Australia

This Doulton Burslem part dessert set comprises six plates and a low comport. All pieces feature raised, moulded depictions of a variety of orchids which have been hand coloured and ...

This is a simply beautiful three tiered circular Etruscan revival styled brooch. Each layer features a a different pattens of scrolled, twisted, engraved, carved gold ornamentation w...

An Antique Diamond Floral Pendant, with 72 Old Cut Diamonds set in Platinum and 9ct Yellow and Rose Gold and suspended on a 14ct Yellow Gold curb link neck chain (Converted from a br...

This unusual porcelain oyster plate dates to the 1880s and was crafted in Limoges from a design by Theodore R Davis for President and Mrs. Rutherford B Hayes. In 1879 there was a com...

Although Mourning Jewelry has a long & fascinating history, going back to as far as Middle Ages, its popularity reached its peak during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901). ...

An Antique (Victorian) Double Snake Shaped Spinel Ring featuring 2 natural oval shaped Spinels of fine deep vibrant purple colour of 0.80ct in total (0.40ct each) bearing English ...

This small rectangular Black Forest picture frame has the sides carved to represent rough textured bark and is adorned with applied oak leaves on three sides. This would allow it to ...

Victorian fancy double link gold guard chain and bolt ring catch. Metal: 15k yellow gold Weight: 20.00 grams Measurements: Length 175cm Era: Victorian Circa 1880 Antique guard chains...

Victorian ruby and diamond ring with beautiful hand engraving – Hallmarked Birmingham 1887 Traditionally, these rings were given as a friendship band, as a gift to either young girls...

One key-wound 10k gold Waltham open-faced pocket watch with a white dial, black Roman numerals and gold spade hands. Serial number 3047431. Case number 2007. In working order with a ...

One very unique, unusually tapered, scrolled wide hinged oval antique bangle in sterling silver with a central panel depicting a Japonesque water-bird theme and a raised 9ct rose gol...

Wide hinged oval antique bangle in Sterling Silver and inlaid with yellow 9k pink and yellow flowers with hand engraved foliated motif and gallery work to sides. Metal: Sterling Sil...

Antique 925 Sterling Silver OpenFace 48mm Pocket Watch dates back to circa 1882 Despite its age, its in a great vintage condition & in ex...

Superbly detailed hinged Cigar Case, dating back to late 1800's Measuring 12cm (L) x 8cm (W) & being 15mm thick featuring gorgeous floral embossing from both sides bearing 800...

Victorian yellow gold “Lovers Knot” hollow hinged bangle. The knot comprises of a polished and an embossed finish Secured with a box style clasp and fitted with a safety chain. Meta...

This majolica serving tray by Thomas Forester is modelled as a large leaf overlaid with a strand of ivy leaves and seeds which runs down its length, and coloured with green, magenta ...

This porcelain plate from Doulton Burslem is from Doulton's "Spanish Ware" range with hand painted poppies done using a lovely soft palette, then outlined in gold on a pink ground wi...

Victorian fancy guard chain with double links, bars and facetted ball spacers. This chain is secured with a swivel catch. Metal: 9k rose gold Weight: 22.00 grams Measurements: Length 180cm Era: Victorian Circa 1880 Antique guard chains...

This beautiful diamond and pearl ring with pierced scrolled shoulders. The diamond is featured within a engraved star setting. The shoulders are adorned with eight seed pearls in perfectly shaped individual settings and engraved scroll work down the shoulders completes the ring. Hallmarked Chester...

This majolica serving tray by Thomas Forester is modelled as a large leaf overlaid with a strand of ivy leaves and seeds which runs down its length, and coloured with green, magenta ...

'New Home', Original Antique Early 18th Century Sewing Machine Poster This is an original poster from 1889, advertising a French brand of sewing machine, "Take a quick look" This p...

Antique 15k solid yellow gold long guard chain with an intricate twisted rope design. This exquisite chain measures 148cm in length and features a Victorian-style bolt-ring clasp. It...

This set of twelve plates are by the French factory Choisy le Roi and are decorated with the finely engraved printed pattern "Le Langage des Fleurs", or the "Language of Flowers". Ea...

