Catalog (971)

A beautiful example of an English drinking glass of the double series opaque twist (DSOT) type. The round funnel bowl sits atop a stem with a 14-ply spiral band around a central pair of heavy spiral threads. Conical foot with rough, snapped pontil.

By far, most opaque twists are straight stems. In contrast, this one has a medial knop. However, what makes this glass highly unusual is that the knop, which is quite large, is a bladed knop. Practically all knops on opaque twist glasses are of the...

A beautiful and uncommon Bow porcelain coffee cup done in the famille verte style, loosely depicting flowers in green, red, and blue. A workman's mark is on the bottom.

The condition is superb, with bright clear colors, and with no chips, cracks, paint loss, or restoration. The cup height is 2 3/16" and a diameter of 2 1/8".

A rare and wonderful two sided micro-petit point purse made for a child. On one side is a depiction of an 18th century courting couple, under a tree by a river, with the man holding a mandolin serenading the woman. The reverse side shows homes along the river, and a sailboat. The purse is done in beautiful hues including pink, lavender, greens, etc. To further enhance this charming work of craftsmanship, there is a stunning enameled and jeweled frame.

Condition is superb, with no holes, pulls...

A rare and interesting anti Jacobite Irish glass with a funnel bowl and straight stem.

The bowl is engraved "Inny Cavalry", referring to a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 (and later fighting against the Jacobites) in the town of Enniskillen as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the 6th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment also fought with di...

An exceptionally wonderful example of this well-known and highly collected historical Staffordshire scene, with the added bonus of being in the very rare form of a shaped tray. This piece is 10" in length and 5 3/4" in width,with the impressed Clews mark on the reverse. The condition is superb, with deep rich color, high clarity, sparkling glaze, and no chips, cracks, scratches, or restoration. It is as fine an example as one could hope for.

The full title of the scene is "Landing of Gen. La...

A fine and uncommon blue and white Liverpool Delft plate depicting a heron and fenced garden. The 9" plate is in fine condition, with some minor, common, and expected fritting at a few places along the rim.

A wonderful and very desirable example of an 8-sided Lowestoft tea caddy, or canister. Painted with a flower bouquet and sprays beneath a border of flowerheads and foliate scrolls, the top having flowers and leaves.

The caddy is 3 1/2 inches tall and 3 inches in diameter, and is in superb condition, with no cracks, chips, or restoration. The only tiny blemish of any type is a 3/16" long glaze split at the top of the rim, clearly occurring during manufacture. Please note that what appear...

An interesting portrait miniature, by William Baldwin, of a nattily attired gent. The sitter, with a very rakish look about him, is set against a bright blue background, has long thick hair, a soul patch, and is wearing a stickpin with multi-colored jewels. These are motifs, along with the use of a strong blue background, that seem to appear in a number of his minis, as uncommon as they are. In all, a strong and amusing painting, and possibly conjuring up visions of a Mississippi River gambler.

A superb and elegant multiple spiral opaque twist wine glass, with four features contributing to the rarity of this glass. The first is the bowl, which is highly unusual and could best be described as ogee form with an extremely swollen upper portion. Second is the enamel portion itself, with a multiple spiral opaque twist (msot), a type encountered very infrequently. Third is the presence of a central knop, with any knop on an opaque twist being uncommon. Finally is the folded foot, occurring e...

This is an extremely unusual American 12 tube candle mold, made of tin and painted black. I have seen many candle molds in my time, but don't recall ever seeing one with the type decoration that this one has. The front and side have charming and whimsical squiggles of gold paint.

Overall condition is excellent, with the usual spots of paint loss and wear, and some nicks to the base. All the tubes are present, all the paint is original, and there have been no repairs. The base is stable ...

A charming hooked rug depicting a woman holding a flower and sitting in a chair beside a large kettle over an open fire. The wall behind her shows a painting and a window through which can be seen a church. Rugs of this size and this period showing an interior scene are quite uncommon.

The 21" by 17" rug is mounted in a museum approved manner on acid free board. The condition is excellent, with no issues.

A Scottish wood travelling tobacco or pipe box, wonderfully and fulsomely decorated with penwork. The scene on the top shows two older men arguing or bargaining, in front of what appear to be farm buildings. Under this is "And test Me nhow auld boy" followed by the initials HC. The sides and bottom of the box are decorated with finely drawn rows of leaves. The interior of the box is a gray sandpaper like material, with a stump in the center to tap out the dottle after a pipe has been smoked.

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A beautiful example of a large Scratch Cross period Worcester tankard of spreading base form with a double groove strap handle. The pattern is "The Zig-Zag Fence", and is the first in a long series of Worcester fence patterns. The particular speciman offered here, with its single line mark, would be early in the c1751 to 1755 period in which this pattern was made. The expected blue workman's mark is on the base.

