England

This characterful table is of rare narrow depth of 39cm. It is characteristic of Spanish Baroque furniture with a thick single piece top, simple bold chip carved ornament and bold turnings. It has a rich lustrous patina. The thick single plank walnut top with fine figuring. The front fitted with two short drawers decorated with chip carving...

Spanish writing desks of this period are the most distinctive pieces of Spanish furniture conceived as visual displays of incredible virtuosity. The characteristic decoration of the ...

Circle of Orazio Marinali. Bust of an old man in a wide-brimmed hat. Statuary marble.

A North European 17th century brass-mounted elm and walnut table cabinet The pair of doors enclosing a fitted interior of drawers including 'secret...

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. David Loggan (1634-1692) St Edmund Hall...

Unusually small Hague clock made c. 1675 by Pieter Visbagh, who was apprenticed by Salomon Coster. The latter made the first pendulum clock according to th...

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. David Loggan (1634-1692) King's College Cambridge Engraving 1690 40x51cm Baptised in Danzig in 1634 Loggan's parents were English and Scottish. Studying engraving in Danzig with Willem Hondius (1598-1652 or 1658) he moved to London in the late 1650s producing the engraved title-page for the folio 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Marrying in 1663 he moved to Nuffield, Oxfordshire in 1665 to avoid the Plague and was in 1668/9 appointed Public Sculptor to the nearby University of Oxford having been commissioned to produce bird’s-eye views of all the Oxford Colleges. He lived in Holywell Street as he did this. Oxonia illustrata was published in 1675, with the help of Robert White (1645-1704). Following its completion he commenced work on his equivalent work for Cambridge, Cantabrigia Illustrata which was finally published in 1690 when he was made engraver to Cambridge University. Oxonia illustrata also includes an engraving of Winchester College (sharing its founder – William of Wykeham – with New College) whilst Cantabrigia illustrata includes one of Eton College (which shares its founder – Henry VIII – with King’s College). Bird’s-eye views required a particular talent as an architectural perspectivist of that era as it was not until 1783 that the first living thing (a sheep, named Montauciel ‘climb to the sky’) was sent aloft by the Mongolfier brothers in a balloon. Loggan thus had to rely on his imagination in conceiving the views. Loggan’s views constitute the first accurate depictions of the two Universities, in many ways unchanged today. Whilst the Oxford engravings were produced in reasonable numbers and ran to a second edition by Henry Overton (on thicker paper and with a plate number in the bottom right-hand corner), those of Cambridge were printed in smaller numbers and it is thought largely no second edition was produced. The Dutchman Pieter van der Aa published some miniature versions of the engravings for James Beverell’s guidebook to the UK Les Delices de la Grande Bretagne c. 1708. Edmund Hort New (1871-1931) produced a series of pen-and-ink drawings of views of Oxford that paid homage to Loggan showing the development of the city in the following two hundred years. They were turned into photoengravings by Emery Walker...

This vernacular chest exudes character and charm. The moulded panels and inlay inject gravitas. It has a lovely mellow lustrous patina. It is unusual being large and providing a copi...

This very fine Spoon is modelled in the Trefid style and displays a reeded rat tail on the reverse of the bowl. The spoon is very well marked and is engraved, at the top of the stem,...

Gilbert Jackson English Active: 1620 - 1650 Portrait of a Girl Oil on panel, signed upper left and Inscribed upper right Image size: 24 ½ x 20 inches Contemporary style hand made...

This cabinet is one of a small group that were made in the 1620s as taste and fashion veered towards the use of a paesina stone with its characteristic evocative veining which exhibi...

:Versailles, Trianon, Marly, The Chateaux of Loius XIV This Comprehensive volume documents for the first time twenty-one chateaux and pavilions commissioned by Louis XIV, the 'Sun K...

We are delighted to offer for sale this stunning original 17th century attributed to Andrea Brustolon hand carved Italian walnut armchair with Cherubs...

