2,374 results for "weapons"

Priced individually** These baddies are called “Elephant” lounge chairs, commonly attributed to Vladimir Kagan (though never definitively documented), are very much a designer’s sec...

Important 18/19th century Chinese Qing Dynasty bronze seated Guanyin Buddha statue with serene facial expression, seated in dhynasana on a double-lotus base, hands in anjali mudra, the upright body adorned with jewelry, wearing layered robes, the hair neatly tighted up in a high chignon. The bronze statue weighs over 17 pounds. The underside is engraved with a floral Lotus pattern symbolizing the indestructible ground of the universe and protection. Sealed inside the bronze statue are loose unknown religious items. High-quality Chinese bronze statues...

Antique pendant/brooch with hand- carved Shell Cameo depicting the head of Medusa Gorgo. Cameo carved with great accuracy and attention to detail. Shield shaped frame in solid 18K. ...

An 18th century carved oak statuette of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, probably South German, depicting a finely carved figure in pooling...

A Native North American carved wood and painted effigy figure, Hopi Katsina or Kachina doll. A wonderfully playful, coloured and highly individual Hopi Katsina doll. Each doll repr...

"Art is a Weapon" FRAMED Photography 30" x 44" in Edition of 7 by Brendan North Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issued by the Artist Size framed: 34' x 44' in ABO...

A fine later casting of the famous Frederic Remington sculpture "The Scalp", cast in the 1970's or 1980's. Description: After Frederic Remington, American (1861 - 1909) - The Scalp...

Japanese Koto Wakizashi Sword Japan Ca. 1400-1600s Length: 24.25” Blade Total Length: 27.25 Nagasa: 18.5” Koto wakizashi, with wild midare (Soshu?) hamon, including wild boshi. Hada indeterminate, with Shakudo & gold dragon menuki, beehive design fuchi kashira...

'Situation' part of the series 'A Girl called N.' 2019, 20x20cm, Edition 1/7 plus 2 Artist Proofs, digital C-Print based on a Polaroid, not mounted. Signed on the back and with certi...

A finely cast antique cigar cutter featuring a sculptural handle in the form of two hunting dogs, likely hounds or pointers, rendered with lifelike detail and expressive features. Cr...

This is an original square button with a fastening pin on the verso, created as merchandise for Roy Lichtenstein's exhibition at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin in 1981. This butto...

Layne Rowe, Rainbow Grenade, 2023 Hot sculpted glass cut polished and assembled with solid gold daisy H14 x W7.5 x D6.5 cm Original artwork Unsigned A seductive and vulnerable material, glass translates a potentially harmful object into a beautifully fragile art form. This piece advocates an alternative to the anger and conflict that fills our world. The stylised weapon has been hand-sculpted with precision to acknowledge the craft of weaponry. The piece’s accuracy has been achieved by creating hot-formed elements blown and sculpted as close to the required shape and size as possible, then cold worked with stone wheels and diamond tools...