Condition is excellent, with no cracks, scratches, or chips. Colors are stro...

A beautiful set of twelve Bow porcelain knives, each decorated with flower sprays and a fuzzy caterpillar at the end of the handle.

Knives of this type and date can be found occasionally as singles, pairs, and rarely, as a set of 6. However, this is the first set of 12 that we have seen or encountered in 25 years. Further, many of these other knife handles were originally fitted with base metal knives, which were often replaced, with base metal, over the years. The set offered here had all th...

An excellent example of the work of David Gibson, signed, lower left, "Gibson 1793". The sitter is a woman wearing a gown with low decolletage and a green and yellow hat. She is posed looking pensively to the viewer's left.

The painting is in excellent condition, with no flaws to speak of, and is in a gilt metal pendant case. Sight size is 1 7/8" by 1 3/8", and the case size is 2" by 1 5/8".

NOTE: David Gibson (active 1788 - 1797) worked primarily in London and Edinburgh, with some sojourns ...

A fine Lowestoft porcelain strap-handled creamboat, the ovoid molded body with an undulating rim. Hand painted in a dark blue with the "Two Porter Landscape" pattern, which features two figures in a landscape with trees and birds. The reverse side, the interior center, the rim, and the lip all with floral sprays.

This particular example is particularly uncommon because of the small size, being almost an inch less in length than other examples. A "17" workman's mark is on the bottom rim. ...

A fine example of a triple knopped double series opaque twist (DSOT) antique wine glass. The bell bowl is over a stem with a pair of 3-ply spiral bands outside of a central gauze, and with a flattened shoulder knop, a medial knop, and a basal knop. Conical foot with rough, snapped pontil.

The vast majority of opaque twist glasses have straight stems, and the addition of even one knop adds substantially to the difficulty of making them, and to the value. Each additional knop increases these f...

A very uncommon and fine example of a tinque button with a blue base. No condition issues. In spite of the appearance in the photos, the edges of the gold foil are sharp and not blurred. This wonderful example has a goodly diameter for a tingue at 7/16" and a depth of 5/16".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top. This piece is cemented to a glass base with a thin sheet of reflective gold foi...

A very fine example of an rare tingue, being of yellow color and cylindrical form. No condition issues. In spite of the appearance in the main photo, the edges of the gold foil are sharp and not blurred. The last photo shows this. This fine example has a diameter of 1/4" and a length of 3/8".

NOTES: 1. Tingues are constructed with a layer of clear colorless glass with a very thin colored glass (typically red) sheet overlay on top. This piece is cemented to a glass base with a thin sheet of ...

A finely potted Vauxhall porcelain saucer, painted in the highly desirable "sticky blue". The scene features an Oriental person waving, amidst a landscape with buildings, trees and hills, with birds flying overhead.

This wonderful example is in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, paint loss, stains, or restoration. The diameter is 4 1/2".

A fine and early English saucer showing a Chinese man with a bird. Done in blue and white, lot 303 of the Bonham's sale of the famous and important Watney collection showed this same pattern and identified it as being William Reid porcelain.

The saucer is in excellent condition and is 4 7/8" in diameter.

NOTE: William Reid & Co. were porcelain makers in Liverpool between 1756-61. Their factory was situated on Brownlow Hill where a bone-ash porcelain was produced.

A beautiful, early, and rare Worcester coffee cup of bell shape with a fine wishbone handle, painted with a flower spray, roses and a butterfly, the reverse with a moth and ladybird amongst scattered sprigs. A similar cup was sold at the Bonham's auction of 3/7/07, lot 94.

The cup is in excellent condition, with bright colors and glaze, no cracks or staining. The height is 2 1/4".

A beautiful, extremely rare, and early First Period Worcester coffee cup and saucer, each piece finely molded with fluting resembling pleats. The small, bell shaped cup has a crisply molded triple scroll handle with a pronounced thumb rest and a full blown rose in the inside. Both pieces have a strap-fluted ground reserving embossed rococo cartouches edged with scrollwork and leaves in purple and green enamel, the principal panels painted in bright puce with European landscapes including a ruine...

A watercolor miniature portrait done by Richard Morrell Staigg. The sitter is a nice-looking blue-eyed young man in a black coat and cravat, with a light blue vest. As is usual with Staigg, the painting is superbly limned. It is housed in one half of a leather case.

The condition is excellent, with no problems whatsoever. Sight size is 3 1/2" by 3".

A fine pair of strongly painted miniature portraits done on natural wafer. Based on the technique and the area in which the sitters lived (Cincinnati), a strong attribution to Richard Verbrick can be made.

The woman is finely attired in a black puffy sleeved dress with lace at the collar and a wide black belt. Her jewelry includes a brooch at her neckline and earrings, with a tortoiseshell comb in her hair. The gent is wearing a black coat, white shirt, collar, and ascot.

The condition of th...

A striking and colorful R. Mills miniature portrait of a blue-eyed blonde woman. The subject is wearing a white gown with lace edging and balloon sleeves, a blue necklace and sash belt. Those colors nicely complement the carefully chosen background, which is blue with pink tinges, which also complements her ruddy or over-rouged cheeks.

The painting is signed on the backing paper "Painted by Rd Mills Birmingham 1829" and is housed in a 4 1/4" by 3 5/8" bronze frame. The painting itself mea...

A fine example of a mid 19th century salesman's sample or doll's chair. This piece is all original, including its red paint and the woven splint seat.

The condition is excellent, with no issues to speak of. 11 1/4" tall, 6 1/2" wide, and 7" deep.

A Samuel Gilbody of Liverpool porcelain small mug or coffee can with a flattened round loop handle and a flat unglazed base. Painted in famille rose colors with stylized peonies and a prunus bough issuing from a jardiniere. There are sacred Chinese scrolls and a larger peony spray to the right. The interior of the rim has a diaper border with prunus blossoms.

A similar mug was sold during the Watney Collection auctions, and the pattern is also illustrated in the Gilbody section in "Liverpool ...

A spectacularly decorated Lobmeyr goblet with a flared ogee bowl above a knop, all surmounting an inverted baluster stem with tear and panel cutting, terminating in a merise.

The bowl has beautifully executed Schwarzlot enameling depicting a hunting scene, with huntsmen, dogs, a horse, and a stag. The foot is also decorated with a stag, tree, and foliage. The edges of the rim and the foot are gilded, as are various accents on the stem.

The goblet is in excellent condition, with the only sli...

A nicely painted miniature portrait of a blue-eyed older woman with a strong yet kindly bearing. To be more specific, the sitter is identified on the reverse as "Grandmother ??? Berry (Agnes Eman)  Bel??? Scotland".  Agnes is shown in a squared away pose, looking directly at the viewer, and with an expression indicating she might be wistfully revisiting  past memories. 

  The painting is in excellent condition, and presented in a 2 1/2" by 2" metal covered hand worked wood frame, almos...

A superb and early spread base mug example of the Worcester "Walk in the Garden" pattern. Although Branyan, in his book "Worcester Blue and White Porcelain 1751 - 1790" indicates the date range for this pattern to be 1755 to 1765, the lovely pale grayish-blue color of the decoration and the presence of a scratch cross mark on the base would place manufacture of this mug (or tankard) several years earlier, making this a truly exceptional piece. In addition to the incised line on the base there is...

A superb and beautiful Worcester porcelain Scratch Cross period (incised line on the underside of the base) sauce boat moulded with rococo panels and cartouches formed of scrolling motifs. Both sides have a Long Eliza figure in a landscape beside a pine tree, while the interior has precious objects and flower sprays.

This fine example is in overall excellent condition, with no cracks, paint loss or restoration, and with vibrant enamels. Any apparent discolorations in the photos are due to ligh...

A sentimental Bohemian souvenir or memento flashed red glass mug, with a nicely curved handle. Etched with flowers and the saying "Remember Me." In superb condition, standing 4 1/8 inches tall, with a diameter of 2 3/8 inches.

This glass is a companion piece to g1218, identical except for the floral arrangement on top of the cartouche surrounding the saying.

An absolutely charming group of small schoolgirl paintings of animals, soldiers, plants, etc., mounted together and presented in three period gilt frames. The back of each framed group indicates that these were all done around 1840 by Miss E. Green of Pennsylvania.

The condition is generally very good, with some rippling to the paper. The frames have expected wear but display well. Framed sizes are 13 3/4" by 6 3/4", 9 1/2" by 6 1/4", and 7" by 7".

These would be wonderful for a child's room...

A beautiful and rare Shiebler sterling serving piece in the "Maintenon" pattern. Adding to the overall graceful form of the piece is the greenish-blue and white enameling on the handle and the white and pale lavender enameling on the gently curved bowl. While this form is quite uncommon it is generally found in plain silver and the addition of the enameling raises this to a rarity level. (It is generally acknowledged that some of the best enameling work done in the United States in this period c...

A beautifully executed oil on canvas painting by George Harland, a noted British artist. The scene depicts a man returning in a rowboat at dusk. It combines elements of luminism and impressionism, and was done when both of those styles were in fashion. Harland was a highly thought of painter and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1907.

The painting is in excellent condition, with no impainting or restoration. The superb, elaborate yet elegant, frame, which has some very minor rest...