Catalog: Vintage Arts (283)

A very fine 19th century Imperial Russian wooden Easter egg with polychrome decoration of Christ Pantocrator in the traditional double gesture of blessing and teaching. The figure, especially the face, is beautifully detailed. The back side of the egg bears the gilt letters "XB" for "Christ is Risen." The egg is completed with its original ribbon, appropriately brittle with age. Careful examination of the drill holes in the egg show even oxidation of the wood's unpainted surfaces and the paint has typical aligatoring, consistent with a 19th century date.

Origin: Russia, ca. 1880. Condition: very good; some losses to paint at the upper and middle left of the background around the Christ figure. Dimensions: 2-5/8" long (excluding ribbon).

A very good 19th century French silver tastevin (wine taster). This example is the in Burgundian style with repousse and engraved grape and leaf decoration around the bowl, rather than the more typical “perles” and fluted “godrons.” The handle, however, is in the classic style of two snakes grasping an apple symbolizing the Garden of Eden and the temptations of wine.The handle and the side of bowl are stamped with French 1st standard silver marks (950/1000 pure silver) and an unidentified maker’s mark.

• Origin: France, probably Burgundy, ca 1890
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 3-5/16” x 4-1/2” x 1-1/8”
• Weight: 125.0 grams

A lovely early 20th century Imperial Russian wooden Easter egg with polychrome decoration of a young peasant couple engaged in a kiss. The image is very sweet and nicely detailed. The back side of the egg bears the gilt letters “XB” for “Christ is Risen.” Careful examination of the drill holes in the egg show even oxidation of unpainted surfaces and the paint has typical aligatoring, supporting a very late 19th or early 20th century age. The image is a bit more romantic than is typical of earlier 19th century eggs.

Origin: Russia, ca. 1905. Condition: excellent; bright colors; no paint loss. Dimensions: 2-3/16” long.

Pretty pair of enamel bottle tags for "Sherry" and "Gin." The labels are decorated with colorful roses and forget-me-nots. The tags hang from brass chains.

• Origin: England, ca 1900
• Condition: excellent
• Dimensions: 2-7/16" x 1-3/8"

A lovely set of six sterling silver demitasse spoons in the “Wild Rose” variant of the “Vine” pattern. The bowls are in the elongated shape often seen in Tiffany demitasse spoons and are enhanced with soft matte gilding. Each is stamped with the Tiffany hallmark used 1873-1891. The spoons are accompanied by a Tiffany felt bag of more recent vintage.

The “Vine” pattern was created by Tiffany’s chief designer, Edward C. Moore, in 1872. The design included a variety of floral and vegetable elements including wild roses, tomatoes, gourds, irises, and wheat sheaves. Though pieces had different motifs, they were intended to be used together as a reference to the Japanese decorative concept of mismatching that became popular in Europe and America after Japan was opened to international trade in the 1850s. Few pieces in the pattern were made after the mid-1880s.

• Origin: America, ca 1880
• Condition: excellent, original gilding intact, sharp detail
• Dimensions: 4” long
• Weight: 63.9 grams

A very fine Edwardian sterling silver powder box with guilloche enamel in translucent ivory. The lid is decorated with a elegantly colorful painted enamel bouquet of wildflowers tied with a blue ribbon and the sides with complementary floral sprigs. The gilt interior is stamped with Imperial Austrian hallmarks and the master silversmith's for Georg Adam Scheid. Scheid was a silversmith to the Imperial Family and was particularly known for beautiful enameled items such as boxes, compacts, parasol handles and miniature clocks. This box would make an elegant spot for jewelry or other small items.

• Origin: Austria, ca. 1900.
• Dimensions: 4 1/16" diameter; 1 5/8" high.
• Condition: excellent, very minor surface wear visible upon close inspection in strong raking light.

A remarkable sterling silver bonbon spoon by Watson. The detail is easily equivalent to work by Tiffany, Whiting or the other great Victorian silversmiths. The bowl is decorated fully with grape leaves, clusters of fruit, and delicate tendrils finished with intricate piercing. The handle, designed as knarled grape vine, widens into a large cluster of fruit surrounded with foliage at the tip of the handle. The back of the handle is also decorated to match. The back is marked with Watson’s old hallmark.

Origin: America, ca. 1905. Condition: excellent, all original, sharp detail. Size: 6-3/8” long. Weight: 64.0 grams.

A very nice Arts & Crafts bronze round tray with verdigris patina by Carl Sorensen. The surface is decorated in uneven concentric rings of darker and lighter green mottled patination, separated by thin bands of polished bronze. The outer edge is finished with a pair of cast handles in a pattern similar to Georg Jensen's "Blossom" design. Little is known about Sorensen other than that he worked in the Philadelphia area around 1900 and his pieces may have been retailed at Tiffany & Co. The bottom of the tray is marked "Bronze CS" and "Carl Sorensen". The handles are marked "1196".

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, fine original patina. Size: 13" diameter (15" at handles).

A wonderful set of 16 tiles illustrating scenes from the story of Don Quixote. The tiles have incised lines separating the colored glazes. Each tile has a rich blue border.

Origin: Spain, circa 1900. Condition: most have small nicks along the edges; two have larger flakes on the edges or corners; no cracks. Size: 2-5/8" x 2-5/8" x 9/16".

Lovely white overlay glass lamp base with enameled floral decoration. Gilding accents the edges of the cut facets. The opaque white overlay is beautifully decorated with swags of roses. The top of the lamp is finished with a nicely engraved collar that connects to the electrical hardware. The lamp has been fairly recently rewired.