Mantel Clock "Atala and Chactas" Paris Bronze (fire-gilt and patinated), enamel Empire around 1810 Dimensions: H x W x D: 40 x 32 x 11 cm Description: Very rare and extremely high quality French mantel clock, so-called Pendule Au Bon Sauvage. Depicted are scenes from the love story "Atala or the love of two savages in the desert" written by Francois René Vicomte de Chateaubriand in 1801. At the beginning of the 19th century, this was probably the most famous love story in Europe, but today it has been forgotten. The story, set in present-day Louisiana (USA), is roughly rewritten about the forbidden love between Chactas, a young Indian, and Atala, the beautiful daughter of a Spaniard. Chactas is captured in a battle between two Indian tribes, chained to a palm tree and is to be sacrificed. Atala wants to save his life and convert him to Christianity. She unties him from the palm tree at night and they flee together into the wilderness of North America. Their love for each other grows stronger and stronger and they have prospects for a future together. The story takes a tragic turn when Atala, who must remain a virgin due to a vow made by her mother, can no longer withstand the conflict of her feelings and commits suicide. The main group of characters thus shows Chacta's liberation through Atala. Atala is leaning against a pile of logs. The animal fur thrown over the logs and the weapons leaning against the stack on the right give the impression of a night camp. The bronze is of rarely beautiful quality, finely chiselled and makes the scene appear very lively. The contrast of fire-gilded and patinated bronze adds tension to the composition. In the base we see the Entombment as the end of the tragic love story. This bronze work is also very detailed, the interplay of bright and matt gilding makes the flat relief appear much deeper than it is. The depiction of the mantel clock presented here shows that the exotic was only known from stories and that the bronzier had his own ideas about the appearance of this distant world. The Indian, for example, has very European facial features and his skin was not black in reality, of course. The palm tree was also certainly not found in the North American wilderness. The heart of the clock is a French pendulum movement, integrated into the wooden pile, with an eight-day power reserve and a lock plate striking a bell on the half and full hour. The pendulum is suspended on a thread, typical of the period. The classically shaped hands, so-called Breguet hands, are also typical of the time. The enamelled dial has black Roman hour numerals, Arabic quarter hours and bears the signature: Le Roy hr. de Madame A PARIS. Interesting facts: The period from 1795 to about 1815 saw the creation of probably the most spectacular group of bronzes: The "Au bon Sauvage" pendulums - depictions of the "Noble Savage". Today's viewers react to these objects with both fascination and irritation. Enthusiastic on the one hand about the obvious quality of the detailed bronzes and the allure of the exotic, on the other hand distanced and cautious because of the possible discrimination that is suspected behind them. The ambivalence of this feeling motivates the search for the conditions of origin of these pendulums. Europeans found their new ideal of the natural man primarily in fictional and realistic travelogues about the Indians of North America...

Black obsidian filigree ring sku797 Stone size: 18х11х9 mm Ring size: 7 Stone origin: Armenia Obsidian is a type of dark rock that comes from volcanoes. There are legends about m...

Extremely fine quality Directoire/Empire gilt bronze mounted gilt brass skeleton clock with enameled chapter ring and openwork movement. Roman numerals for the hours and outer half...

17th century arrowheads excavated from central highlands, Vietnam. Beautiful greenish patina which is typical of bronze artifacts. This type of artifact is common in ancient tools a...

Long Nose Scared Head McEwan Golf Club, Musselburgh. An elegant, early scared head (or "scare joint") long nose golf club by McEwan of Musselburgh, one of the earliest and most respe...

Art Nouveau aperitif server or pin tray, circa 1900. Silver-plated metal with ginkgo biloba leaf decoration, handle decorated with a woman. Stamped WMF. In very good condition. Note ...

Vintage Peter Muir Yew Wood Longbow. A very good archery long bow, produced by Peter Muir, the Scottish bowyer (bow-maker) from Edinburgh. The bow is fitted with two horn nocks, a mo...

This prestige weapon was commissioned by Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia as a diplomatic gift for the renowned French Armenian merchant and honorary French envoy Matig Kevorkoff, a pr...

Few painters of the Orientalist school brought such theatrical precision to their work as Ludwig Deutsch. Trained in Vienna and later based in Paris, Deutsch became one of the great ...

In Greek mythology, Medusa, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero...

Armored armoire in shiny black steel. Inside drawers in polished white bird’s-eye maple, 24-karat gold-plated brass accessories. Gun storage capacity.

Greeting is an original offset and lithograph realized by George Grosz. The artwork is the plate n. 5 from the portfolio Ecce Homo published between 1922/1923, edition of Der Malik...

Introducing the captivating Silver-Gilt & Jewel Mounted Dagger, a true masterpiece of craftsmanship. This Mughal-inspired dagger knife, made from 1.1 kg of silver, serves as an exquisite collectible to adorn your living room. Its regal design features a gold-polished surface adorned with an array of large, all-natural gems. As the name suggests, this dagger is embellished with Navratna, a combination of nine precious gemstones...

MYTHOLOGICAL SCENE Italian oil on canvas painting cm.100x100, Alfonso Pragliola Italia 2010 In this oil on canvas, the painter makes his own personal and modern interpretation of Ant...

French school of the 19th century Ernest MESSONIER (Circle of) Portrait of a soldier in armor 27.5 x 17.5 cm (31 x 21 cm with the frame) Beautiful pitch pine wood frame Good condition

Beginning in the Bronze Age, in much of what is now Europe, there emerged a practice of ritually “killing” weapons and other possessions to be buried with the warrior to whom they ha...

