Catalog: Vintage Arts: Decorative Art (265)

A fascinating English Art Deco sterling silver hors d'oeuvre or dessert set cast and engraved with Egyptian motifs. This set is hallmarked for 1922—the year King Tut's tomb was discovered by English archaeologists in Egypt. Everything Egyptian suddenly became a design craze. This set features ornate depictions of everything Egyptian—the Step Pyramid of Zoser, a pharaoh wearing a nemes headdress, papyrus, lotus, ibis, Horus wings, and more! The spoons with the spade-shaped bowls are gilt, suggesting they were intended for use with salty foods that would tarnish bare silver. The spoons are presented in their original fitted case. Each spoon is stamped with Birmingham date marks for 1922 and the maker's mark for Levi & Salaman.

• Origin: England, 1922.
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, slight wear to gilding on spade-shaped spooons; case has slight spotting to lining, but otherwise superb.
• Dimensions: oval spoons, 4-13/16"; spade spoons, 4".
• Weight: 78.8 grams.

A lovely set of Cartier silverplated cocktail picks, buffet markers and champagne whisks, presented in their original fitted and embossed case. The finial of each pick is pierced with “Shou” the Chinese symbol for “longevity.” The double-sided finials allow the picks to double as buffet markers, by inserting a small card to identify cheese, charcuterie or finger sandwich selections presented on a cocktail buffet table. And finally, the piercing of the finials allows the picks to be used to aerate a glass of champagne to keep the bubbles flowing. The picks are presented in their original fitted box, the silk interior lid stamped with Cartier’s Paris/London/New York mark. The bottom of the box is stamped “Cartier Ltd,” indicating the picks were designed and sold in London. Each pick is stamped with a serial number.

Origin: England, ca. 1920. Condition: picks are excellent; the box has wear consistent with age, as well as an old auction or retail label on the top cover. Dimensions: picks 3” long.

An elegant second standard (800/1000 pure silver) French tastevin. Rather than the typical "perles" and fluted "godrons", the bowl of this tastevin is decorated with repousse grape leaves and berries in the 18th century style. This treatment is sometime see in tastevins made by Parrod, one of the most influential makers of tastevins in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The handle is in the tradition form of two entwined snakes grasping an apple in their mouths, thought to remind drinkers of temptation and sin. The tastevin is fully hallmarked and has an illegible maker's mark.

France, ca. 1925. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Dimensions: 3-1/4" x 4-1/4" x 1". Weight: 53.5 gr.

A pretty pair of Dresden porcelain candlesticks with traditional hand-painted floral decoration. Dresden candlesticks are rather uncommon. The squared bases are intricately pierced and decorated with flowers and gilt highlights. The columns are similarly decorated. Bobeches separate the columns from the candle sockets. The bobeches are original and have not been repaired, but at some point, a previous owner decided to paint her own flowers on the bottom sides of the bobeches and to add more gilding along the rim. Each candlestick is marked by an unidentified maker in underglaze blue, and is also marked "Dresden Germany".

Origin: Germany, ca. 1920. Condition: excellent with alternations as noted above. Size: 9-1/2" tall.

A very large and heavy sterling silver double jigger with a turned ebony handle by Quaker Silver Co. The cups are decorated with an ornate acanthus leaf and bead design reminiscent of Jensen and other Nordic designers of the early 20th century. The jigger is stamped with Quaker's hallmark.

Origin: America, ca. 1925. Condition: excellent, a couple of very tiny pinpoints along the rim of the smaller cup. Dimensions: 4-15/16" tall; 10-3/4"long. Weight: the silver portion is approximately 150.00 gr.

A very elegant Art Deco cranberry-cut-to-clear crystal cocktail shaker. The glass is very clear and quite heavy. The style of cutting suggests Val Saint-Lambert as the most likely maker. The shaker is finished with a silverplate strainer and cap.

Origin: probably Belgium, ca. 1925. Condition: excellent, no chips or cracks, very minor plating loss on cap. Dimensions: 9" tall.