Origin: Bohemia, circa 1910. Condition: excellent, no chips or cracks. Size: 10-1/4” tall (not including electrical socket); 5-13/16” diameter at base.

A beautiful Cristalleries de Nancy Pattern #8039 Art Deco cameo glass perfume bottle and dresser jar with cranberry-colored stylized poppies against a frosted clear background in. The cameo design is accented with cut details on the shoulder and hollow-blown stopper of the bottle and on the cover of the jar. Both pieces are marked with the acid-etched signature "Cristal Nancy France." The bottom of the perfume is engraved with an identifying number that matches the number of the stopper, indicating the stopper is original. This pattern was likely designed by Auguste Houillin, 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 era. Perfume bottles and dresser accessories were its specialty. The company closed in 1934.

Origin: France, 1921-34. Condition: excellent; jar has no issues; the stopper of the bottle has a miniscule flake on one facet. Dimensions: bottle, 6-1/2 in. tall; jar, 3-1/4 in. tall x 3 in. diameter.

Astounding set of 12 Art Deco sterling silver swizzle sticks with star-shaped ivory finials by Jean Puiforcat, one of France’s most important silversmiths. The silver is beautifully gilt to accent the natural color of the ivory. The swizzle sticks are presented in their original red felt-lined fitted box marked “Puiforcat Orfèvre Paris”. Puiforcat is extremely high-end and articles that bear the Puiforcat mark are always of the absolute finest quality and rarity.

Origin: France, ca. 1935. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 4-5/16” long; ivory stars, 1-1/16” diameter. Weight: 130.5 grams.

PLEASE NOTE: This item cannot be shipped outside the United States.

An interesting sterling silver double jigger in an inverted cone shape. Interestingly, every surface is hand engraved in an ornate paisley-like pattern. The interior is marked “Sterling”.

Origin: America, ca. 1900. Condition: excellent, two small dings only visible from the interior. Dimensions: 4-1/16” tall. Weight: 47.1 gr.

A delightful and very rare French Art Deco silverplate cocktail shaker with enamel recipe decoration by Deschamps Frères of Paris. The enameled decoration depicts a pair of scrolled documents with seals presenting recipes for “Torelli” and “Winter Palace” cocktails. Both are rather unusual variations on a classic martini. Adolphe Torelli was the barman at the famous Winter Palace Hotel in Nice. His book, “900 Recette de Cocktails et Boissons Américaines: Guide du Barman et du Gourmet Chic” (“900 Recipes for American Cocktails and Drinks: A Guide for the Bartender at the Stylish Gourmet”) was published in 1927. It was among the first important bartender’s books from the cocktail era. This shaker was likely produced just after the publication. Deschamps Frères opened in 1920 and was known at the time for its interesting enameled silverplate barware, but the items are quite rare today and the enamel is often in poor condition. The bottom is stamped with Deschamps’ maker’s mark.

• Origin: France, ca. 1927.
• Dimensions: 8-1/4” tall.
• Condition: good; no dings; some yellow enamel loss; isolated pitting, light dulling and superficial scuffs to some areas of the plating.

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 the classic Dijonais interpretation of the form. 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 unidentified maker's mark (EE with a plumb bob).

• France, ca. 1925
• Condition: excellent, sharp detail, a small porosity blemish (1/4") under the rim on one side
• Dimensions: 3-1/4" x 4-3/16" x 1"
• Weight: 55.7 grams

A terrific first standard (950/1000 pure) silver tastevin by the acclaimed Dijon silversmith Marc Parrod. Though working in the very early 20th century, Parrod was fond of creating tastevins in fantasy styles of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Among his catalog of motifs were sides with repoussé decoration of grape clusters and leaves, bottoms inset with royal coins or medallions, double snake handles representing temptation in the Garden of Eden, and handles with engraved scenes or witty sayings. He must have had some /extra time when he made this tastevin, because it includes all these except the snake handle. In its place is a “tab handle” engraved with a cluster of grapes surrounded by a heart below the saying “A bon vin bonne humeur” (“To good wine and a good mood”). The bottom features a medallion (“jeton”) with the image of Louis XVI surrounded by a legend translated as “the most Christian King Louis XVI 1785”. The reverse of the medallion shows the coat of arms of the Duchy of Burgundy and the inscription “Comitia Burgundiae.” Silver jetons were struck by various civic governments (in this case, the Three Estates of Burgundy) or by the Crown itself to honor important people, significant historic occasions, or personal visits by the King. The rim is engraved with the name of the tastevin’s original owner Paulin from the wine village of Corton. The handle is stamped with Parrod’s mark and first-standard silver marks.

• Origin: Dijon, ca. 1903-1944 (most likely toward the earlier part of this period)
• Condition: excellent, no dings or monograms, sharp detail
• Dimensions: 2-7/8” x 3-13/16”
• Weight: 67.2 grams

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 delightful and very rare set of 12 sterling silver cocktail picks with gilt Devil’s head finials presented in their original fitted box. The snarling devils come complete with horns! The picks are presented in their original velvet- and silk-lined fitted case. This is only the second set of Devil picks we’ve managed to find in over 20 years of dealing in vintage barware. Each is hallmarked by William Hutton & Sons, Ltd and has Birmingham date marks for 1928.

• Origin: Birmingham, England, 1928
• Condition: excellent, no bends, gilding completely intact, interior of case shows light wear
• Dimensions: picks, 3-5/16” long
• Weight: 53.8 grams