347 results for "spectandum"

Antique Chinese Opium Box in Cloisonné Enamel, decorated with Floral Motifs and Interior Scenes: item with fond in lapis lazuli French Private Colle...

Opium smokers used opium lamps to make the vaping and inhaling of the opium easier. These lamps, which contained spirits in their base, were specifically de...

The Diorama was in a private collection for more than 20 years and is said to have been exposed at the China Exposition 1902 in Copenhagen.This group of Chinese polychromed-decorate...

The 39-year-old gentleman had himself portrayed as an aristocrat in an idyllic landscape. At the time, parks and forests were environments associated with the lands and pastimes of t...

An uncommon form, the abstract teeth filled mouthed figure standing straight on an integral base.

Fidji “mermaid” figure, early modern tradition Mixed media on wooden base This object is a fabricated curiosity combining a small mammalian torso with a fish tail, made to simulate ...

Saint Erasmus or Saint Elmo (Antioch, ca. 240 – Formia, 303) was an Italian bishop and patron saint of the sailors. His attribute was the capstan, a winch on which the anchor chains were rolled up. He died as a martyr for his faith, and his bones were transferred to Gaeta in the 9th century, where they are kept in the cathedral to this day. The electric phenomenon of Saint Elmus fire is named after Saint Erasmus and the 16th C humanist Desiderius Erasmus. Little is known with certainty about Saint Erasmus' life. However, many legends may have been passed on orally until - no older writings are known with certainty. His birthplace was in present-day Syria. However, the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian forced him to flee to Mount Lebanon...

Exceptional allegory of death in carved bone. Depiction of a leper wrapped in a stole. Southern Germany, Tyrol, 18th-19th century. Superb quality of carving, showing no signs of mech...

Three old and well used bark cloth beater made out of a wooden shaft with a cross-hatched blackened tip which is lashed into position by a strip of cane. These grooved wooden beater were tools used to pound and soften tree bark, for the processing of bark cloth used as clothing. This tool has many different variations that are seen in indigenous cultures worldwide, yet all for a similar purpose. They vary in size, shapes, and materials. They are carved with parallel striations. Some bark beaters...

The sculpture dates from the beginning of the 20th century and has a wonderful patina.

The Chinese water pipes for smoking opium or tobacco could be beautifully decorated with enamel or be coated with precious materials such as ray skin. How were they used? The heated opium was placed in the lidded well of the pipe. The smoker could inhale the fumes through this pipe. Most water pipes have a holder for storing the maintenance tools, such as a little brush, a spike and tweezers. The water pipes could easily be smoked while sitting down, unlike the regular opium pipes...

These sculptures are considered manifestations of their deceased ancestors and are placed in ancestor shrines.

The bamboo water pipe has a cylindrical shape. The upper part is half sawn open. The water reservoir is located at the bottom of the cylinder.The Ends of the Rootlets are finished wi...

Rare and spectacular bat dance mask from Mexico. Crafted in the late 19th to early 20th century, with later retouches to the polychromy. This type of mask is made of hammered copper ...

The Japanese smoking pipe or Kiseru was used to smoke only a tiny pinch of kizami tobacco (about 25 mg). This particularly original and beautifully ex...

Nineteenth century Chinese water pipe in Paktong (= an Alloy of Zinc, Copper and Nickel). The Base - elaborated in Enamel Cloisonné - is decorated with a Phoenix on an Ultramarine Bl...

Beautiful opium box decorated with reliefs with ideograms (one of the two refers to wealth), a chrysanthemum (symbol of longevity) and foliage. This silver m...

The 39-year-old gentleman had himself portrayed as an aristocrat in an idyllic landscape. At the time, parks and forests were associated with the nobility's lands and pastimes. The s...

Beautiful set of early 1900s surgical instruments, including an amputation saw stamped A. GOUGEON and a complete Renault trepan with its accessories (rare). Overall in good condition...