Victorian Men’s Table Shaving Mirror Cast & Painted Iron England, circa 1840s DIMENSIONS Height: 20.5 inches Width: 13.25 inches ...

Original vintage Chinese Communist Party Cultural Revolution propaganda poster - Be ready to annihilate the invading enemy / 随时准备 歼灭入侵之敌 - featuring an illustration of two soldiers i...

A nice little bronze Grand Tour souvenir bronze of the Dying Gaul a famous sculpture of antiquity preserved in Rome. This bronze has nice detail. The patina is worn in some places and it is in estate found condition. We haven’t tried to clean or polish it. Some patina loss minor nicks and surfaces scratches, please see the detailed photos. For this interested this from Wikipedia about the original sculpture: The Dying Gaul, also called The Dying Galatian[2] (Italian: Galata Morente) or The Dying Gladiator, is an ancient Roman marble semi-recumbent statue now in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is a copy of a now lost Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC) thought to have been made in bronze.[3] The original may have been commissioned at some time between 230 and 220 BC by Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate his victory over the Galatians, the Celtic or Gaulish people of parts of Anatolia. The original sculptor is believed to have been Epigonus, a court sculptor of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Until the 20th century, the marble statue was usually known as The Dying Gladiator, on the assumption that it depicted a wounded gladiator in a Roman amphitheatre.[4] However, in the mid-19th century it was re-identified as a Gaul or Galatian and the present name "Dying Gaul" gradually achieved popular acceptance. The identification as a "barbarian" was evidenced for the figure's neck torc, thick hair and moustache, weapons and shield carved on the floor, and a type of Gallic carnyx between his legs.[5] Description The white marble statue, which may originally have been painted, depicts a wounded, slumped Gaulish or Galatian Celt, shown with remarkable realism and pathos, particularly as regards the face. A bleeding sword puncture is visible in his lower right chest. The warrior is represented with characteristic Celtic hairstyle and moustache with a Celtic torc...

This poster, created for the 1998 exhibition titled "James Bond: Die Welt des 007" (translated as "The World of 007"), held at the Roemer-und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim, Germany,...

"William Tell" mechanical bank was patented and manufactured in 1896 by the J. & E. Steven's Company in Cromwell, Connecticut (please see image of the underneath with patent informat...

Antique American Darting Gun Toggle Iron Harpoon, made by E.B. and F. Macy, New Bedford, for the Larboard Boat on the Whaling Bark Sunbeam (1856 - 1908), having an improved toggle head with acute barb (standing nearly at a right angle), and an unusual ridged cheek, with the maker's mark MACY stamped on the right cheek (the mark of E.B. & F. Macy, blacksmiths of New Bedford: 1861-1904), the ship stamp BK SB on the left cheek (for the Bark Sunbeam, and the dot punched boat mark L B (for the Larboard, or Second, or Port-side Stern whale boat); mounted on a round shank slightly kinked from use, ending in the spike end necessary for use with a darting gun, and the loop for splicing on the iron strap. An amazing artifact retaining a tremendous amount of historical documentation. The harpoon remain in very good condition with a still very sharp cutting edge and deep brown patina and no corrosion. The head is frozen, but in the absence of rust it would very likely free up with a little lubrication if so desired. The tip of the front barb has a small chip off tip. The slight kink to the shank comes from use and is considered by most to be a a good feature. The Bark SUNBEAM was built in Mattapoisett in 1856 and enjoyed a long career in the New Bedford whale fishery of 17 voyages to the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Clifford Ashley...

An important & rare antique American political printed silk broadside, an elegy on the death of President George Washington, dated 1800. A poem on the Death of President George Was...

This 18k gold ring features an intaglio attributed to James Tassie, circa 1760-1780. The deep, red cast glass intaglio is embossed with an image of Hercules and Omphale, standing in ...

Division of the Spoils in a Military Encampment Entourage of Willem Cornelisz. Duyster (Amsterdam 1599 – 1635) Not signed. Dutch school, late 17th – early 18th century Oil on oak pa...

