Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art (485)

A very fine berry or casserole spoon in John R. Wendt's "Medallion" pattern. The handle features an oval reserve centered with a medallion profile of the Greek goddess Pallas Athena. The elongated bowl is beautifully scalloped. The back of the medallion has a period monogram "A" and the stem is marked with the retailer's mark for Ball, Black & Co. and with "925" for sterling. Wendt did not use his own hallmark in this period.

Origin: America, ca. 1965. Condition: excellent sharp detail. Size: 8-3/4" long. Weight: 63.0 grams.

Nice Victorian brass ladies' lace-up boot. This example has holes drilled to represent the holes for laces. The Victorians often placed these along their mantles for purely decorative purposes.

Origin: England or America, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent, light scratching near the toe. Size: 4.5" tall.

A wonderful sterling silver trout set in Towle's 1884 "Arlington" pattern. The handles are decorated in the repousse style with a profusion of roses and foliage. The decoration lends itself to being mixed with many of the repousse patterns from the Baltimore area. It is the blade of the trout knife, wonderfully decorated with an engraved trout leaping into the air after biting a lure (the entire casting rod in the background), that really sets these servers apart. Complete Victorian services included fish sets, but trout servers are extremely uncommon. They are a bit smaller than regular fish servers and have a slightly different shape. Towle, in particular, seems to have been fond of the form. The backs are stamped with Towle's hallmark and the retailer's mark "H. G. Shupp".

Origin: America, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent, light surface wear, a small bend at the tip of the knife's upper lip. Size: fork, 8-1/8" long; knife, 10-1/4". Weight: 140.5 grams.

A wonderful late Victorian tea caddy in the form of a miniature William IV style double-pedestal sideboard with a scallop shell backsplash. The lid lifts to reveal three small compartments for storing caddy spoons and other implements. The two outer compartments have removable pegs that allow the fronts of each of the pedestals to be removed, revealing two drawers for the storage of tea. The center area between the pedestals would have been used to store a crystal mixing bowl. The front of each pedestal has tombstone inlays in bird’s-eye maple, while the sides are decorated with a diamond pattern of rosewood and maple. The hinged top is edged with holly or sycamore stringing. Figural tea caddies and miniature furnishings are quite rare and desirable.

Origin: England, ca. 1870. Condition: some warping to the hinged lid, a 2-1/2” x 1/2" area of missing veneer on the front edge of the right pedestal (not very visible because the mahogany veneer is set over the mahogany carcass), the scalloped backsplash has split and has been secured with old nails, the teeth of the brass lock are missing. Size: 14-7/8” wide; 11-1/4” high; 6” deep.

An uncommon silver tastevin, the bottom inset with a Mexican silver coin featuring the likeness of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, the last Spanish emperor to rule over Mexico. The coin is dated 1821, the year Mexico became independent of Spain. The tastevin is constructed in classic French style, with a coiled snake handle, but it lacks the embellishments usually seen on French examples. The bowl is simply decorated with a hammered surface. The tastevin probably dates to the reign of the Emperor Maximilian, who ruled Mexico’s Second Empire (1864-67). Maximilian was established as emperor by the French Emperor Napoleon III, and French decorative arts became very popular among the wealthy of Mexican society.

• Origin: Mexico, ca. 1864.
• Condition: excellent.
• Dimensions: 9 x 11.5 cm (3-9/16 x 4-9/16 in).
• Weight: 112.0 grams.

An elegant second standard (800/1000 pure silver) French tastevin. The bowl is engraved with repousse grape clusters and leaves in the 18th century style, but also with the more traditional raised “perles” and “coupules” seen in 19th century examples. The combination of the two is quite unusual. The handle is in the form of two snakes grasping an apple between their jaws—an element thought to stem from the Garden of Eden and intended to remind drinkers of temptation. The tastevin bears regional hallmarks for second standard silver and an unknown maker’s mark (J ancre de marine P). The pinpoint in the bottom of the bowl is a lathe-mark and suggests a date of the mid-19th century at the latest. The rim is engraved with the name of the original owner, “Ane [Antoine] Mouly-Chambon de Chas.”

• Origin: France, Burgundy region, ca 1840
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 3-1/8” x 4-1/4” x 1-5/32”
• Weight: 118.4 grams

19th century aneroid desk barometer in a stunning ivory case raised on a turned pedestal and surmounted with a carved ivory bust depicting a young farm maiden. The carving is superbly done, with great attention to the girl's hair and 18th century-style lace-trimmed bonnet. Her face is charming. The ivory has a beautiful yellowed patina that has not been cleaned. The enameled dial is in French, but there is no maker's mark visible. This is the finest desk barometer we've ever seen.

Origin: France, ca. 1830. Condition: excellent, expected splitting to ivory on the back, original patina. Size: 7-1/4" tall; 3-1/2" dial diameter.

A delightful Bennington-type yellowware cow creamer with mottled brown glaze. The cow stands on a concave oval base. This example is more nicely potted than some, with good detailing in the ribcage area and a quirky facial expression. These creamers were made in both America and England, but the style of modelling suggests this is an American example. The tail has been reglued nicely, and a professional restorer could make the repair completely invisible.

Origin: America or England, ca. 1840. Condition: mint aside from the tail. Size: 6-7/8" x 3" x 5-3/8".

A very handsome sterling silver gravy ladle in John R. Wendt’s “Medallion” pattern. Wendt’s version was one of the earliest designs to use classical profiles as the primary decorative element. The medallion, depicting the goddess Pallas Athena, is supported by a reeded stem that leads to the oval bowl with flared edges. The back is stamped with the retailer’s mark for D. H. Buell & Co., and with the “925” that is often found on early Wendt pieces.