This pottery vessel, embellished with high relief figures, was made by women of the ethnic group of the Bariba (or Baatonu) in the northern provinces of Benin. The Bariba potters pas...

A fabulous discovery—this bronze chimera represents a self-portrait by the famous Sarah Bernhardt in the form of a monstrous chimera! A bronze reduction...

Allegorical Scene of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) Attributed to Léon Cogniet (1794–1880) This ambitious and romanticized composition captures a defining moment in Amer...

Back aprons (negbe, pl. egbe) such as these were particularly popular among upper-class Mangbetu women at the turn of the 20th century. This distinctive kidney-shaped ornament pad wa...

Wooden powder flask with bone inlay, the surface richly decorated with geometric and foliate motifs. The flat, tapering body is fitted with a narrow spout and iron mounts, likely int...

An exceptionally beautiful antique French wood carving, made in the 17th century. It depicts Madonna standing with open offering arms .The...

Lovely rectangular earthenware tile representing a woman's face surrounded by ribbons and folliage. An exquisite antique with a lot of character that draws the eye and makes you wonder.

Old, White Porcelain Table Water Pipe with Blue-Glazed Decoration, that represents a Rider asking his Way. This 19th Century Object from Vietnam is provided with a Silver or Metal St...

Singerie is a visual art genre that features monkeys imitating human actions, often dressed in stylish clothing, designed to amuse and offer a satirical take on society. The term ori...

The bowl of the Vietnamese water pipe is jar-shaped. The metal handle allows easy carrying and moving of the object. The pipe stem that is normally places in the water tank, is missi...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien...

As an inspiring messenger, eagle is frequently associated with strength. Made of copper alloy, this extraordinary decorative item captures the essence of the majesty of the king of birds...

Moldings labeled "Auzoux 9 rue de l'Ecole de Médecine Paris 6e". Dimensions: Internal organs 54 x 36 Starfish 42 x 43.5.

Anatomical cut of a human skull composed in natural painted papier-maché, with numbered labels on the different elements

Beautifully crafted dager from Nigeria (Haussa People) with an organic handle. Hausa people are frond in northwestern Nigeria and adjacent southern Ni...

Beautiful Chinese wooden rice box tracing back to 19th century China with hand painted decorations. A rare find filled with history !

The Namur painter and engraver, Louis Decoeur (1884-1960) became a member of “L’Effort” around 1910. This artist’s association provided a free studio for painters in Brussels, on the first floor of a building located at Quai au Bois à Brûler number 31. Here innovative artists who the official salons did not appreciate were given a forum. The members of “L’Effort” opposed academism. Some names of artists who have worked in the studio spaces of "L'Effort" are: Jean Brusselmans...

A handmade wooden sculpture, study of a Barracuda head with open mouth

Wooden sculpture of a Dancing Tengu, Late Edo–Meiji Period, Japan An animated and finely sculptured wooden figure of a Tengu, captured mid-step in a vigorous dance. The supernatural ...

Anthropomorph Terracotta Vase

A snuff container shaped as a European woman in 19th-century attire, with a unique design—a small black baby figure slides under her skirt.

Terracotta animal head, probably Ghana.

Unusual representation of Saint Roch in a Spanish colonial style. A Filipino work in exotic wood from the period of evangelization under the Spanish Crown. The type of wood used and ...

Decorative Grassland Leopard skin Mask Private collection Brussels The raffia splint is covered with cloth and colourful miniature glass beads in vario...

This evocative three-quarter length portrait, executed in the Venetian School during the 17th century, depicts an imagined figure of an elite Ottoman woman, rendered in rich oils on canvas. Her elaborate headdress, ornate costume, and poised bearing align with Western ideals of exoticism and nobility, shaped through Venetian eyes. The rose delicately held at her chest may serve as a symbolic identifier—an allusion to Rossa or Rosselana, the Western name for Hürrem Sultan (c.1502–1558), the influential consort and later wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Academy of Brussels and with the sculptor Julien...