This bottle-shaped Doulton Lambeth specimen vase is from the Carrara Ware range which was a stoneware range of moderate output made between about 1887 and 1903. This vase was designed by Mildred B Smallfield (1862-?) who was listed as a senior assistant at Doulton in 1882. It is decorated with a pattern of enamelled stylized flowers in blue, green and white, and enhanced with gilding on an ivory coloured ground. Her assistant was Minnie Neal. A similar vase by Smallfield is shown on page 81 of the "Lambeth Art Pottery" exhibition catalogue, published by Richard Dennis in 1975. Carrara Ware was also decorated by the Barlow sisters, Mark V Marshall...

This large French porcelain hand painted and gilded vase features two colourful birds perched on branches in a forest setting surrounded by blossoms and coloured leaves, on a pale li...

This large Victorian reverse painted glass tray is decorated with a scene of birds, flowers and a butterfly all above a gilded grid on a black grou...

This hand painted and gilded tea canister is by Samson of Paris and is decorated with a faux armorial coat of arms on one side, and on the other with a...

This Pinder, Bourne & Co. sauce tureen on stand could also be listed as Doulton Burslem, as Doulton had purchased Pinder, Bourne & Co. in 1878 and this piece is dated September 1881....

This pair of silver plated pierced and engraved fish servers were made by Elkington & Co. They are of good quality and quite weighty. They are...

This two tier Lazy Susan is made of mahogany with a diameter of 533 mm (21 inches), and standing 470 mm (18.5 inches) high, resting on a nicely turne...

Get Tartarin of Tarascon, by Alphonse Daudet. Rare C. 1887. No Edition Remarks. 245 pages. No dust jacket. Half-bound brown leather with green cloth cover.

This eyecatching Wedgwood gilt bone china centrepiece is formed by two half clam shells supported on antler coral, which then rests on a round base. ...

This very decorative sterling silver sifter spoon was made by Charles Harris in London in 1889.  On top of the barley twist handle is a cast silver...

This large Bois Durci ink stand features an intricately moulded base, upon which sit two glass inkwells and a central urn shaped container. The glass inkwel...