This charming and unusual casket injects a romantic atmosphere into any interior. It has survived in impeccable condition with acceptable wear to the painted surface which signifies its age and use. It is a conversation piece, a piece of acting history, bought by Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier...

Visit our other items to see a large selection of views of Oxford and Cambridge. Michael Drayton (1563-1631) Map of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely (1...

Artist: Gérard Edelinck Title: Tetelin Pincit Signed - Artists Signature - Year 1675 Medium: Etching Gérard Edelinck (20 October 1640–2 April 1707) was a copper-plate engraver and print publisher of Flemish origin, who worked in Paris from 1666 and became a naturalized French citizen in 1675. The work of this great engraver constitutes an epoch in the art. Edelinck stands above and apart from his predecessors and contemporaries in that he excelled, not in some one respect, but in all respects, that while one engraver attained excellence in correct form...

Jan van der Vaart (1647-1727) Portrait of Dorothy, Lady Brownlow (1664-1700) Oil on canvas; held in a period carved wood frame circa 1687 Considered a beauty of the age, Dorothy, Lady Brownlow was painted on a number of occasions by some of the most talented and respected artists of the day; Kneller, Riley, Closterman, Dahl and Wissing, all rendered her features in oil for posterity. The portrait presented here is by Jan van der Vaart who from 1685-1687 was employed by Willem Wissing as a drapery and landscape painter. After Wissing’s death in 1687 he practiced as an independent portraitist much in the style of his master with some influence also of Kneller. This work is in fact the head and shoulders taken from Wissing’s three-quarter length of Lady Brownlow which hangs at Belton House, Lincolnshire and produced as a mezzotint in 1687. Van der Vaart has made some intriguing alterations particularly as the sitter now looks directly at us, appearing rather more provocative and self assured of her beauty. The confident rendering of the dress and pearls and the thickly drawn copious hair are hallmarks of Van der Vaart’s work. It is likely he completed this portrait – shortly after Wissing’s version – as a smaller variant intended for another family member as was often the practice. Dorothy Mason married Sir William Brownlow 4th Bt. in July 1688; she was the daughter and heir of Sir Richard Mason a politician and courtier to Charles II who owned estates at Bishop’s Castle, Salop and Sutton Surrey. She came from, and married into extreme wealth; her dowry upon marriage was £10,000 and on her death her husband inherited the estates that were once her father’s. In June 1697 William Brownlow succeeded his brother to the baronetcy and to most of his landed estates including Belton House. In 1698 he abandoned his Peterborough seat to contest Bishop’s Castle on behalf of his wife and in the interest of his mother-in-law, Lady Anna Mason...

Post Medieval Sergeant-at-Law ring 'Long Live the King and the Law'. A wide yellow gold ring, engraved to the exterior '+VIVAT*REX*ET*LEX' trans...