Tennis Player heavy oil impasto on canvas framed. Elisabeth Sabala Abelló (Barcelona, 1956). She studied industrial design at the School of Arts and Crafts in Barcelona ​and has a degree in Fine Arts, a specialty in painting, from the Central University of the same city. Sabala is a convinced figurative who has given all the prominence of her work to the representation of the human being in its most trivial aspects. At a time when the artistic landscape extols abstract and conceptual art focused on the great universal themes, Sabala continues to focus on the small defects that bring us closer to the collective and the human. The artistic progression of Sabala takes place, at first, from a bleak period to another vitalist and, later, from the representation of isolated characters (In the super, Reading the stories of​ the paintings) to the recreation of great concentrations of its peculiar individuals characterized in an endless number of situations (The Great Dance, The Girls of the Choir). Sabala's work is vital and touching, as well as scathing and satirical: it confronts its characters in the most varied situations, capturing, at the same time, the viewer's attention with an unusual juxtaposition of colors that do not seek chromatic harmony, but expression and movement through matter. In 1980 she won the first prize of a painting of the City of Castelldefels, and the following year she debuted individually in the Caixa Catalunya room, in Barcelona. In 1984, she was selected for the XXIII Joan Miró Drawing Prize, taking part in a traveling exhibition in Japan. He won the first prize of the International Painting Competition of Pollença (Mallorca) in 1985, and the following year he took part in a collective held at the Martano gallery in Turin. That same year of 1986 she obtained the Scholarship of Plastic Arts of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Sabala continues to hold personal shows in Barcelona, ​​Mallorca, Madrid, and Italy, and in 1989 she debuted in New York with an individual exhibition held at the Scott Alan Gallery. Since then she will reiterate his presence both in that city and in Paris, Berlin, Monaco, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Hong Kong, etc. His works have been present at Interactive, ARCO, Art Forum, Art Jonction and New Art, as well as in various Spanish museums. • Studies: Fine Arts, University of Barcelona • Industrial Design, School of Arts and Crafts, Barcelona Main exhibitions Spain: • Barcelona: ◦ Arcs & Cracks​, 1990, 1992, Anna Benach 1993, Helena Ramos 1993 ◦ Maria Jose Castellvi 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001 “a wedding is a wedding” + Performance “Ella” ◦ 2004, 2006 “Fashion satisfaction” + Performance ◦ 2008 “Women's weapons” • Girona: ◦ Helena Ramos 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 ◦ Cyprus Art...

Ancient Greek city-states such as Corinth were defended by the hoplites (derived from the hopla or round shield), citizen-soldiers primarily armed with swords, spears and shields. S...

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...

Japanese Edo Period Musha Ningyo Seating Samurai, Ca. 1800 DIMENSIONS Height: 16 inches Width: 19 inches Depth: 10 inches ABOUT Musha Ningyō (武者人形)- Literal meaning: "Warrior Dolls...

A large antique Chinese glazed Sancai pottery temple guardian figure, designed to ward off evil spirits and protect the owners tumb. Hand crafted, excep...

This iconic Showstopper by Thierry Mugler is a Silk Velvet Dream! She arrives not as a woman, but as an apparition: poured into liquid Bordeaux velvet so saturated it seems to drink the light around it. This Fall Winter 1998 Runway gown is the kind of fashion fantasy that only Mugler could conjure: ruthless in silhouette and devastating in effect. The body is sculpted with beautiful precision, carved into a predatory hourglass that elongates the torso before melting into a languid, floor-skimming hem. The neckline is pure Mugler seduction. Those soft curved silk straps frame the décolletage with a tension that feels both austere and erotic, while the open back slices dramatically downward, exposing the spine with cinematic restraint. From every angle, the dress performs. The saturated red velvet - dense, dark, and blood-red, like the interior of an old opera house or the last frame of a Hitchcock heroine disappearing into shadow. Mugler understood that velvet could be dangerous. In his hands, it became less a fabric than an atmosphere: sensual, vampiric, untouchable. It recalls the women who dominated Mugler’s late-’90s runways: icy, untamed creatures with the glamour of film noir sirens and the authority of goddesses. The silhouette is so impossibly elegant. On the Runway, it possessed that rare Mugler alchemy & red carpet immortality. This is a weaponized vision of femininity, the kind only Thierry Mugler...

