Dublin Desk Sets

A quite wonderful and romantic stationery box, ready to grace the finest of desk-tops. Made from burr walnut the wedge shaped box is smothered in fine quality polished brass mount...

We are delighted to offer for sale this extremely collectable original Victorian Marble Grand Tour Roman Ruin statue of columns A wonderful original piece, this is a desk sized co...

Desk top Mahogany stationary organizer

An exceptionally fine early English Well Figured Solid grained Walnut Ladies or Gents Travelling Writing Slope of outstanding quality and compact proportions. Last quarter of the Nin...

French Arts and Crafts oak stationary box with Tambour This very attractive French Box is made in Oak in the Arts and Crafts style, it has a...

This is an early 20th century highly decorative French gilt bronze, malachite and faux malachite inkstand with dual inkwells. The base is a mix of faux malachite and malachite veneer...

Antique Victorian Brass Mounted Coromandel Tea Caddy with a fitted interior and working key.

The round paperweight framed in black marble, with porphyry and sienna marble and other marble specimens. The center in sienna marble with carved bea...

This is an antique travelling vanity case. An English, coromandel jewellery box, dating to the early Victorian period, circa 1850. Striking...

This is a superb decorative antique Italian Grand Tour marble Pietra Dura mounted desk paperweight, circa 1880 in date. This splendid rectangular paperweight is exquisitely inlaid with a sumptuous arrangement of semi-precious stones including malachite, agate, onyx and amethyst. It is beautifully inlaid on a slate base. Not only is this desk paperweight very functional, but it is also an exquisite mineralogical wonder that can be admired by all discerning collectors. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation, Dimensions in cm: Height 2 x Width 17 x Depth 10 Dimensions in inches: Height 1 inch x width 7 inches x depth 4 inches. Pietra dura is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished coloured stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art. Pietre dure is an Italian plural meaning "hard rocks" or hardstones; the singular pietra dura is also encountered in Italian. In Italian, but not in English, the term embraces all gem engraving and hardstone carving, which is the artistic carving of three-dimensional objects in semi-precious stone, normally from a single piece, for example in Chinese jade. The traditional convention in English has been to use the singular pietra dura just to denote multi-colored inlay work. However, in recent years there has been a trend to use pietre dure as a term for the same thing, but not for all of the techniques it covers, in Italian. But the title of a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe used the full Italian sense of the term, probably because they thought that it had greater brand recognition. The material on the website speaks of objects such as a vase in lapis lazuli as being examples of "hardstone carving (pietre dure)" The Victoria & Albert Museum in London uses both versions on its website, but uses pietra dura. "A method of inlaying coloured marbles or semi-precious stones into a stone base, often in geometric or flower patterns...." Giovanni Montelatici...

Regency brass letter card box with rope overlay from England 1820. Would make a great decorative piece for a desk. In very good condition.

A fine small sized Italian Mid-Century Modern dresser or table box. With sheets of lapis lazuli on black marble and mounted with a fine 800 silver mount and hinge. Simply a won...