Ferahan Sarouk Museum Quality MUSEUM QUALITY Ferahan Sarouk, third quarter 19th century 6.6 x 4.5 feet From a USA collector Ferahan Sarouk carpets produced around the wider Arak (formerly Sultanabad) area from about 1850-1910 earned a deserved reputation as amongst the most desirable and imaginative finely woven carpets in Persia. As these things go, they morphed in style around 1910- 1920 into the differently woven Mahajirhan Sarouk fashion (quality examples of which are also in demand) and then disappeared entirely. Their desirability rests not only on fine weaving, and excellent wool. Many of the better examples were commissioned by aristocrats or wealthy merchants who encouraged creativity, in an actively competitive way; rugs during this period, as before, were direct illustrations of an individual’s wealth, power and prestige. Beyond this lay a more fundamental and seemingly contradictory set of motivations by the weavers. At one and the same time they sought to emulate the great court carpets in finesse and design. And yet-- they applied rustic or village, and even tribal elements and nuances to their designs. The result was a cavalcade of creativity. So, a village-based genre came into being which produced primarily an approx. 6x4 rug size format, and also provided, if more rarely, larger formats, which command increasingly high prices, due to their rarity, visual excitement and grandeur. The artistic achievement of this “school” had to do with marrying elegance and a degree of formalism with whimsy, and design innovation. They offer a charm and a certain magic beyond that of court and most city carpets. As in any area or era, there is a quality spectrum ranging from mediocre to highly superior. Superiority is judged of course as to weave and wool quality. It is rather unusual, though, to encounter pieces made before 1890 -which are bona fide Ferahan Sarouks- with poor wool or weaving: standards were upheld during this period, and natural dyes were widely employed, particularly in the wider Arak (then Sultanabad) region. Thus, as an investment collectible to adorn the home we believe the ultimate criterion is aesthetics, this being an art form, after all. Ferahan Sarouks have been a special area of interest for us over the decades both from artistic and investment perspectives. Allowing for personal taste, our suggestions are few and simple. A Ferahan Sarouk ought to display a wide colour palette, fine drawing and delicate, sometimes “intense “ detail. The finest pieces also display an elevated sense of balance in the use of space. We have seen many finely woven pieces which in our view are garish and lack one of the two key artistic elements intrinsic to the better examples of this genre – elegance. Sometimes they are overly cluttered; the drawing artistry is muddled or lost. In other cases odd and ineffective design devices are used, detracting from or interfering with an otherwise good design. The era of the Ferahan Sarouk was rife with experiments, not all of them successful. The other important attribute, when it can be found, is original artistic creativity, even serendipity, -- or effective design innovation within the compass of this rug type and the unique standards of its prime period. On average, we examine between 30-40 antique Ferahan Sarouks to achieve one acquisition, for the benefit of our clients. This highly collectible more than 150-year-old carpet is an apex achievement of superior artistry and innovation. As an exemplar of its genre, it can be reasonably described as Museum quality, a term we do not often employ. Please observe the stunning precision of the inner guard and its pinpoint sharp hooks. The elongation of the central medallion is one of its subtle but powerful innovations in form. The nod to asymmetry – which displays a refined sense of humour - is seen in the use of the small diamond figures, as one is deliberately missing from the right hand side: a wry nod to asymmetry, in an otherwise perfectly symmetrical creation. The ultimate achievement here is in the fineness of the weaving itself, on close inspection. The herati pattern in the medallion and corners achieves an etched-on quality, a very uncommon level of attention to detail and perfectionism: clearly the work of a master. This artistic sense extends to the outer ground which is a superb example of the most subtle abrash, one of the most refined we have had the honor of viewing. The unusual beige/brown tones in the field were probably achieved by adding onion skins to the die vat. These extremely fine gradations of colour are rarely seen.(NB the colour photographs create a slightly misleading- overly yellow burnish to the field colour in spite of expert photographic efforts ) . The deliberate choice of an ink black use of indigo provides a powerful frame (border) for this piece of art, which note in the lower right-hand corner is lifted slightly through abrash to a deep blue – to highlight the design and use of emerald green in the rosettes. The green shades lighten as the border ascends harmonizing with the tones in the central medallion. The floating flow of flowers in the border is beautifully executed, with up to seven colours in a single figure. No doubt a piece commissioned by an aristocrat around 1870, it is – remarkably- in virtually perfect condition. It appears to have had very minimal footwear, and great care; a piece which was proudly displayed from time to time and appreciated. Its density and strong foundation would however allow regular use within a home, and in a spacious contemporary home or office could make a wall hanging of striking impact. This remarkable one of a kind piece is on short term reduction to coincide with our launch on 1st Dibs . Fair market value is approximately $22,000 . Fine art as investment ? The WSJ made the following comments this year : The vigor of the art market may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense in the current environment,” economist Tyler Cowen recently wrote in The Washington Post. “First, many of the wealthy have been buying additional homes and wish to furnish them with art. Second, the recent run-up in inflation rates around the world has intensified the search for hedges.” While the aforementioned artworks fall into traditional categories, some less-prominent forms of fine art also represent ideal investment opportunities, especially because they offer more attractive—i.e., significantly less costly—entry points for new collectors. Take high-collectible and connoisseur-caliber antique Oriental rugs, for example. The best 19th-century examples often sell privately between five figures and low six figures. Today, that obscurity is fading. According to Ben Evans, the editor of Hali Magazine—a publication dedicated to the international rug and textile market—there are two primary factors to explain why antique rugs are beginning to enjoy their moment in the spotlight. “Cultural curiosity and collecting...

