Catalog (2423)

Wonderful lacquered box from Russia's Imperial era. The lid has a handpainted summer troika scene. Scenes depicting troikas in the snow are a bit more common. The design is very colorful and the facial detail on the three people is very nice. The lid is signed "E. Gustov" (translated). The box is lacquered red inside.

Origin: Russia, circa 1890. Condition: decoration and overall condition is excellent, three corners of the lid have flakes. Size: 5-3/4" x 3-15/16" x 1-3/4" high.

Very nice glass calabash in aqua blue. One side features hands clasped across a patriotic shield surrounded by stars and olive branches and the word "Union". The other side is decorated with an American eagle grasping a banner, shield, arrows and olive branches. The calabash has a polished pontil on the bottom and an applied lip at the neck.

Origin: America, mid-19th century. Condition: excellent, no cracks or chips, nice molded detail, the pontil has some brownish surface discoloration. Size: 9-1/8" tall.

Gorgeous sterling silver pendant accented with enamel and paste stones. The pendant is comprised of a bale set with old-European cut paste stones, suspending a circle set with 30 paste stones, surrounding an articulated central plaque covered in translucent cobalt blue enamel punctuated with a finely worked silver floral motif set with paste. The edges of the central plaque are finely toothed and the reverse is decorated in a starburst pattern.

The reverse is marked twice with the French boar's head mark for silver. The pendant is presented with a contemporary 15" 14K white gold chain. The pendant is presented in its original velvet- and silk-lined fitted case, imprinted with the logo for "Edward Tessier Silver & Goldsmith/Mourning Ornaments". Tessier remains one of London's finest purveyors of antique jewels and is still located at its original New Bond Street location.

Early French paste of this quality is getting exceedingly difficult to find. This is a very fine piece of period French paste jewelry, and the combination of paste and blue enamel is especially pleasing.

Origin: France, circa 1840. Condition: excellent, no damage. Size: 7/8" diameter (excluding bale).

Very nice Victorian 18K yellow gold stick pin in the form of a coiled snake. The head is set with an old European cut sapphire. The engraved detailing is very nice. The snake motif in Victorian jewelry, often used to represent eternal love, became popular after Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake ring as her betrothal gift. Hallmarked with the French "tete de cheval" and an unidentified maker's mark.

Origin: France, circa 1850. Condition: all original, the pinstem has the usual bends that are not visible when being worn. Size: 2-1/2” overall length; snake, 9/16” x 9/16”. Weight: 1.5 grams.

Very nice Victorian 18K yellow gold stick pin in the form of a coiled snake. The head is set with an old European cut green tourmaline. The engraved detailing is very nice. The snake motif in Victorian jewelry, often used to represent eternal love, became popular after Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a snake ring as her betrothal gift. Hallmarked with the French "tete de cheval" and an unidentified maker's mark.

Origin: France, circa 1850. Condition: all original, the pinstem has the usual bends that are not visible when being worn. Size: 2-15/32” overall length; snake, 1/2” x 1/2”. Weight: 1.5 grams.

A very nice pair of 19th century wooden Russian Easter eggs handpainted with traditional motifs. One egg is brightly painted with a maiden wearing peasant clothing and the traditional kokoshnik headdress. The reverse side is painted with the letters “XB” for Khristos Voskrese (“Christ Is Risen”). The other egg is painted with a scene of a peasant woman walking through a birch forest toward her log hut. This egg, too, is painted with “XB”. The eggs are strung on very old, possibly original, satin ribbon. The wood appears to be mahogany.

The tradition of giving eggs to loved ones at Easter was popular throughout Russian society. The common classes gave decorated wooden eggs, while the Tsars favored their loved ones with the creations of Faberge.

Origin: Russia, mid- to late-19th century. Condition: excellent, all original paint. Size: 2” long & 1-3/4” long.

An unusually nice silverplated studs box, the top decorated with repousse chrysanthemums. The only clue to the box’s purpose of holding a gentleman’s shirt studs and cufflinks is the figural stud finial on the top. The bottom is marked for the Middletown Plate Co. This is a much more decorative example than most.

Origin: America, 1876-99. Condition: excellent, hardly any wear to the plating. Size; 2-5/8” diameter; 1-3/4” tall.

Elegant Napoleon III circle brooch enclosing a delicate sprig of flowers set with 19 small rose-cut diamonds. The floral motif is worked in silver as was the practice in 19th century diamond jewelry. The white color of the metal was thought to show diamonds to their better advantage. The edges of the circle are beautifully pierced with a double gallery. The back retains the original extended pinstem and c-clasp, and back is marked with 19th century French hallmarks for 18K gold.

Origin: France, circa 1860. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 1” diameter. Weight: 4.75 grams.

A wonderful set of six Victorian silverplate napkin rings. The outsides are decorated with two cherubs grasping baroque reserves framed with swirls of acanthus leaves, pendant bellflowers and other ornate decorative devices. The insides are brightly gilt. It is very unusual to find a complete matching set of Victorian napkin rings.

Origin: probably American, circa 1890. Condition: all original, no monograms, normal wear the the plating on the insides and outsides. Size: 1-5/8" wide; 1-7/8" diameter.

Very nice Victorian sterling silver doubled-faced cufflinks decorated with Classical medallions in the Shiebler style. The medallions depict are Greek in style and depict and adult man and a youth in profile. The backgrounds are stippled and the edges are beveled and irregularly shaped to suggest antiquity. The backs are marked "Sterling".

Origin: America, circa 1880. Condition: excellent, very sharp detail. Size: approximately 7/8" diameter. Weight: 12.5 grams.

Engraved print and facsimile autograph of Tsar Alexander II, Emperor of All the Russias. The plate was engraved after the original painting by noted American artist Alonzo Chappel. Chappel is mostly known for his paintings of great Americans such as Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, and the subject of a Russian Czar is unusual. He produced the paintings specifically for Johnson, Wilson & Co. Publishers who used them in books dedicated to history, politics and world affairs. Some of his artwork was used for postage stamps, as well. Below the image is marked “Painted By Alonzo Chappel/Entered according to act of Congress A.D. 1871 by Johnson Fry & Co. in the clerk’s office of the district court of the southern district of N.Y.” Below the autograph is “Emperor Alexander 2nd of Russia/Likeness from an authentic photograph furnished by authority/Johnson, Wilson & Co. Publishers, New York”.

Origin: America, circa 1871. Condition: excellent, untrimmed, no fading or foxing. Size: image, 5-7/16” x 7-7/16”, paper, 8-1/2” x 10-3/4”.

A unusually fine example of a scrambled weight by the New England Glass Company. The weight includes latticinio twists and millefiore canes. The set-up includes a complex red, white and blue cane (visible through the concave bottom of the weight) formed of a heart silhouette surrounded by stars. The canes are tightly packed for a very nice appearance. The glass is quite clear.

Origin: America, circa 1870. Condition: very good, a few small surface nicks on the crown, no cracks. Size: 2-5/8” diameter; 1-7/8” high.

Handsome Victorian covered brass box with a beaver finial. The beaver is cast in bronze and is shown chomping on a tree stump. The detail and workmanship on the finial is excellent. The box will polish very nicely, but we have left the original patina.

Circa 1890. Condition: excellent, a small ding at the bottom edge. Size: 5-3/4” tall; 2-7/8” diameter.

Excellent pair of Victorian 18K yellow gold drop earrings with Mediterranean coral beads. The earrings are quite heavy and are very well constructed with closed backs that make them attractive from behind, as well. The coral has the nice, even coloring of fine Mediterranean coral from the coast of Italy. The original earwires have been replaced with screwbacks, but because of the way the earrings are constructed, there were no alterations to the earrings themselves. They could easily be re-converted to wires. The gold has a slightly rosy color that complements the coral nicely. Tested and guaranteed 18K gold.

Origin: America, circa 1860. Condition: excellent. Size: 1-3/8” x 11/16”. Weight: 8.5 grams.

Exquisite pair of Second Empire (Napoleon III) French 18K yellow gold earrings in the girandole style. The surmounts, each set with a single slightly flattened coral bead, suspend gold central elements, which suspend a fringe of coral, pearl and onyx beads. The earrings are marked with French 18K hallmarks.

Origin: Paris, circa 1850. Condition: excellent, all original. Size: 2-7/32" long. Weight: 6.0 grams.

Nice Bohemian glass paperweight featuring a concentric millefiori design. The outermost ring is composed of alternating pink and blue complex star canes. The canes are placed over a scrambled ground. The base is flat and is clearly defined. The glass is heavy and of quite good quality.

Origin: Bohemia, circa 1850. Condition: very good, a couple of moons at the top of the crown and a fleabites at the edge of the bottom. Size: 1-13/16” diameter; 1-5/16” high.

Victorian Scottish Mauchlineware Pencil Box Rare mauchline ware pencil box featuring transfers of two different scenes. The lid is decorated with a scene entitled “London Bridge & Cannon St. Station” and the body scene is entitled “Lambeth Palace”. Both transfers are very crisp and detailed. English scenes are much less common than images of Scotland. This piece is also larger than most pieces of mauchlineware.

Origin: Scotland, circa 1860. Condition: excellent, no cracks. Size: 7-5/8” long.

Outstanding Victorian silverplate napkin ring decorated in the Aesthetic or Japonesque taste. The surface is encrusted with decoration representing flying cranes, crysanthemums, fans, and bamboo. The plain surface of the fan was intended for a monogram, but the napkin ring was never engraved.

Origin: America, circa 1870. Condition: excellent, all original, sharp detail. Size: 1-9/16" diameter; 1-1/8" wide.