English School, (circa 1600) Portrait of William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke Oil on panel, oval Image size: 29¼ x 23⅞ inches Painted wooden frame Provenance: 176, Collection of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick. The Trustees of the Lord Brooks’ Settlement, (removed from Warwick Castle). Sotheby’s, London, 22nd March 1968, lot 81. Painted onto wooden panel, this portrait shows a dark haired gentleman in profile sporting an open white shirt. On top of this garments is a richly detailed black cloak, decorated with gold thread and lined with a sumptuous crimson lining. With the red silk inside it’s all very expensive and would fall under sumptuary laws – so this is a nobleman of high degree. It’s melancholic air conforms to the contemporary popularity of this very human condition, evident in fashionable poetry and music of the period. In comparison to our own modern prejudices, melancholy was associated with creativity in this period. This portrait appeared in the earliest described list of pictures of Warwick castle dating to 1762. Compiled by collector and antiquary Sir William Musgrave ‘taken from the information of Lord & Lady Warwick’ (Add. MSS, 5726 fol. 3) is described; ‘8. Earl of Essex – an original by Zuccharo – seen in profile with black hair. Holding a black robe across his breast with his right hand.’ As tempting as it is to imagine that this is a portrait of Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl Essex, we might take this with a pinch of salt. Its identification with this romantic and fatal Elizabethan might well have been an attempt to add romance to Warwick Castle’s walls. It doesn’t correspond all that well with Essex’s portraits around 1600 after his return from Cadiz. Notably, this picture was presumably hung not too far away from the castle’s two portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. The first, and undoubtedly the best, being the exquisite coronation portrait that was sold by Lord Brooke in the late 1970s and now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The second, described as being ‘a copy from the original at Ld Hydes’, has yet to resurface. The portrait eventually ended up being hung in the State Bedroom of Warwick Castle. Archival documents present one other interesting candidate. The Greville family’s earliest inventory of paintings, made in 1630 at their home Brooke House in Holborn, London, describes five portraits of identified figures. All five belonged to the courtier, politician and poet Sir Fulke Greville (1554-1628), 1st Baron Brooke, and were hung in the ‘Gallerie’ of Brooke House behind yellow curtains. One of them was described as being of ‘Lord of Pembrooke’, which is likely to have been William Herbert (1580-1630), 3rd Earl of Pembroke. William was the eldest son of Greville’s best friend’s sister Mary Sidney, and was brought up in the particularly literary and poetically orientated household which his mother had supported. Notably, the 3rd Earl was one of the figures that Shakespeare’s first folio was dedicated to in 1623. The melancholic air to the portrait corresponds to William’s own pretensions as a learned and poetic figure. The richness of the robe in the painting, sporting golden thread and a spotted black fabric, is indicative of wealth beyond that of a simple poet or actor. The portrait’s dating to around the year 1600 might have coincided with William’s father death and his own rise to the Pembroke Earldom. This period of his life too was imbued with personal sadness, as an illicit affair with a Mary Fitton had resulted in a pregnancy and eventual banishment by Elizabeth I to Wilton after a short spell in Fleet Prison. His illegitimate son died shortly after being born. Despite being a close follower of the Earl of Essex, William had side-stepped supporting Devereux in the fatal uprising against the Queen and eventually regained favour at the court of the next monarch James I. His linen shirt is edged with a delicate border of lace and his black cloak is lined on the inside with sumptuous scarlet and richly decorated on the outside with gold braid and a pattern of embroidered black spots. Despite the richness of his clothes, William Herbert has been presented in a dishevelled state of semi-undress, his shirt unlaced far down his chest with the ties lying limply over his hand, indicating that he is in a state of distracted detachment. It has been suggested that the fashion for melancholy was rooted in an increase in self-consciousness and introspective reflection during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In contemporary literature melancholy was said to be caused by a plenitude of the melancholy humor, one of the four vital humors, which were thought to regulate the functions of the body. An abundance of the melancholia humor was associated with a heightened creativity and intellectual ability and hence melancholy was linked to the notion of genius, as reflected in the work of the Oxford scholar Robert Burton, who in his work ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’, described the Malcontent as ‘of all others [the]… most witty, [who] causeth many times divine ravishment, and a kind of enthusiamus… which stirreth them up to be excellent Philosophers, Poets and Prophets.’ (R. Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, London, 1621 in R. Strong, ‘Elizabethan Malady: Melancholy in Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraits’, Apollo, LXXIX, 1964). Melancholy was viewed as a highly fashionable affliction under Elizabeth I, and her successor James I, and a dejected demeanour was adopted by wealthy young men, often presenting themselves as scholars or despondent lovers, as reflected in the portraiture and literature from this period. Although the sitter in this portrait is, as yet, unidentified, it seems probable that he was a nobleman with literary or artistic ambitions, following in the same vain as such famous figures as the aristocratic poet and dramatist, Edward de Vere...

Primitive religious carving oak panel 1631 This rare piece comes from France, the somewhat Primitive carving shows the Madonna and Child sitting on the Devil who is depicted as a li...

- This table is the most original and superior example of a small surviving group of a rare, early model of gateleg table dating between 1620 and 1650. - It is more sophisticated t...

This rare cassettone oozes charm and character. The carved decoration is particular to Brescia in Lombardy and the knobs are a rare feature carved as flowerheads to the petals behind...

A very rare William & Mary pier table in the manner of Daniel Marot: shaped friezes on three sides and a scrolling X stretcher with Braganza feet: in its original simulated grained o...

An early Antique William III solid Silver Porringer with fitted lid. This substantial Porringer has two scroll handles beaded embellishments. The body of the Porringer is decorated w...

A large pair of iron 17th century style Gothic serpent andirons with rope twist, English made circa 1920-1930   Measure: Overall height 36" 91 cm ...

Post Medieval gold fleur-de-lis signet ring. A heavy yellow gold signet ring, the central circular plaque engraved with a prominent fleur-de-lis motif and framed by incised beaded ed...

An exceptional, fine and impressive, rare antique Charles II English sterling silver baby porringer; part of our collectable silverware co...

A carved architectural wooden panel mounted on a pedestal base dating from the 17th century. The hard wood panel is carved in deep relief from three pieces of wood. The three figures...

Rich patina and warm walnut tones, with wingback headrest and beautifully scrolled arms, the lower frame comprises an H-form cross stretcher with intricate turned legs. Newly upholst...

A large, antique English Gothic hamstone fireplace. The arched, moulded jambs with crests to centre and carved key stone. The frieze with stop-fluted arches and central blocking with...

A rare late 17th century oval mirror, decorated with horizontal cut-glass beads, simulating precious gem stones, with attached cresting, the frame covered with old red velvet. Retain...

A superb one piece top spanish walnut table with original metal work supports and silhouette legs. Great color and patination.

Stuart rock crystal love knot ring. The central oval rose cut domed rock crystal in closed back collet setting, surmounting a complicated love knot in gold thread, to a D-shape shank...

Tudor enameled 'BEHOLD THE ENDE' skull ring. Formed to centre with a irregular quartefoil bezel, featuring a horizontal white and black enameled skull encased in a circular black ena...

A stunning, noble and important early piece - it's original provenance Palazzo Sacchetti, Rome. With a rectangular top above a roundel with a coat-of-arms flanked by grotesques and s...

A fragmentary architectural element depicting a seraph and draperies, 17th-18th century.

Mounted on an 1820 solid Bardiglio marble column.

A very rare William & Mary pier table in the manner of Daniel Marot: shaped friezes on three sides and a scrolling X stretcher with braganza feet: in its original simulated grained o...

A very finely carved French Louis XVI in Carrara marble. The panelled frieze with delicate pearl and string beading, scrolled ionic capitals and leafwork to end blockings. The jambs ...

A good pair of English late-17th century walnut chairs. Charles II period, circa 1680. Lovely waxed patinated surfaces and colour. The upri...

Portrait of a Noble Young Girl, aged 9, in a black dress with lace ruff and cuffs, Dated 1619 Circle of Cornelis van der Voort (1576- 1624) Oil on cradled panel Presented by Titan ...

Antique Original Oil on Canvas Painting Depicting ‘John Hoby Esq. Son to Sir John Hoby Baronet’, Late 17th/Early 18th Century by John Closterman (also known as Johan Baptist, Cloost...

A good oak monk’s table with original timbers throughout. This is a beautiful side table with a lovely rich colour and patination which can easily convert to a chair, the top pivots...

A pair of 17th century oak caryatids with female terms and finely carved decoration.

Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple by the Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually known as Rembrandt. This etchi...

Early 19th Century mahogany bowfront chest of drawers of nice proportions, having a nice figured top with a moul...

This is a wonderful quality 17th century oak statue of a saint. Huge size and very finely done. The saint we believe is Saint Nicholas and is complete with his crook. The patina this...

A truly magnificent carved 17th century settle of a grand and imposing size. The top rail caved with scrolling vine leaves, peacocks, flowers and ...

