Catalog (165)

Olmec Jade Mask Pendant Origin: Mexico, Circa: 1200 BC to 900 BC, Dimensions: 3 5/8 high x 2.5 wide, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Olmec, Medium: Jade.

An ancient Chinese Han Dynasty earthenware cocoon jar circa 206 BC-220 AD, with traces of original hand painted design motif. Cocoon jars a name derived for its the resemblance with the shape of a silk worm cocoon. They were originally used as wine storage vessels. This is a beautiful example in good ancient condition but for normal wear to surfaces. DIMENSIONS 12ʺW × 8ʺD × 10ʺH

A original antique Chinese Celadon pottery jar let from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) with Chinoiserie designs under glaze. Measuring approximately 2 3/4" high and 3 3/4" wide. In very good antique condition. This fine quality Chinese celadon jarlet was probably exported to South East Asia from mainland China to Southeast Asia from mainland China. This particular piece has a good olive green glaze with two handles near the rim. Having this Chinese green-glaze ware in this collection may signify Chinese influence on Southeast Asian ceramics. For example, typical Sawankhalok green-glazed ware was largely influenced by Chinese green-glazed ware. The green glazed ware was made extensively in China by the fourth century AD, and it was exported to South-East Asia from the time of the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279).

A original antique Chinese Stoneware with white glaze (Cizhou ware) jar let from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) Measuring approximately 2.5" high and 3" wide. In very good antique condition. This fine quality Chinese celadon jarlet was probably exported to South East Asia from mainland China to Southeast Asia from mainland China. This particular piece has a good shape and glaze. The glazed ware was made extensively in China by the fourth century AD, and it was exported to South-East Asia from the time of the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279).

A fine 17th century Dutch landscape by Solomon Van Ruisdael oil on oak panel 19 x 25.5 inches signed lower right. The scene is from a area near old Haarlem where he often painted pictured is a ferryboat in the distance and an angler and woman by a cottage in the foreground. An exquisite old master painting. Biography, (1600/03-1670) Salomon van Ruysdael was called De Goyer until he and his brother Isaack changed their name to Ruysdael, after the castle near their father's birthplace, Blaricum. Salomons nephew Jacob was the only member of the family to write the new name with an 'i': Ruisdael. Salomon lived in Haarlem, but probably travelled throughout the Netherlands. He painted townscapes of various Dutch cities. Who taught Salomon van Ruysdael the art of landscape painting is no longer known. His early work is clearly influenced by Esaias van de Velde. Van Ruysdael mainly painted riverscapes. In the 1630s he and Jan van Goyen developed a new, monochrome style. Inquires welcome.

Original Albrecht Dürer woodblock print "The Flight into Egypt", from: The Life of the Virgin (B. 89; M., Holl. 201; S.M.S. 179) woodcut, circa 1504, This impression on laid paper with a Fleur de Lis watermark (Meder 122) it is an original 16th century print after the Italian edition with narrow margins with a 1 cm repaired tear top left otherwise in very good condition B. 11¾ x 8 5/16 in. (299 x 211 mm.) S. 11 7/8 x 8 5/16 in. (301 x 212 mm.) Archival framing the print is tiped to archival matte at top. An exqusite example of this important artists work.

Original antique 16th Century woodcut Engraving by Virgil Solis C.1550 signed with monogram lower left. Text on versoImage measures 4.25" x 3" Presented Matted and framed overall size 7" x 9". Bio. Virgil Solis or Virgilius Solis (1514 – 1 August 1562), a member of a prolific family of artists, was a German draughtsman and printmaker in engraving, etching and woodcut who worked in his native city of Nuremberg. Solis’ early drawing style employed strong outlines and simple hatching and he aimed to produce popular, commercially successful prints on many subjects. The most notable aspect of Solis’ work is his skillful absorption and re-interpretation of other artist’s styles, particularly Albrecht Dürer, Peter Flötner, Sebald Beham and many others of French, German, and Italian origin. Solis’ woodcuts illustrating Ovid were especially influential, though partly borrowing from earlier illustrations by the French artist Bernard Salomon

Lantaka a 18th century cast bronze SWIVEL-CANNON “Rail Gun” or “Deck Cannon” solid bronze beautiful details measuring approximately 36 inches long. These cannon were used by the legendary Malay pirates, with small cannon-balls it was a powerful offensive weapon. Lantakas were manufactured during the 17th and early 18th century in Holland by Dutch East India Company for export to Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Later in the 18th century most of them were cast in Indonesia by Dutch colonists and also by local people. Since the bronze cannons were very expensive they become a symbol of wealth and a form of currency; in fact the more cannon a man owns the greater his wealth.

