Catalog: Antiques (495)

Extraordinary majolica tile raised on bun feet. The tile features a sinuous painted Art Nouveau design of elegant swans swimming in a river with a cityscape beyond, surrounded by a border of bamboo. The design has a distinctly impressionist look that brings to mind some of the Rookwood vellum patterns. The bottom is impressed "66" and has an illegibly impressed maker's mark.

Origin: European, circa 1880. Condition: superficial glaze scratching from normal wear; glaze crazing only on the underneath side. Size: 9.25" square; 1.5" high.

A very good Classic Period glass paperweight with a pinchbeck design. The scene depicts the "Descent from the Cross" and shows two centurions, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking the body from the cross while Mary weeps at Jesus' feet. The pinchbeck insert is finished in a silver tone rather than the more common gold. The crystal dome is of very good quality, with excellent clarity and good optical magnification to highlight the detail of the scene. The bottom of the weight retains its original red and gilt-painted decoration.

Origin: England or Continental Europe, ca. 1850. Condition: excellent, light surface scratching at the top of the crown. Size: 2-5/16" diameter; 1-1/4" high.

A classic Sandwich glass hyacinth vase in a rich amethyst shade. The vase is entirely hand blown, shows the traces of hand marvering, and has a large oblong bubble on one side about two inches above the bottom. The deeply concave base has a rough pontil and a basal ring showing the expected wear. Hyacinth vases, sometimes called tuplip 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.

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.

Extremely rare oil lamp featuring a base of mercury glass decorated with floral painting and satin finishing. The floral decoration is an autumnal design depicting leaves and wheat in shades of brown, gold, green and cream, accented with cornflowers in blue and small orange flowers. The mercury glass has extensive satin finish which further emphasizes the shiny surfaces. The oil reservoir is flint glass of the highest quality cut in a 12-panel design. The metal mounting between the oil reservoir and the mercury glass base is gilt in a way that the mercury glass blends seamlessly into the rest of the lamp. The shade, no doubt a plain clear glass shade, is gone. The wick knob is marked "Ideal Brenner 20".

Origin: American, almost certainly New England Glass Company, circa 1840-80. Condition: excellent, no cracks or chips, painted decoration intact. Size: 17-1/2" tall (to top of burner).

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.

English porcelain teacup and teabowl featuring three fine transfer designs printed in a stunning magenta color that is so intense it almost takes on the appearance of pink luster. The teabowl is decorated with a scene entitled "Winchester College" and the cup has "Macduff's Castle" and "Berwick Salop [sp?]". The saucer is further decorated with two concentric rings around the edge and the cup has two matching rings around the inside lip. Both pieces are in very fine condition, with only minimal scratching of the top surface of the teabowl. English, ca. 1840. Saucer 5-1/4" diam.; cup 2-1/2" tall.

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.

Superb early hinged porcelain box with gilt brass trim. The top of the box is painted with a colorful scene of a pheasant in a pastoral setting with foliage, pink flowers and a lake. The bottom half of the box is painted in a coordinating pattern. Boxes such as this were used to hold small candies called “bonbons”. The best of the boxes were made in France, both in Limoges and in the area around Paris, from the middle of the 18th century.

Origin: France, ca 1840. Condition: excellent, no cracks or chips. Size: 3-1/2” x 2-3/4” x 2-1/4” high.

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”

Stunning Victorian bronze picture frame, the border inset with gold velvet completely encrusted with gold thread embroidery of twining vines and flowers. The easel back is covered in gold moire silk.

Origin: probably French, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent; some staining on the back side. Size: outer--2.5"x3.25"; sight--1.5"x2.25".

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 very good sterling silver wine bottle or decanter coaster by Gorham. The flared lip is heavily decorated with a floral scrolled border in the Rococo style. The repousse decoration is finely done. The bottom of the coaster is fully hallmarked with one of the older Gorham hallmarks, the design copyright date 1889, the pattern number 325 and the date symbol for 1891.

Origin: America, 1891. Condition: excellent, one pinpoint ding visible on very close inspection, no monogram. Size: 6-3/4" diameter. Weight: 135.6 grams.

Very unusual glass paperweight from the New England Glass Company. The weight is worked in a patriotic theme with shards of red, white and blue opaque glass rods making up the scrambled design--possibly in celebration of America's centennial in 1876. The center of the setup is punctuated with a large icepick bubble--a technique I have never seen used in an American scrambled weight. There is also a rare silhouette cane of a pine tree. The crown is high and has a lightly swirled finish. The basal concavity is quite deep and irregularly finished.

Origin: America, circa 1876. Condition: excellent, no chips or cracks, no deep scratches. Size: 2-1/2" diameter; 2" high.

Fabulous figural silverplated shellfish server. Of the highest quality, this piece is formed as two mussel shells flanking an oyster shell, with a double strap handle reminiscent of seaweed. The bottom is marked with a "N & W" hallmark, along with the pattern number "424" and the registry number "333221" indicating a date of 1899.

Origin: England, 1899. Condition: virtually mint. Size: 11" x 11" x 5-1/4" high.

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.

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.