An extremely rare set of 12 sterling silver and enamel tea or coffee spoons from the "Cymric" line produced by Liberty & Co. in partnership with the Birmingham silversmith William Hair Haseler. The stems of the spoons have an incised trailing motif accented with translucent shaded enamels in blue and green. Only a few designers produced spoon designs for the Cymric line, and this style is typical of designs by Archibald Knox around 1910. Each spoon is fully stamped with Liberty’s hallmark and the city and date marks for Birmingham, 1927-8. The spoons are presented in their original silk-lined fitted case, the lid impressed with Liberty’s logo.

• Origin: England, 1927.
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, one spoon has a slight flattening at the very tip of the bowl; box in very good condition.
• Dimensions: 4-3/8” long.
• Weight: 148.4 grams.

A fine sterling silver double jigger in an Art Deco pattern by Tiffany & Co. The austere style is decorated only with an incised band around each lip of the cone-shaped vessels. This severe geometric style is typical of Art Deco wares produced by Tiffany. The jigger is fully hallmarked by Tiffany and is stamped with the date mark used 1907-47.

Origin: America, ca. 1925. Condition: very good, one rim very slightly out-of-round, no monograms. Size: 4-3/4” tall. Weight: 89.0 grams.

A vintage Austrian silver stopper for a wine bottle or decanter, the finial constructed from a coin known as the “Maria Theresa Thaler”. These coins were first minted during the reign of the Empress Maria Theresa, mother of Marie Antoinette. The front depicts Maria Theresa and the back features the imperial Hapsburg double eagle arms. The abbreviated Latin inscription reflects her full title, “Maria Theresa, by grace of God, Empress of the Romans, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Countess of Tyrol” and includes her personal motto, “Justice and Clemency.” When the Empress died in 1780, the date on the coin was fixed in perpetuity. The coin had a very reliable silver content and became one of the most accepted coins for international trade—especially in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. It ceased to be used as legal tender in the Austrian empire in 1857, but continued to be minted for international trading purposes. The coin used for this stopper has characteristics usually associated with early 20th century examples, and the hallmark on the stopper’s collar is that used in Vienna after 1922.

Origin: Austria, ca. 1930.

Condition: excellent, sharp detail, all original;

Note that the cork is too wide to fit a wine bottle, but could be shaved down to fit.

Size: 2-1/4” from bottom edge of silver collar to the top of the coin; 1-5/8” wide across the coin.

Weight: 45.0 grams.

A beautiful set of six sterling pastry or cake forks designed by Bernard Cuzner for Liberty & Co. in 1923. The handles are elegantly enhanced with blue and green champleve enamel in a sort of peacock feather design. Cuzner was Liberty’s most influential silver designer in the 1920s. This set is fully hallmarked by Liberty and has the date mark for 1928. They are presented in their original silk-lined fitted case.

• Origin: England, 1928
• Condition: excellent, no enamel damage, very minor wear to the case
• Dimensions: 5-1/8” long
• Weight: 86.3 grams

A fantastic figural sterling silver and stag horn graduated jigger, each cup in the form of a whisky barrel. The barrels are fully detailed with engraved staves, raised hoops, and bung holes. The jigger is finished with a polished stag horn handle in an amber shade. The portions are well-made with good weight and detail. The ferrule is marked "Sterling" and also has serial numbers and an indistinct maker's mark

• Origin: America, ca. 1920
• Condition: excellent, a 1/8" pinpoint on the the bung hole of the larger barrel
• Dimensions: 4-1/8" wide; 7" long

A beautiful Art Deco green overlay cut crystal perfume bottle in Design "7623" by Cristalleries de Nancy. The bottle is cut in alternating pillars accented with stars and printies. The hollow-blown stopper is cut to match, with a large start at the apex. The base is stamped with the acid signature "Cristal Nancy France." This particular pattern is more often seen in cranberry overlay and in a round shape rather than square. The pattern was likely designed by Auguste Houillon, the company's artistic director.

Cristalleries de Nancy was established in 1921 and after winning the gold medal at the 1925 Art Deco Exhibition in Paris, it became the primary challenger to Daum during the Art Deco period. Luxury perfume bottles and dresser accessories were the company's specialty. The company closed in 1934.

Origin: France, 1921-34. Condition: excellent, no damage to bottle, the stopper has a small moon below the surface at the very bottom of the stopper. Dimensions: 2-5/8" x 2-5/8" x 5".