Featured as an exemplar of Afshar tribal creativity in James Opie's notable book " Tribal Rugs " this extremely rare collector's piece was used in a lecture series we conducted on the possible albeit unexamined influence of tribal rugs on early 20th century European painting . The Afshars during the 19th century were amongst the dominant five nomadic groups in Iran and unquestionably the most daringly creative, and probably the most prolific in weaving output . Though the vast majority of their carpets exhibit traditional , more angular tribal patterns, this example is an extraordinary tribute to one female weaver as designer . There seems no precedent for the remarkable move into mind bending forms which veer off from the norm , which make it a high collectible and unquestionable investment piece . The achievement of two elements stand out : colour and design execution . The rich and varied natural dye colours are deep and powerful and include a range from the treasured eggplant , through a provocative orange , yellows ( saffron), pale peach, to three unusual blues and a rare rust brown . Green is also sensitively applied to the palette . The design also represents a departure from all norms before or since amongst Afshar rugs . The central medallions have been altered to create an almost moving, slightly hallucinatory effect ; the graceful tumbling of coloured leaves or vines is singular in its presentation, graceful yet very much alive . Most interesting are the designs within the medallion which seem to be an evocation of the ancient Chinese dragon and phoenix symbols . This theory gains a bit more traction when you look at the upright shrine type figure rising up alongside the medallions - these appear Chinese , as well, in a semi- abstract way-- influences such as these had been travelling across thewide continent of Asia for millenia . The borders are classic traditional Afshar , noted for their lovely re-creation of flower symbols , interlinking , and slightly irregular , showing the artistic seredipity of the artist/ weaver . The colours here too, particularly the blues and yellows are nothing short of spectacular . The amount of detailled hand work suggests that this piece would have required at least two years work on a ground loom- a humbling thought in thinking about the nomadic life in the 19th century. This rug is of a size and of such a beauty that in the right open modern decor, it could well occupy a wall space of distinction, as would a modern art canvas...

One of the finest copies of The Portland Vase that Wedgwood produced, in many ways rivalling the First Edition itself. Decorated by Thomas Lovatt, then cut, polished and shaded by John Northwood in his glass engraving studio. Although 30 copies were intended, the work was so exacting and arduous that in the end only thirteen were finished. The mirrored stand, which is included, is later and I think dates from the late 20th century. Of all the stands designed for the Portland Vase, this is the best I've seen. The original Portland vase, dating from around 200AD and made of cameo glass, is considered one of the most important examples of classical design and is noted for its intricate relief sculptures, which depict classical figures and scenes from Greek mythology - exactly what, though, we're not sure. The original Wedgwood Portland Vase...

Rare Afshar Bidjar 1880 BIDJAR (AFSHAR BIDJAR RARE VARIANT) 1880 or earlier 6 x 4 feet Acquired from an Australian collector Bidjar carpets are known as the iron carpet...

This incredible pine armoire was found in Venezia, Italy, and has been dated at approximately C. 1880. Delicate, Hand painted foliage on the armoire doors trail down to a depiction o...

Italian 20th century modernist Magis Condor Andries and Hiroko Van Onck bar stools bar set of four Metal frame and plastic seats.      

This miniature copper kettle was probably a salesman's sample, which would be far easier to carry around than a proper sized one. The body is copper, the knob for the lid is brass, a...

This bottle-shaped Doulton Lambeth specimen vase is from the Carrara Ware range which was a stoneware range of moderate output made between about 1887 and 1903. This vase was designed by Mildred B Smallfield (1862-?) who was listed as a senior assistant at Doulton in 1882. It is decorated with a pattern of enamelled stylized flowers in blue, green and white, and enhanced with gilding on an ivory coloured ground. Her assistant was Catherine Vargas. A similar vase by Smallfield is shown on page 81 of the "Lambeth Art Pottery" exhibition catalogue, published by Richard Dennis in 1975. Carrara Ware was also decorated by the Barlow sisters, Mark V Marshall...

This porcelain plate from Doulton Burslem is decorated with Doulton's "Spanish Ware" pattern with hand coloured flowers outlined in gold on a pink ground with a painted background. This type of ware was developed by John Slater...

This centre of this attractive oval majolica plate is decorated with a moulded decoration of overlapping vine leaves on a stippled ground. The reticulated arcaded rim also contains s...

A decorative late 19th century French carved giltwood cased mantel clock with eight day movement striking the hours and half hours on a bell, the circular enamel dial with Arabic num...

Original vintage lithograph, 'Wissembourg Guitar', France: c. 1880 "This poster was created by the C. Burckardt printing firm, and is pa...

Original vintage lithograph, 'Wissembourg Woman Cyclist, France: c. 1880 "This poster was created by the C. Burckardt printing firm, and...

Original Vintage French Laundry Poster 'Linge Monopole', 1897 Here, a woman looks out the window and sees a group of three animated objects composed ...

An Austrian Ernst Wahliss Art Nouveau figurine, circa 1880 Ernst Wahliss (1837-1900), Austrian Art Nouveau ceramic sculptural figure of a semi draped ...

A beautiful 19th century Aesthetic style Charpentier gilt bronze and rouge marble French mantel clock of outstanding quality, circa 1880. The marbl...