Catalog (971)

A fine and beautiful balustroid type ale or large wine glass, of lead metal. The pointed round funnel bowl, which has close wrythening, flares slightly, making it almost a bell bowl, and sits atop a stem with a wrythened flattened shoulder knop and a wrythened basal knop. The stem also has close wrythening. Such a stem is often referred to as rib-twisted.

The glass is in superb condition, with no chips, cracks, or restoration. It is 5 3/4" tall, and has a 2 1/2" diameter bowl, and a 2 1/2" di...

A beautiful Bohemian wine glass with panelled sides, a bowl wonderfully engraved with a woman seated in a garden, a facet cut stem, and elongated rondels cut into the folded foot; 5 7/8" tall, 2 1/2" diameter bowl, 2 7/8" diameter foot

A beautifully painted miniature by Enrichetta Koelman, nee Narducci. Done in watercolor on organic material, it depicts a nice looking gentleman attired in a brown coat and black tie. It is carefully signed along the left edge "1850 Enrichetta Koelman f(ecit)". The painting is mounted in a 14k or 18k gold surround with a wide filigreed depth at the sides, a pin on the reverse, and a mother-of-pearl backing.

The condition is excellent, with no flaws. The size is 2" by 1 1/2" The depth is 1/8"....

A German goblet from the Potsdam area, of potash glass. The overly large funnel bowl, profusely engraved with flowers and leaves, sits atop a merise which in turn sits atop a huge teared and notched baluster knop. The merise is of triangular form which might be due to cutting to symmetrize a chip.

Excellent overall condition. 7 1/8" tall, 4 3/8" diameter bowl, 5" diameter foot.

An extremely fine miniature portrait by John Henry Brown, done in watercolors on natural material. One of the best examples of his skill, showing an attractive woman, beautifully painted. Adding to the importance of this piece is that Brown used a trompe l'oeil technique in painting what appears to be matting around the portrait. Signed "J Brown Pinxt" lower left along the curved line of the matte. Inside the case was a piece of paper with information about the sitter: "Mary E. Mathias Lancas...

A truly striking reverse-painted game board featuring a rainbow of colors and a highly unusual mottled border. In pristine condition, and housed in its original wood frame.

22" by 22" by 1 1/2" high.

A truly spectacular example of early Roman glass, being a sea-green bowl of shallow rounded form with a smooth edge and 28 exterior pronounced ribs converging at the bottom. A wheel cut triple band circles the lower flattened section of the bowl.

The diameter at the top rim is 6 1/8", and the height is 1 3/8". The condition of the bowl is superb, with no chips, cracks, or restoration and displaying a wonderful iridescence. I have shown a number of photos below in different lighting and angles...

A fine portrait miniature painted by William Lewis. The sitter is an attractive gentleman in a black coat, white vest, stock, and shirt, the latter highlighted with a stick pin containing three rubies. It should be noted that the technique and facial structure of this painting is at a higher level than Lewis' works display (see Note 2 below).

Excellent condition with no issues. Sight size is 2 3/8" by 1 7/8", and the later frame is 2 5/8" by 2 1/4".

BIOPGRAPHICAL NOTES: 1. William Lew...

A beautiful and extremely rare cider, or cyder, glass, featuring an elongated funnel bowl with very fine engraving of the word "cyder" and a fruiting bough with apples and leaves. The stem is surmounted with a double collar and contains a single series air twist (SSAT) with a 5 ply band. The form of this glass, combined with the rarity of any true cider glass, make this a highly desirable specimen.

The glass stands a goodly 6 7/8" tall, with a bowl diameter of 2 1/2" and a foot diameter of 2 1...

An exceedingly rare beaded purse with multicolored glass beads on a leather base, and with beaded and wood toggle closures. This early purse might be unique because of its age and that the date is actually worked into the decoration as part of the phrase "Gift of a Friend 1632". The interior of the purse is of a very soft, fine leather, probably deerskin or lambskin.

Especially considering its age the purse is in excellent and exceptional condition, with all the beadwork present. One of the ...

A rare Worcester coffee cup with a slightly flaring rim, a grooved loop handle, and incurving toward the base. Painted in the famille verte palette and displaying chrysanthemums growing from a large triangular rock in a landscape which also features other flowers. This wonderful piece has a panelled green diaper border and a red flower sprig on the inside base.

An identical cup sold as lot 586, Watney II, Bonham's 5/10/2000 for 4500 pounds ($6893) including premium. As far as has been de...

A nice miniature painting done, in watercolor on natural material, by Ebenezer Mack. The sitter is dressed in a black jacket, and a white vest, shirt, and stock. Housed in its original gold case.

Although all of Mack's works are quite naïvely rendered, this example is even more primitive than most, indicating that it was done quite early in his career, probably in the 1785 time frame. His works are very rare, and he did not sign his paintings. His works have a similarity in some cases to tho...

The most common type of air twist found in mid-18th century English glasses is the multiple spiral air twist (MSAT). Double series air twists are occasionally found, but triple series twists are incredibly rare, with very few still in existence. This particular example has an ogee bowl leading into a stem with a central air core surrounded by a two ply heavy thread which is in turn surrounded by a three ply heavy thread. Because of the complexity of this, the third photo is a very large close...

An elegant and beautiful lead Jacobite toasting glass engraved by "Engraver B" in Seddon's book. The drawn trumpet bowl has a 6 petal rose, an open rose bud to its left, and a closed rose bud to its right.

Over the years there have been various interpretations of these symbols, and even now it can be argued that the rose represents either the Crown of England or James, the Old Pretender. The open bud can represent The Old Pretender, or Prince Charles, or Prince Henry, while the closed bud can...

An interesting pair of miniature portraits, painted on organic wafer. Framed in a slightly different manner, there is no question these were done by the same artist at the same time.

Fairchild is an obscure artist, with very few, if any, signed works. This attribution is based on the similarity in technique to an example in a book by Bolton, and information that the pair came from a couple living in CT who are purportedly descendants of the artist.

No condition issues to speak of, with...

A wonderful PA or New England document box inlaid with various woods and elaborately painted with stars, squares, circles, etc. All original, including surface; truly minor nicks and wear; 12" by 7" by 4 1/4".

This actual box is illustrated in the book "19th Century Wooden Boxes", by Arene Burgess

A fine little dish in what is often called Leeds feather edge. Accurately speaking, this is not a true Leeds feather edge piece, but is an English pearlware pickle leaf dish with blue edge decoration. The terms Leeds and feather edge are, unfortunately, generally misused to describe any piece of pottery with a decorated edge. What can be said about this piece is that it is of a beautiful form, with a delicate tracery of veins in its naturalistic modeling, and, contrary to virtually all dish...

This is an extremely fine early 19th century balustroid wine glass made in the 18th century style. It is lead glass, and has a large funnel bowl which sits atop a triple ring collar, below which is a center section of an unusual and uncommon cylinder knop, followed by two angular knops. It has a conical folded foot with a rough, snapped pontil.

The glass is in perfect condition, with no restoration, and displays good tooling marks and striations throughout. The height is 6 1/8", the bowl ...