This is an original 19th century hand-colored McKenney and Hall lithograph of a Native American entitled "Ap-Pa-Noo-Se, A Saukie Chief", lithographed by J. T. Bowen after a painting by Charles Bird King and published by Rice and Hart & Co. in Philadelphia in 1848. For his portrait Ap-Pa-Noo-Se (A Chief When a Child) is wearing a feathered headdress, long ornamental earrings, multiple chain necklaces...

There is something gloriously defiant about a corset top by Vivienne Westwood. It never simply dresses the body - it stages it. This piece feels like a love letter to 18th-century se...

Museum worthy piece of Fashion History Extremely rare piece from Thierry Mugler’s legendary Spring Summer 1986 SAHARA Collection. On the runway, these garments advanced like goddesse...

"Triple Elvis" (Denied) Silkscreen Painting by Charles Lutz Silkscreen and silver enamel paint on canvas with Artist's Denied stamp of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. 82 x 72" inches 2010 This important example was shown alongside works by Warhol in a two-person show "Warhol Revisited (Charles Lutz / Andy Warhol)" at UAB Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts in 2024. Lutz's 2007 ''Warhol Denied'' series gained international attention by calling into question the importance of originality or lack thereof in the work of Andy Warhol. The authentication/denial process of the [[Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board]] was used to create value by submitting recreations of Warhol works for judgment with the full intention for the works to be formally marked "DENIED". The final product of the conceptual project being "officially denied" "Warhol" paintings authored by Lutz. Based on the full-length Elvis Presley paintings by Pop Artist Andy Warhol in 1964, this is likely one of his most iconic images, next to Campbell's Soup Cans and portraits of Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, and Marlon Brando. This is the rarest of the Elvis works from the series, as Lutz sourced a vintage roll of 1960's primed artist linen which was used for this one Elvis. The silkscreen, like Warhol's embraced imperfections, like the slight double image printing of the Elvis image. Lutz received his BFA in Painting and Art History from Pratt Institute and studied Human Dissection and Anatomy at Columbia University, New York. Lutz's work deals with perceptions and value structures, specifically the idea of the transference of values. Lutz's most recently presented an installation of new sculptures dealing with consumerism at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House in 2022. Lutz's 2007 Warhol Denied series received international attention calling into question the importance of originality in a work of art. The valuation process (authentication or denial) of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board was used by the artist to create value by submitting recreations of Warhol works for judgment, with the full intention for the works to be formally marked "DENIED" of their authenticity. The final product of this conceptual project is "Officially DENIED" "Warhol" paintings authored by Lutz. Later in 2013, Lutz went on to do one of his largest public installations to date. At the 100th Anniversary of Marcel Duchamp's groundbreaking and controversial Armory Show, Lutz was asked by the curator of Armory Focus: USA and former Director of The Andy Warhol Museum, Eric Shiner to create a site-specific installation representing the US. The installation "Babel" (based on Pieter Bruegel's famous painting) consisted of 1500 cardboard replicas of Warhol's Brillo Box (Stockholm Type) stacked 20 ft tall. All 1500 boxes were then given to the public freely, debasing the Brillo Box as an art commodity by removing its value, in addition to debasing its willing consumers. Elvis was "the greatest cultural force in the Twentieth Century. He introduced the beat to everything, and he changed everything - music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution." Leonard Bernstein in: Exh. Cat., Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art and traveling, Elvis + Marilyn 2 x Immortal, 1994-97, p. 9. Andy Warhol "quite simply changed how we all see the world around us." Kynaston McShine in: Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Modern Art (and traveling), Andy Warhol: Retrospective, 1996, p. 13. In the summer of 1963 Elvis Presley was just twenty-eight years old but already a legend of his time. During the preceding seven years - since Heartbreak Hotel became the biggest-selling record of 1956 - he had recorded seventeen number-one singles and seven number-one albums; starred in eleven films, countless national TV appearances, tours, and live performances; earned tens of millions of dollars; and was instantly recognized across the globe. The undisputed King of Rock and Roll, Elvis was the biggest star alive: a cultural phenomenon of mythic proportions apparently no longer confined to the man alone. As the eminent composer Leonard Bernstein put it, Elvis was "the greatest cultural force in the Twentieth Century. He introduced the beat to everything, and he changed everything - music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution." (Exh. Cat., Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art (and traveling), Elvis + Marilyn 2 x Immortal, 1994, p. 9). In the summer of 1963 Andy Warhol was thirty-four years old and transforming the parameters of visual culture in America. The focus of his signature silkscreen was leveled at subjects he brilliantly perceived as the most important concerns of day to day contemporary life. By appropriating the visual vernacular of consumer culture and multiplying readymade images gleaned from newspapers, magazines and advertising, he turned a mirror onto the contradictions behind quotidian existence. Above all else he was obsessed with themes of celebrity and death, executing intensely multifaceted and complex works in series that continue to resound