorado Near Mojave Villages, A Historical Encounter Description: This historically rich lithograph captures a dynamic scene along the Rio Colorado, n...

Historic Engraving of Newburgh, NY with Hudson River View, c. 1850 This antique engraving beautifully captures a mid-19th-century view of Newburgh, New York, nestled along the sceni...

19th-Century Hand-Coloured Print of a Drummer on Horseback in Medieval Attire This original hand-coloured lithograph, dating from 1842, provides a captivating look into the ceremoni...

Title: 1852 Hand-Colored Lithograph of Fire Salamanders – A Natural History Illustration Description: This beautifully detailed hand-colored lithograph from 1852 portrays two fire ...

Title: Tinted Lithograph of the Great Basin from Canada de las Uvas, 1856 Description: This atmospheric lithograph, "The Great Basin from the Canada de las Uvas with Lost Mounta...

The 19th Century Six-Panel Japanese folding screen "Byōbu" usually used in the most important Japanese house to stop wind and also to separate different space of the same big room de...

Title: 19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of a Medieval Siege Tower in Action Description: This exceptional hand-coloured lithograph depicts a towering Medieval siege tower, a cr...

Stunning View of Palouse Falls – Scenic Cascade in Washington This breathtaking lithograph captures the awe-inspiring Palouse Falls, located in southeastern Washington State. The ...

Title: Bitter Root River Near Fort Owen in Montana - Tinted Lithograph from the Pacific Railroad Survey, 1856 Description: This stunning lithograph, "Bitter Root River Near Fort...

Magnificent Botanical Chromolithographs from Revue Horticole, Circa 1885 Artist and Lithographer Details: - Artist (Del. - Delineavit): The mention of "Godard del." signifies that ...

Title: Historic View of Chemakane Mission with Indigenous and Mission Life Scene Description: This captivating lithograph of the Chemakane Mission offers a rare glimpse into the his...

Title: 19th-Century Hand-Coloured Lithograph of Medieval Plate Armor Components Description: This hand-coloured lithograph presents two meticulou...