Phenomenal Art Deco cocktail shaker and six matching cocktail glasses by Gorham. The gently curving surface has a quilted appearance created by deeply incised vertical and horizontal lines. The spout and handle are attached to the body with a cobweb-like decorative device. The cocktail glasses are raised on tall stems with knops decorated to match the bowls. The same decorative element is repeated where the stems meet the flaring bases. The interiors of the bowls retain the original gilding. The bottom of each piece is fully hallmarked for Gorham with the year mark for 1928. The shaker is marked with the pattern number GA 13825 and the glasses with GA 13826.

This set was featured in Gorham's 1929 catalogue under the heading, "Sterling Splendor: Eminently Indispensible Silver Necessities of the Luxurious Modern Home." The set was the most expensive shaker offered by Gorham and cost the equivalent of a car or a small farm. Partly as a result of its sellling price, this set is one of the rarest cocktail shakers ever made. Gorham produced silver in the Art Deco and modernist style for only a short period (1926-29) under the guidance of famed silversmith Erik Magnussen worked there. Though it has been attributed to Magnussen (Visakay), it was probably not one of his designs since none of the very few examples are signed by the designer.

Origin: America, 1928. Condition: excellent; shaker has no dings, deep scratches or monograms; two of the glasses have a small flat ding on the edge of the weighted base. Size: shaker, 12" tall; glasses, 5-1/8" tall. Weight: 2,064 grams.

Sterling silver pastry server in Georg Jensen’s 1927 “Viking” pattern (also called “Nordisk”). This is one of the rarest Jensen patterns, and was designed by the master himself. It is beautifully crafted of the heaviest silver and combines traditional Scandinavian motifs with an Art Deco sensibility. The reverse is stamped with the hallmark used until 1930. This pattern has been out of production for many years, and is extremely hard to find.

Origin: Denmark, 1927-30. Condition: excellent, sharp detail. Size: 7-1/2” long. Weight: 70.5 grams.

A delightful set of six sterling silver Art Deco cocktail picks with finials in the form of the Devil. The little naked figure grasps a flaming torch in one upraised hand and his tail is replaced by the business end of the cocktail pick. No doubt, the picks were intended to remind one, rather tongue in cheek, of the sin of drinking! Each pick is fully hallmarked for Barker Brothers Silver Ltd. The picks are presented in their original velvet- and silk-lined fitted case.

• Origin: Birmingham, England, 1929.
• Condition: picks are excellent; box is very good with minor discoloration to the velvet lining.
• Dimensions: picks, 3-17/32” long.
• Weight: 26.8 grams.

Superb and extremely rare silverplated cocktail shaker in the "Ile de France" pattern by Meriden Britannia Plate Co. This is one of the most desirable of the high style Art Deco shakers. The ocean liner "Ile de France" was launched in 1926--not as the largest ship afloat, but intentionally as the most elegant ship in the world. This shaker was intended to celebrate that achievement and took its streamlined design elements from the ship itself. The pour spout protrudes from the side of the shaker at an angle and is strongly suggestive of the liner's angled bow. The shaker is severe in its decoration, using only stepped concentric rings to relieve the plain surfaces. The angular handle and cap are carved from strongly figured rosewood. The bottom of the shaker is marked with the pattern name and Meriden's marks.

Origin: America, 1927. Condition: excellent, extremely light surface wear to plating and a little bit of roughness are the edges of the pouring spout. Size: 9" tall.

A very good set of sterling silver cocktail picks, the tops decorated with colorful enameled roosters. The use of the rooster (“cock”) motif in Art Deco barware was a play on the word “cocktail”. Each of the roosters is enameled in a slightly different colorway. The picks are presented in their original fitted case. Each is marked "Sterling Silver".

Origin: America, ca. 1925. Condition: all original, no enamel damage, box has significant wear. Size: 3” long. Weight: 10.8 grams.

A set of six Art Deco sterling silver rooster cocktail picks by Albert Sydenham, presented in their original fitted box. The roosters are particularly finely detailed and are more three-dimensional than is usual in picks of this type. The interior of the faux-python box is stamped "JC Vickery", a luxury goods dealer that held warrants from most of the English royal family, as well as the Crowns of Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Norway & Sweden. Each pick is fully hallmarked and bears the date letter for 1927.

Origin: Birmingham, England, 1927. Condition: excellent. Dimensions: 3-3/16" long. Weight: 12.7 gr.