Bamileke Decorative Wooden Flute or Whistle embroidered with European Glass Beads, Grasslands People, Cameroon. Private collection...

The central image in Toba Batak art is the singa, a supernatural creature whose likeness protects individuals, homes, and communities from malevolent supernatural forces. The name singa derives from the Sanskrit word meaning lion. However, the Toba Batak singa...

Willem Muys was a Dutch, 18th-century painter of history pieces, portraits and cabinet pieces. Above all, he appears to have been active as a painter of ‘wallpaper’. Until the mid-18th century, ‘wallpaper’ was not painted on paper but on coarsely woven linen. Wealthy citizens had their mansions or country estates adorned with ‘wallpaper’ with landscapes, exotic birds or chinoiseries. Willem Muys mainly painted ‘wallpaper’, which means that few of his works have been preserved. They are hardly represented in public collections. The works of his sons, Nicolaas en Robbert, both painters, are a little less rare. The painting with Rebecca and Eliezer...

Don Quichotte and Pancho, Oil on canvas, 20th C, Signed Pauli

This small head of a ceramic figure with a bird headdress is probably Pre-Columbian. It seems to originate from the territory of present-day Mexico. Fur...

This Italian mortar dates from the early 19th century. It was used to mill grain and wheat. The object is carved out of a single piece of wood and...

Flower Garland Surrounding the Virgin and Child, after Jan Brueghel the Elder (flowers), Circle of Frans Francken II (figures), Antwerp, circa 1615–1625, Oil on copper This finely executed garland painting on copper belongs to the Antwerp tradition of collaborative devotional cabinet pictures developed in the early seventeenth century. The meticulously rendered floral wreath may be associated with the circle of Jan Brueghel the Elder, while the central figures are attributable to the circle of Frans Francken II. The copper support, favored for high-quality works of this type, provides an exceptionally smooth surface that permits minute precision of detail and preserves the jewel-like luminosity of the colours. Set against a dark, subtly modulated background, the oval garland appears to float freely within the pictorial field, leaving the corners and margins open and lending the composition an airy sense of balance. The wreath is constructed from a carefully orchestrated rhythm of large, voluminous blossoms—roses in varying hues, carnations, anemones, and marigolds—interwoven with a profusion of smaller flowers, leaves, and stems. Each bloom is individually characterized, displaying botanical precision, crisp highlights, and delicate tonal transitions consistent with early seventeenth-century Flemish flower painting...

Sir Frederick Lugard-Colonial administrator Nigeria. Bronze by Herbert Cawood 1938, 92 x 27 x 27 cm, 36 1/4 x 10 5/8 x 10 5/8 in: Herbert Harry Cawood (1890-1957) was an English scu...

Neapolitan nativity scenes are very different from those seen in churches due to the importance of secular settings. They are not limited to staging the child Jesus surrounded by the holy family. Still, they managed to reproduce the daily life of the Neapolitans of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The elegance of the figuration and the fineness of the execution of these santons also reveals the quality of the know-how of the Neapolitan artisans. The markets, hotels, dances, itinerant vendors, beggars, taverns, various trades, guarding herds, the royal procession and all that was within reach of everyday life or fantasy had their place in the Neapolitan crèches...

Commedia dell'arte,also known as "italian comedy" was a humorous theatrical presentation performed by professional actors who traveled in troupes throughout italy in the 16th C.

19th C Tobacco Shop Publicity Statue smoking a pipe -polychromed wood.In perfect state -stands tall on its own.

Horned Gyè mask, Yauré People,Ivory Coast.

Bamileke Decorative Dance Crest, embroidered with European Glass Beads, Grasslands People, Cameroon. Private collection Brussels The raffia splint is covered with cloth and colou...

Gustave Fontaine (Etterbeek 1877-1952 Brussels) was a sculptor–painter. He took courses in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and continued his training at the Aca...

Vintage globe with lamp elytres. A rare find and a beautiful modern taxidermy item.