An exquisite Queen Anne period elaborately carved side chair in excellent condition all original a fine example of early furniture making.

Jean Baptiste Oudry original paintings on board of Hunting dogs signed and dated on reverse Oudry 1730 and each dog is named. Oudry accompanied Louis XV hunts and sketched on sight and later painted larger oils from these sketches. each measuring 16.5 x 21.5 cm.

Biography

Louis XV, king of France, often called Jean-Baptiste Oudry to Versailles to paint the royal hounds--in the king's presence. "Monsieur Oudry had acquired such a habit of conversing with high-ranking persons and of working in their presence that he painted as calmly at the court as he would in his own studio," marveled a contemporary. Though his father was a painter and art dealer, Oudry's first serious training came from portrait painter Nicolas de Largillière. By about 1720, the young man was concentrating on animals, hunts, and landscapes. He became a member of the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1719 and a professor there in 1743. From 1726 Oudry had great success designing tapestries. In 1734 he was named director of the Beauvais tapestry manufactory, which he re-established by bringing in artists like François Boucher. Two years later, he became director of the Gobelins manufactory. Supervising all tapestry production gave Oudry considerable influence on French decorative arts. He also had a large studio and was literally overwhelmed by commissions. His clients included Czar Peter the Great of Russia and the Queen of Sweden. Oudry's work was marked by attention to detail combined with freedom of execution. A master of chiaroscuro, he maintained a lifelong interest in light and reflections.

A beautiful original 18th century drawing of a woman gazing upward Attributed to Francois Boucher measuring 24.5 x 31 cm. on wove paper mounted at corners to matte board. A beautiful drawing would be a fine addition to any collection.

Biography

François Boucher (September 29, 1703 - May 30, 1770) was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, and intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture. He also painted several portraits of his illustrious patroness, Madame de Pompadour. Born in Paris, the son of a lace designer Nicolas Boucher, François Boucher was perhaps the most celebrated decorative artist of the 18th century, with most of his work reflecting the Rococo style. At the young age of 17, Boucher was apprenticed by his father to François Lemoyne, however after only 3 months he went to work for the engraver Jean-François Cars. Within 3 years Boucher had already won the elite Grand Prix de Rome, although he did not take up the consequential opportunity to study in Italy until 4 years later. On his return from studying in Italy in 1731, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture as a historical painter, and became a faculty member in 1734.

Oil painting Madonna of the Finch after Raphael. An 18th century old master copy of the great masterpiece by Raphael. Presented in a fine hand carved 24K gold leafed antique frame. Image 25.5"L x 18.5"W. Overall framed size 34 x 28".

Beautiful rare antique 18th century French hallmarked 950 pure silver ladle with whale baleen handle hall marked. Silver is in excellent condition some inscect damage to handle. Overall a rare and beautiful piece of antique French silver. Overall length measures 16 inches.

A beautiful rare antique French Gilt Bronze Dore bust of a young woman by Jean-Baptiste Greuze Paris circa 1799. Dor'e or bronze finish signed on reverse on a marble base. Dimensions 4ʺW × 2.5ʺD × 6.5ʺH in good antique condition minor imperfections commensurate of age. Biography; An 18th-century artist of melodramatic genre, morality lessons, female figures and portraits whose subjects included Mozart and Benjamin Franklin, Jean-Baptiste Greuze was born in the Burgundy region of France. He spent most of his career in Paris, where he was mentored by a portrait artist from Lyon named Grandon (Grondom). This artist was an advocate for the young Greuze, whose father had discouraged him from following his art talents. In Paris, Greuze worked from the live model at the Royal Academy. Gradually his work attracted the attention of members of the nobility such as the family of Madame d'Epinay, a French writer whose love affairs included Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot. In 1755, Greuze's painting, Father Reading the Bible, was judged accomplished enough to merit much encouragement from Academicians. That same year, he went to Italy with Abbé Louis Gougenot, who had influence among fine art professionals, which led to Greuze being elected him an honorary member of the Royal Academy in Italy because of his accomplishments in allegory and mythology. However, he was not encouraged by the exposure he got in Italy, and returned to Paris in search of better training for portraiture, genre and figure work. Beginning in the late 1850s, he received increasing accolades for his painting, which influenced by Rousseau, was getting increasingly naturalistic. By 1765, he had reached a great high point with the exhibition of thirteen paintings at the Academy's Salon. However, members gave him a tough time because they demanded that he show them a diploma from an accredited art institution, something he did not have. The Academy finally received him as a new member with all honours but as a genre painter, meaning he was not officially recognized for his portraits or history canvases. In 1769, Salon organizers rejected his painting, Septimius Severus Reproaching Caracalla, and Greuze was so angered that he did not exhibit again until 1804, when the Academy was much less rigid because of the Revolution breaking down aristocratic barriers. However, by that time his subjects and Neo-Classical style had waned in popularity. The next year, 1805, Jean-Baptiste Greuze died in the Louvre. He was impoverished, having been wealthy but having squandered his fortune and also losing money to an embezelling wife. During his last years, he was desperate for commissions but diminished in talent, which meant that much of his late work was lacking in the quality for which he had been known. One of his last paintings was an 1804 portrait of Napolean Bonaparte. Greuze left many paintings, many which are in the Louvre as well as the Wallace Collection in London, the Musée Fabre in Montpellier and a museum dedicated to him in his hometown of Tournus.

A fine rare Pennsylvania German folk art brides box c. 1830 in very good antique condition with all original antique paint. Old german script reads, "SCHAU ES NUR AN WIE DU WILLST EX IST DES VATERS EBENBILD". ROUGHLY TRANSLATES TO "SEE IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT IS YOUR FATHER'S LIKENESS. Measuring approx. 19 x 12 x 7 inches a Museum quality American folk art piece.

Richard Bonington original oil on canvas of a old English town view signed very faintly lower right measuring approx. 9 x 12 inches framed in a contemporary gallery frame. Provenance: British Consulate San Francisco.

Biography

Richard Parkes Bonington was born in the town of Arnold, 4 miles from Nottingham in England. His father was successively a gaoler, a drawing master and lace-maker, and his mother a teacher. Bonington learned watercolour painting from his father and exhibited paintings at the Liverpool Academy at age 11. In 1817, Bonington's family moved to Calais, France where his father had set up a lace factory. At this time, Bonington started taking lessons from the painter François Louis Thomas Francia, who trained him in English watercolour painting. In 1818, the family moved to Paris to open a lace retail outlet. It was Paris where he first met Eugène Delacroix, who he became friends with. He worked for a time producing copies of Dutch and Flemish landscapes in the Louvre. In 1820, he started attending the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros. It was around this time that Bonington started going on sketching tours in the suburbs of Paris and the surrounding countryside. His first paintings were exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1822. He also began to work in lithography, illustrating Baron Taylor’s "Voyages pittoresques dans l'ancienne France" and his own architectural series Restes et Fragmens". In 1824, he won a gold medal at the Paris Salon along with John Constable and Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding. Bonington died of tuberculosis on 23 September 1828 at 29 Tottenham Street in London, only 25 years old.

This attractively proportioned games table is a form famously produced in the Salem, Massachusetts area at the beginning of the 19th Century. The serpentine form with ovolo corners, coupled with richly carved foliate and reeded legs, is a motif used by those cabinetmakers and carvers associated with the successful workshop of Samuel Field McIntire (1757-1811). The hinged serpentine top has a serpentine front and sides with outset ovolo corners. The top rests above a conforming apron with a vibrantly grained mahogany panel. Richly carved and turned legs flank each corner of the apron and the proper right rear leg, swings out to support the flyleaf top. The legs terminating in ornate gilt brass casters.

A fine American federal period carved shield back side chair circa 1830 of the finest quality in excellent condition.