with universal relevance. His unprecedented practice re-presented how society viewed itself, simultaneously reinforcing and radically undermining the collective psychology of popular culture. He epitomized the tide of change that swept through the 1960s and, as Kynaston McShine has concisely stated, "He quite simply changed how we all see the world around us." (Exh. Cat., New York, Museum of Modern Art (and traveling), Andy Warhol: Retrospective, 1996, p. 13). Thus in the summer of 1963 there could not have been a more perfect alignment of artist and subject than Warhol and Elvis. Perhaps the most famous depiction of the biggest superstar by the original superstar artist, Double Elvis is a historic paradigm of Pop Art from a breath-taking moment in Art History. With devastating immediacy and efficiency, Warhol's canvas seduces our view with a stunning aesthetic and confronts our experience with a sophisticated array of thematic content. Not only is there all of Elvis, man and legend, but we are also presented with the specter of death, staring at us down the barrel of a gun; and the lone cowboy, confronting the great frontier and the American dream. The spray painted silver screen denotes the glamour and glory of cinema, the artificiality of fantasy, and the idea of a mirror that reveals our own reality back to us. At the same time, Warhol's replication of Elvis' image as a double stands as metaphor for the means and effects of mass-media and its inherent potential to manipulate and condition. These thematic strata function in simultaneous concert to deliver a work of phenomenal conceptual brilliance. The portrait of a man, the portrait of a country, and the portrait of a time, Double Elvis is an indisputable icon for our age. The source image was a publicity still for the movie Flaming Star, starring Presley as the character Pacer Burton and directed by Don Siegel in 1960. The film was originally intended as a vehicle for Marlon Brando and produced by David Weisbart, who had made James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause in 1955. It was the first of two Twentieth Century Fox productions Presley was contracted to by his manager Colonel Tom Parker, determined to make the singer a movie star. For the compulsive movie-fan Warhol, the sheer power of Elvis wielding a revolver as the reluctant gunslinger presented the zenith of subject matter: ultimate celebrity invested with the ultimate power to issue death. Warhol's Elvis is physically larger than life and wears the expression that catapulted him into a million hearts: inexplicably and all at once fearful and resolute; vulnerable and predatory; innocent and explicit. It is the look of David Halberstam's observation that "Elvis Presley was an American original, the rebel as mother's boy, alternately sweet and sullen, ready on demand to be either respectable or rebellious." (Exh. Cat., Boston, Op. Cit.). Indeed, amidst Warhol's art there is only one other subject whose character so ethereally defies categorization and who so acutely conflated total fame with the inevitability of mortality. In Warhol's work, only Elvis and Marilyn harness a pictorial magnetism of mythic proportions. With Marilyn Monroe, whom Warhol depicted immediately after her premature death in August 1962, he discovered a memento mori to unite the obsessions driving his career: glamour, beauty, fame, and death. As a star of the silver screen and the definitive international sex symbol, Marilyn epitomized the unattainable essence of superstardom that Warhol craved. Just as there was no question in 1963, there remains still none today that the male equivalent to Marilyn is Elvis. However, despite his famous 1968 adage, "If you want to know all about Andy Warhol, just look at the surface of my paintings" Warhol's fascination held purpose far beyond mere idolization. As Rainer Crone explained in 1970, Warhol was interested in movie stars above all else because they were "people who could justifiably be seen as the nearest thing to representatives of mass culture." (Rainer Crone, Andy Warhol, New York, 1970, p. 22). Warhol was singularly drawn to the idols of Elvis and Marilyn, as he was to Marlon Brando and Liz Taylor, because he implicitly understood the concurrence between the projection of their image and the projection of their brand. Some years after the present work he wrote, "In the early days of film, fans used to idolize a whole star - they would take one star and love everything about that star...So you should always have a product that's not just 'you.' An actress should count up her plays and movies and a model should count up her photographs and a writer should count up his words and an artist should count up his pictures so you always know exactly what you're worth, and you don't get stuck thinking your product is you and your fame, and your aura." (Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again), San Diego, New York and London, 1977, p. 86). The film stars of the late 1950s and early 1960s that most obsessed Warhol embodied tectonic shifts in wider cultural and societal values. In 1971 John Coplans argued that Warhol was transfixed by the subject of Elvis, and to a lesser degree by Marlon Brando and James Dean, because they were "authentically creative, and not merely products of Hollywood's fantasy or commercialism. All three had originative lives, and therefore are strong personalities; all three raised - at one level or another - important questions as to the quality of life in America and the nature of its freedoms. Implicit in their attitude is a condemnation of society and its ways; they project an image of the necessity for the individual to search for his own future, not passively, but aggressively, with commitment and passion." (John Coplans, "Andy Warhol and Elvis Presley," Studio International, vol. 181, no. 930, February 1971, pp. 51-52). However, while Warhol unquestionably adored these idols as transformative heralds, the suggestion that his paintings of Elvis...