Origin: America, ca. 1865. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, no monogram, no dings. Size: 7-3/8” long. Weight: 76.5 grams.

Rare large ironstone platter in the Imari taste with a cobalt blue border by G.L. Ashworth, the successor to Mason’s. The platter’s rim is unusually decorated with reserves showing Japanese ladies with parasols and floral elements surrounded by gilding. The central design shows an Asian-themed still life including peonies, lotus blossoms, pagodas, etc. The back is printed with Ashworth’s mark, is impressed “Real Ironstone China”, and has a decorator’s mark.

Origin: England, ca. 1870. Condition: excellent; no chips, cracks or discoloration; light wear to gilding along edges. Size: 15-7/8” x 12-5/8”.

A handsome Chinese export porcelain shallow bowl decorated in blue and orange enamels with gilt highlights. This pattern, distinguished by gilt stars against a dark blue background, was made for the American market was not very common. The blue border is pierced by reserves, some of which are decorated with gilt floral sprigs that echo the floral decoration in the bowl’s center. The wide border is flanked with orange and gilt lines and the rim is finished with a Greek key border. The outer rim is decorated with a narrow blue band covered with gilt stars. The overall shape is typically 18th century.

Origin: China, ca. 1780. Condition: good, a very tight hairline visible from the back, a couple of rubs to the enamel from being in a plate stand. Size: 9-1/2” diameter; 1-9/16” high.

A very fine 12-piece set of gilt silver and mother of pearl dessert, fruit or cheese knives presented in their original fitted box. The tapered mother of pearl handles are tipped with silver finials and ferules decorated in a Louis XVI-style ribbon and reed motif. Most similar sets have plated blades, but these are silver. The silver is gilt, a process that is decorative, but also serves to prevent corrosion from the salts in cheeses which were often served in France as a dessert course. The gilding has faded to a very nice, light lemony color. The interior lid of the velvet- and silk-lined box is marked by the maker, “J. Fayard/Fabricant Orfèvre Joaillier/St Etienne”.

Origin: France, ca. 1860. Condition: knives are excellent, no dings, no cracks, normal fading of the gilding; the box shows considerable wear and has a slightly warped lid. Size: 7-1/2” long.

A lovely Victorian sterling silver sugar sifter in Whiting’s 1882 “Antique Lily Engraved” pattern. The simply-shaped handle is decorated with bright-cut engraving of foliage with a spray of lilies-of-the-valley cascading across the end. The bowl is matte gilt and pierced in a pleasant design that does not compete with the restrained decoration of the handle. Sugar sifters were used to sprinkle sugar over fruit during the dessert service, and are not terribly common. The reverse has a period inscription, “Wade”, and is stamped with Whiting’s hallmark.

Origin: America, ca. 1885. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, gilding intact. Size: 5-7/8” long. Weight: 25.0 grams.

A wonderful and very rare Baccarat cut crystal perfume bottle in a simple panel cut enhanced with blue opaline “gems”. The lip of the bottle is cut in a deep petal shape. The stopper matches the décor of the bottle. Though known as “opaline” now, this type of glass was called “agate glass” when it was created at Baccarat in 1842. This pale blue color was called “bleu celeste” (“heavenly blue”). A very similar bottle has a full-page illustration in Jean-Louis Curtis’ landmark book “Baccarat.”

• Origin: France, ca 1845
• Condition: excellent, some extremely tiny abrasions to the facet edges of the gems on the stopper
• Dimensions: 4-1/8” x 4-1/8” x 6-1/4”

A very fine Imperial Russian lacquer box by Vishniakov. The lid is decorated with a winter scene showing an empty troika, still tethered to its horse, located just outside a snow-covered log building. The scene is beautifully detailed. The interior is lacquered in the dark rust shade characteristic of Vishniakov.

Origin: Russia, ca. 1880. Condition: the top shows considerably alligatoring, but no paint loss; two of the top corners have flakes (visible in photos); the interior has wear to the finish. Size: 5-3/4" x 3-7/8" x 1-11/16".

A very fine early cut crystal wine decanter with etched grapevine decoration. The neck is panel cut and accented with a diamond-cut ring at the base. The panel cutting extends past the ring on the shoulders and resumes at the base. The sides are beautifully decorated with an etched grapevine pattern. The etching is finely done. The base is star-cut. The hollow-blown stopper is panel cut to match the decanter's neck. The inside of the neck and the base of the stopper are etched with matching numbers, indicating this is the original stopper. The glass is quite heavy and very brilliant. If American, the decanter is probably the product of the New England Glass Company. If European, it is either English or Bohemian.

Origin: probably American, ca. 1850. Condition: the stopper has a 1/8" flake at the very top and a few small roughnesses at the high points around the periphery, some discoloration to the interior, otherwise excellent. Size: 14-1/2" tall.

A pretty Victorian maple swing-handle sewing basket, the interior lined with colorful pleated silk plaid. The bottom, upper frame and handles are constructed of maple, and the spindles forming the sides of the basket are ebonized.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, except for a narrow age split in the wood at one end of the upper frame. Size: 8-1/8" x 5-3/4" x 9" high.

A classic Sandwich glass hyacinth vase in a rich amethyst shade. The vase is entirely hand blown, shows the traces of hand marvering. The deeply concave base has a rough pontil and a basal ring showing the expected wear. Hyacinth vases, sometimes called tulip vases or bulb vases, were used to force flowering bulbs for wintertime blooms indoors. They were quite the rage and some Victorian homes had numbers of vases arrayed on windowsills. Pieces by Sandwich are uncommon. An identical example to this, except in cobalt blue and with a large rim chip, sold at auction in July 2006 for $2127.50.

Origin: America, ca. 1870. Condition: excellent, no chips or cracks. Size: 9" tall.