Early 18th century Old Master blue Mezzotint of a Hare, Lizard, Bird, Butterfly

An early 18th century Florentine ebonized wood aedicule case with gilt metal embellishments Ambit of Leonard van der Vinne Possibly first decade of the 18th century; Florence, Italy Approximate size: 83.5 (h) x 69 (w) x 23 (d) cm The cabinet’s centralized glass door is flanked by thick spiraling Solomonic columns surmounting a lower drawer. To the rear of the cabinet, the motif repeats in an eloquent display of perspectival treatment. The overall work is supported by a tiered base, elegantly conceived, and the cabinet is topped by a handsome pediment flanked by square plinths crested by gilt metal finials and an openwork frieze. The cabinet’s tempered and moderate form suggests an origin probably during the first decade or quarter of the 18th century. Although utilitarian in concept, the reserved and sublime expressiveness of this cabinet is managed with a quality and care respective of the influence of Florentine ebony cabinetry work conceived in the Galleria dei lavori or Grand Ducal Workshops of the 18th century Medici dynasty. In particular, its base mouldings echo a remarkable Night Clock...

Monumental late 18th century French Giltwood Frame France; ca. 1800 Giltwood Approximate size: 52 (h) x 48 (w) x 5 (d) in. This statement frame was beautifully conceived at the he...

18th century George III set of six mezzotints depicting Lucretia, circa 1780, ‘Domestic Happiness’, ‘The Elopement’, ‘The Virtuous Parent’, ‘Dressing for Masquerade’, ‘The Tavern Door’, ‘The Fair Penitent’. Engraved by John Raphael Smith, (1751 – 1812) and painted by George Morland, (1763 – 1804). Engraved by John Raphael Smith, (1751 – 1812) was a British painter and mezzotinter, son of Thomas Smith of Derby, the landscape painter, and father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States. Smith became a London publisher from 1781, including among his clients the radical writer and artist William Blake. A prolific mentor of apprentices, he shared plates with at least thirty other London printers. In this group was J. M. W. Turner, Charles H. Hodges, William Ward, Thomas Girtin...

Mezzotint after the 1699 self-portrait with the portrait of his wife, Margaretha van Rees, and their daughter Mariaby Adriaen van der Werff, now at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Hollan...