Power. Precision. Seduction. Thierry Mugler’s Fall/Winter 1996 Les Amazones jacket is the ultimate sartorial weapon - crafted not just to be worn, but to command. This architectural masterpiece sculpts the body into a force of nature. The beautiful high quality wool contours the torso with Manfred Thierry Mugler’s signature hyper-feminine tailoring, while black accents - on the dramatic notched lapels and sharp fauxpocket flaps - inject a striking duality of softness and strength. The double-breasted cut, punctuated with bold black buttons, reinforces its executive authority, reminiscent of 1940s film noir heroines, yet unmistakably futuristic. From the back, the design cinches at the waist, flaring into a razor-sharp peplum that evokes the structured elegance of equestrian jackets...

1980s Arabic style Dagger made with hard stones.

This Spring/Summer 1994 skirt suit is Thierry Mugler at his most iconic: fashion as architecture, command, and seduction in equal measure. Cut razor-sharp and fitted, the jacket scul...

Hard to find vintage wood toys by Jacob Jensen for Illum Bolighus, made in Denmark circa 1960's. The figures are in very clean and free of cosmetic ...

Six Knobkerries from South Africa A group of six knobkerries from South Africa, mounted together on a wooden base. These were originally used as weapons during battle but have evolv...

A hand-carved Japanese Samurai warrior statue from the 19th century with traces of a red and green polychromy. Immersed in profound historical allure, this 19th-century Japanese Samurai warrior statue stands as a testament to the rich cultural tapestry of the Land of the Rising Sun. Hand-carved with meticulous attention to detail, this piece boasts delicate remnants of red and green polychromy – whispers from its storied past. Its wood, seasoned by time, paints a vivid portrait of a standing guardian, the ethereal dynamism of his stance accentuated by traditional Japanese armor...

Title: Exquisite 1806 Rama Chandra Vishnu Avatar Antique Print - Hindu Engraving Description: This elegant antique print, titled "VIIme Incarnation de Vichenou, sous le nom de Rama ...

Antique Letter Opener with Dragon in Brass and Metal, Late 19th Century / Early 20th Century. A magnificent letter opener in brass and metal with dragon / mythical creature. Wonderf...

From the Fall/Winter 1997 collection of Thierry Mugler, this jacket is pure architecture, sharpened to a point and dipped in seduction. Mugler, at the height of his imperial phase, w...

Saber Tooth Pendant 925 Silver Pave Diamond Tooth Pendant Graduation Gift Charm. Base Metal Sterling Silver, 925 parts per 1000 Metal Sterling Silver Main...

A Native North American carved wood and painted effigy figure, Hopi Katsina or Kachina doll. A wonderfully playful, coloured and highly individual Hopi Katsina doll. Each doll repr...

Mid-Century Danish Modern teak coaster set by Jens H. Quistgaard for Dansk. Includes four coasters in the original box. Solid teak with stainless steel flintlock pistol inlay. Denmar...

Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture