Catalog (971)

A well painted portrait miniature, on organic wafer, of a blue eyed gentleman wearing a deep blue coat, white ascot, shirt, and vest. Presented in a brass frame.

The condition is excellent, with no issues to speak of. The reddish area on the edge from 9:00 to 12:00 is due to light reflection. The painting appears much better in person than the photo shows. Framed size is 2 1/2" by 2".

A strong watercolor on organic wafer portrait of a British staff officer. With his mutton-chop whiskers, he is dressed in the well-known red jacket, and sports gold epaulettes. The painting is housed in a wonderful gilt bronze brooch with a guilloche silver back, which displays a nicely tied curl of hair under a glazed aperture.

Sight size is 1 1/2" by 1 1/4", with an overall size of 1 3/4" by 1 1/2". The condition of the painting and the case is excellent, with no issues at all. The white fle...

A beautiful portrait miniature, done in watercolor on natural wafer. The sitter is a lovely young woman wearing a large and striking turban and a lace fichu over a light apricot dress. A brooch below her bodice echoes the circular motif on the turban.

Housed in its original bronze case with a diameter of 3 1/4". Both the case and the painting are in excellent condition. A striking addition to any7 collection.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Guido Reni was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, althou...

A superb example of a triple knopped double series opaque twist (DSOT) antique wine glass. The bell bowl sits above a stem with a pair of 3-ply spiral bands around a central gauze, and shoulder, medial, and basal knops. 6 1/2 inches tall, 2 11/16 inch bowl diameter, 2 7/8 inch foot diameter. Unlike many multi-knopped opaque twists, which are poorly fashioned and on the spindly side, this glass is elegantly executed and proportioned.

A watercolor on natural wafer, painted by John Cox Dillman Engleheart. The sitter is a handsome gentleman dressed in a black jacket, white shirt, and gray tie. The glazing on the fron of the case has an eglomise border, with the glazed reverse of the case having opalescent glass on top of which is hairwork fastened with a pearl band and gold threads.

The condition of the painting is excellent, as is that of the case. The hairwork on the reverse has some disturbances. Sight size is 2" by 1 5/8...

A fine watercolor on natural wafer, signed lower left by Hyacinthe Mercier and dated 1813. The sitter is an attractive young woman posed in front of a column with a landscape featuring a church in the background. Presented in the original frame.

No condition issues, with a diameter of 2 3/4" and a framed size of 5 1/2" by 5 1/4".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Mlle Hyacinth Mercier worked as a miniaturist in Paris, living at 27 rue Neuve Saint Rochet. She exhibited at the Salon in 1808 and 1810. H...

A beautifully done Horace Hone portrait, painted on natural wafer, signed and dated "HH 1782" on the right. The sitter might well be Mary, Viscountess Dillon, as she bears a great resemblance to another portrait Hone did of her. Whether this is the case or not, the subject of this miniature is a striking blue-eyed woman, with a coquettish mien to her. Her hair is styled elaborately, her eyes are shadowed with blue, and she is wearing a very low-cut blue gown trimmed with white edging over a prom...

A striking miniature portrait, done in watercolor on natural material, by George Place. The subject, set against a clouded and blue background, is a handsome gray haired officer of light dragoons, dressed in uniform.

The miniature is in superb condition, with no cracks, chips, warping, paint loss, or restoration. The case is also in excellent condition, with a fully glazed back over fabric. On the back glass, at the edge at 10:30 there is a small chip in the underside. The case size is 3" by...

A beautifully painted miniature portrait, on natural organic material, with an attribution to Pauline Augustin. The sitter, a young gentleman of strong presence with brown eyes and long flowing brown hair, is attired in a black coat, with white stock, vest, and shirt. The photograph does not do any justice to the quality of this piece.

The sight size is 4 5/8" by 4" and the framed size is 7 1/4" by 6 5/8". The condition is excellent with no issues or flaws. Housed in a later burlwood and ebon...

An extremely nice tinsel, or foil, painting, showing a pearlescent urn overflowing with a wide variety of flowers, with a fallen rose bud at the base of the urn.

Housed in a period and probably original frame, measuring 17" by 13 1/4", the painting itself is 12" by 8 1/2". The condition of this gem is excellent.

Tinsel paintings of this type are almost a completely American form, becoming highly popular around 1870, and continuing into the mid 20th century. Earlier pieces, such as this on...

An extremely rare and fine composite stem English Georgian marriage wine goblet with Dutch engraving.

The round funnel bowl features an oval cartouche with a pair of clasped hands, reaching out of clouds, in front of a blazing heart, all of this backed by rays of sunshine. The cartouche is surrounded by fulsomely engraved elaborate scrolls, foliage, and groups of flowers, all highlighted by superb polished details. The reverse of the glass is inscribed with 'T GOED SUCCES VAN 'T HOUWELYK.

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A wonderful miniature by Daniel Dickinson of a handsome gentleman. The sitter is dressed in the height of fashion for the time, wearing a blue jacket with velvet lapels. Note the broadness of the brush strokes and chiseled modeling of the face, both characteristics of Daniel's style, contrasting with his brother Anson's work.

The frame deserves special mention, being gilt silver with a 14K gold back and central plaque with "AM" initials. It is quite thick and weighs about 3 1/2 ounces. The...

A beautiful lobed Chelsea porcelain plate, fulsomely decorated with a variety of flowers in a panoply of colors. The reverse with an anchor mark and three stilt marks.

Excellent condition with bright colors, no chips, cracks, or restoration. 8 1/4" diameter.

A beautifully executed miniature done by Benjamin Trott in watercolor on organic wafer. The sitter, ethereally painted against a light bluish and peach background, is an attractive blue eyed young lady wearing gold and ruby earrings and a pale peach gown with a ruffled neck and a blue sash.

Although it is clear, based on the style and artistic techniques, that the painting was done by Trott, a fragment of one of his business cards was also found in the case the miniature is housed in.

The c...

A nicely painted and early miniature portrait of a man done in watercolor on natural organic material. The blue-eyed sitter is a nice-looking gentleman fashionably attired in a full, long wig, a blue loose fitting robe, and white ruffled shirt.

One of the interesting things about this piece is that the original gold case is of a type known as a "slide case". The top protuberance is attached to a small sheet of metal (in this case gold), and when a little knob is pushed, the sheet can slide com...

A nicely painted American portrait miniature on organic wafer. The fine looking gentleman is nicely set off against a background of blue on the left side and a light brown on the right. Condition is excellent with no cracks, bowing, or paint loss. The case size is 2 1/8" by 1 5/8".

A beautiful Georgian ratafia glass featuring an extremely narrow drawn trumpet bowl engraved with flowers and leaves. For the same glass see plate #336 in "Eighteenth Century English Drinking Glasses" by L.M. Bickerton, published by the Antique Collectors' Club.

Conical foot with rough pontil. The glass is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, cloudiness, or restoration. Good color, striations, and tooling marks. Wonderfully and elegantly proportioned, being quite tall at 7 5/8", and...

A nicely executed Dutch double series opaque twist drinking glass, made of soda metal, with elegant form. A bell bowl with a stem with a pair of solid multi-ply spiral bands outside of two heavy spiral threads. 6 1/2 inches tall, with a bowl diameter of 2 1/2 inches and a foot diameter of 2 15/16 inches.

A double series opaque twist goblet (DSOT) with a large bucket bowl; the stem contains a multi-ply spiral band surrounding a lace twist; conical foot with a rough snapped pontil

7 1/2" tall, 2 7/8" diameter bowl, 3 1/4" diameter

A very interesting and charming 1" enameled button showing a young woman with a basket of flowers looking at a butterfly that is about to alight on her hand. The scene is surrounded by an inner brass border. Between that border and the outer one are enameled sections with flowers. The condition is excellent with no problems.

A beautiful French portrait miniature signed "Mie Bost" center right by Mélanie Bost. The sitter is a young girl in a white lace dress with blue ribbons at the shoulders, her hair parted down the center. Presented in a gold frame with a red glass over guilloche work surround, with small pearls to the exterior border. The reverse with a mother-of-pearl back and a gilt metal pin. Excellent condition with an overall size of 2" by 1 5/8" by 1/4" depth.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Melanie Bost (born ...

This is a rather large portrait miniature done in body color and watercolor on ivory. The signature on the lower right is "P(or T)ouktuz Sta??er". The signature and attire indicate the painting was probably done by an Eastern European or Russian artist. The subject of this 19th century work is an attractive young girl from a wealthy family, based on the expensive clothing (the fur coat, gloves, hat, and boots).

The condition of the painting is excellent, with some scattered black speck...

A beautiful Chaffers coffee can decorated with Chinese figures. Grooved loop handle. 2 1/2 inches tall, 2 3/8 inch diameter.

A charming example of Abraham Parsell's ability to capture the essential characteristic of a sitter and portray them in a wonderful naïve manner. In the miniature portrait presented here we have a young man with striking blue eyes and a mound of curly hair. He is attired in a dark brown jacket, black vest, and white tie and shirt.

The condition of the painting is excellent, with no cracks, chips, bowing, fading, etc. There are some scattered black spots on the lower part of the jacket, quite ...

A miniature portrait painting by Abraham Parsell, done in his recognizable style with a multicolored background and the sitter having somewhat frizzy hair, posed with his arm on a chair. Housed in its original cast foliate frame with a glazed rear aperture. The original leather travel case comes with this piece, although it has separated at the hinge and held in place with a safety pin.

The painting is 2 3/4" by 2 1/4". Condition is excellent with no cracks, bowing, paint loss or restoration...

A fine example of a plique-a-jour button, all of which are uncommon (see Note 1, below), featuring translucent greenish-blue enamel in a gold metal surround and cells. Excellent condition with no issues. The color of the enamel is actually deeper than shown in the main photo. The diameter is 13/16".

NOTES: 1. Plique-à-jour (French for "letting in daylight") is a vitreous enamelling technique where the enamel is applied in cells, similar to cloisonné, but with no backing in the final pr...

A miniature portrait painting, watercolor on natural wafer, done by Mary Ann Knight at her best. The sitter is a very young woman with large and contemplative grayish-blue eyes and long brown hair with a jeweled ornament. She is dressed in the Grecian style in a blue gown with low decolletage topped with a draped diaphanous yellow scarf with a centered brooch. Adding a wonderful enhancement to the mythic feel of this charming work is the lyre held by the sitter.

The painting is in excelle...

The fully ribbed round funnel bowl on this glass elevates it above the ordinary into an elegant and striking wine glass. The double series opaque twist stem consists of a spiral band surrounding a single spiral tape. Rough snapped pontil. There has been a slight polish to a small section of the foot, probably to remove a nick, as it has not reduced the foot size at all.

5 1/4" tall, 2 1/8" bowl diameter, 2 1/2" foot diameter.

A superb example of one of the rarest and most sought after types of 18th c English glass, the color twist. The bell bowl sits atop a shoulder knopped stem with a white lace twist outlined in red around a central green thread. A gorgeous and perfect glass. 6 1/2 inches tall.

A wonderful Barr Flight Barr Worcester porcelain coffee can painted by Thomas Baxter or William Doe, the two Worcester decorators who did the finest feather painting. This beautiful example features 4 glorious feathers, a gilded Greek key border, and a gilded ring handle. The bottom is marked with an impressed crown above "BFB".

The condition of this little gem is superb, looking fresh from the factory with absolutely no issues. The height is 2 3/8" with a diameter of 2 1/2"

This extremely large 18th century Dutch glass goblet, which was made for the German market, has incredibly detailed engraving of a galleon ship and buildings, with the saying Het Well Vaaren Van Ons Vaaderland, which translates as Success to Our Homeland. The large bell bowl sits atop a 4 knopped stem which has, in sequence from the top, a flattened knop, an inverted baluster knop, an annular knop, and a half knop. A trapped tear extends the entire length of the stem. The domed foot has a rough...

A beautiful and uncommonly small 18th century glass mug, English, possibly a wine mug. Applied trailing at the top and center, with an applied grooved handle. Finely engraved with the name "Clarence Arthur." Polished pontil.

3.5 " tall, 2 5/8" diameter at the top, and 3" diameter at the foot.

An important French button of very large size at 1 1/2". The scene, which is handpainted on paper and under glass, shows the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. At the top of the scene is a banner saying "le Despotisme abatu" (despotism demolished). In addition to the people attacking in the foreground, there are figures rejoicing on the ramparts. Encased in a copper rim and backing.

The condition is excellent, with no issues. The grayish areas in the sky are clouds or smoke, not toning...

An 18th century antique wine glass, English lead, with a flared bell bowl, plain stem, rough snapped pontil, and folded foot. Simple, but with elegant form, this glass is 6 5/16 inches tall, 2 15/16 inch bowl diameter, 3 1/8 inch foot diameter.

A beautifully limned still life of flowers on a table. Done in oil on copper, with a silvered back. Excellent condition with no issues. Quite large, with a diameter of 1 1/2".

PLEASE NOTE: We collected buttons for many years, but have decided to sell our collection. The buttons shown on our site represent but a small sample on what we have, so please do not hesitate to ask if you are looking for a particular type.