Attributed to Philips Wouwerman (Dutch, 1619 – 1668) The departure of hunters near a ruin Oil on canvas 24 x 28.3/4 in. (61 x 73 cm.) Provenance: A Schonlank Gallery, Cologne; 28th A...

Northern Italian, 17th Century Giltwood Eagle Hand Carved wooden eagle bird of prey Gilded and painted over Gesso Eagles symbolise strengt...

This exquisite grand manner work is an evocative example of the type of portrait in vogue during a large part of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Beautifully composed, the sitter has been depicted three quarter length and seated within the surroundings of a wooded landscape resting her arm on a classical plinth. The classical architecture signifies cultivation and sophistication, and the pastoral background implies a virtuous character undefiled by the possession of great wealth and estates. Her body is enveloped in a luxurious russet cloak and a gauzy green and gold scarf. The clothing – known as “undress” at the time - was popular in portraiture. This, along with the type of portrait, and the style of clothing and hair help to date the portrait to circa 1684/87. The painting abounds with ingenious flourishes and demonstrations of the painter’s skills. A remarkable care is exercised, for example, in the handling of the drapery and the depiction of the hands have been rendered with remarkable confidence and sophistication. In the past it was thought that the sitter was a member of the Fairfax family of York - a long-established Yorkshire Catholic family who owned extensive land and property in the county. Their principal residence was Gilling Castle, 20 miles north of York. Willem Wissing was a Dutch artist who enjoyed a solid artistic training at The Hague under Arnold van Ravesteyn (c.1650-1690) and Willem Dougijns (1630-1697). He came to London in 1676 and most probably joined the studio or Sir Peter Lely as an assistant that same year. After Lely’s death in 1680 he effectively took over his business and he scaled the heights of patronage with extraordinary ease, creating an independent practise in 1687. King Charles II was so impressed by a portrait Wissing painted of his illegitimate son the Duke of Monmouth in 1383 that he commissioned his own portrait. (Royal Collection) and that of his Queen Catherine...

Tzar Peter the Great of Russia Arriving in Amsterdam in August 1697 Dutch School, 17th century Circle of Abraham Jansz Storck (c.1635-1708) Dutch Oil on canvas, in a carved giltwood ...

In this touching composition a young woman has been depicted wearing a dark coloured dress, draped at the bodice with a gauzy silk scarf and with pearls and large diamonds, over a wh...

Very large Flemish Old Master biblical oil painting Belgian/Dutch, 17th Century Frame: Height 93.5cm, width 219cm, depth 5cm Canvas: Height 66cm,...

Small 17th century Panelled Cottage Size Oak Coffer This is a lovely old piece, with a superb patina, the chest has three moulded panels on both the front and the top, it has a carved frieze along the front Inside the Coffer has an open candle box with a blacksmith made L bracket...

This is a Kraak or Kraak-ware Chinese Export porcelain dish or deep plate hand painted in a typical Blue and white pattern, made during the reign of Wanli (1573 to 1620). The dish is potted with a slightly everted rim with a well cut foot rim. The glaze is fairly thick with a lovely light blue tinge to it. The base of the dish displays...

With an impressive two-plank and end-cleated top, the front frieze rail carved with strapwork and with oak leaf and scroll-carved spandrels, the rear frieze rail with simple run-moul...

Attributed to Cornelius de Neve (circa 1612-1678) Portrait of John, Lord Belasyse (1614-1689) Oil on canvas; held in a period style carved polished wood frame. Dimensions refer to framed size. Cornelius de Neve, was born in Antwerp, possibly training under the Dutchman Mierveldt and settling in London by 1627. It has been suggested he possibly associated with Van Dyck, though his works show a strong debt to painting in England prior to his arrival, particularly John de Critz...

Wonderful 17th Century Aubusson landscape tapestry featuring a paradisiacal vision of a country house and gardens. Aubusson Verdure tapestries originated from workshops set up bet...

This fire surround is from a farmhouse in Ludlow, England. Additional dimensions: Opening height 117 Opening width 108.5 cm Width between outside of legs 174.5 cm.