Catalog (971)

A superb miniature portrait painting by Giovanni Battista Gigola. The sitter, shown in 3/4 length, is a young man attired in a green coat with brass buttons, posed in front of a cloud filled blue sky. Unframed, and in superb condition, with no cracks, bowing, paint loss, or restoration. This fine example of Gigola's work measures 2 1/2" by 2".

Note: Giovanni Battista Gigola (1767 - 1841) is a highly esteemed Italian artist, best known for his miniature portraits on ivory. His works are in ...

A perfect example of a waisted bucket bowl wine glass, with superb proportions; the bowl sits atop a stem with a mercury twist (a wide, refractive air twist).

Lead glass with rough pontil, 5 7/8" tall, 2 1/8" bowl diameter, 2 1/2" foot diameter. No condition issues.

This fine miniature portrait was painted in watercolor on organic material by Henry Shumway. Depicting the attractive blue-eyed sitter in a white gown and adorned only with an earring, he chose to present her with a simple classical elegance.

The condition of the miniature is excellent, with no issues, as is the gilt metal case with a glazed aperture on the reverse. The case size is 3 1/8" by 2 5/8".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Henry Colton Shumway (1807, CT - 1884, NY) studied, probably with T...

A fine portrait miniature of a handsome gentleman painted on natural wafer by Henry Inman. The sitter is wearing a black jacket and stock, and a white waistcoat, shirt, and collar. Displayed in a cast foliate case with the reverse having a glazed aperture with a cast foliate surround and containing a lock of hair.

The painting is in excellent condition with no issues to note. The case is also in fine fettle, although the reverse could use a bit of cleaning. At some point mounts for a broo...

An American watercolor portrait miniature of a striking young man with brown hair and gray eyes. The sitter is wearing a black coat with brass buttons, a white vest, shirt, and cravat. Signed "Williams" at the lower right, the painting is in the original gilt pendant frame with a cast foliate rim. The reverse of the case has a glazed aperture holding plaited brown hair.

The overall size of the portrait is 2 5/8" by 2 1/4". The condition of the painting is excellent, with no cracks, chips, or ...

A very finely drawn miniature of an extremely handsome man, done en grisaille on organic material by H.M.S. Stuart.

The sitter is Sir Dugald Stuart, 2nd Baronet of Ardmaleish and Bute and the painting is signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse: "From a drawing on/Vellum of Sir Dugald/Stuart, father of the first Earl of Bute;/in the possession of/the Marquess of Bute/at Mount Stuart/by H M. S. Stuart/Decbr 1841".

Presented in a rectangular ebonized frame, both the painting and ...

A wonderful American folk art mourning portrait painting of a young child, done by Horace Bundy. Although unsigned by him, virtually all the characteristics that indicate such an attribution are present. In addition, an old label from an antiques dealer is on the back, along with a pencilled inscription about Bundy on the backing board.

The work, which is oil on canvas, simply displays a beautiful child, with grayish-hazel eyes, in a simple white gown, the whole wreathed in clouds in a painted...

A fine miniature portrait painting, done in watercolor on natural organic material, by Hugh Bridport. The sitter is a gentleman, purportedly John Trigg. On the reverse of the painting is a preliminary sketch of the subject, which Bridport is known to have done. Only a portion of the sketch is shown, as I did not want to peel back all the paper.

The condition of the miniature is excellent, with no flaws at all. It is housed, with a cover glass, in a red leather wallet-type case. Sight size is 2...

A striking oil on canvas rendering of Antietam Bridge done 24 years after the infamous Civil War battle. Signed at the lower right "J.A. Ashley 86". The reverse of the painting is titled by the artist "Antitam Bridge and Battleground 1882." Depicting an idyllic scene, so much in contrast with the horrific battle 20 years earlier, the painting shows grazing cows in the foreground, the stone bridge with covered wagons traversing it, and houses in the background.

The condition of the painting is ...

A historically important Christian Friedrich Zincke portrait miniature of Edward Walpole. The painting, done in enamel on copper, depicts Walpole in a powdered wig, and wearing a blue velvet jacket with a white shirt and lace jabot. As to be expected from Zincke, the painting is superbly done. It also displays some of the classic hallmarks of Zincke's works - the lips being painted different colors, the eyes rimmed with black daubs to represent eyelashes, and the sitter in a blue or brown velvet...

An extremely fine hallmarked 18K gold button featuring a watercolor painting on natural wafer, under glass. Black enamel surrounds the vignette. The scene is very charming, depicting two figures dressed in 18th c attire, appearing to be a man and woman. However, upon closer examination, one notices that the faces and body form are those of children. It seems that the artist was attempting to capture the first blush of young courtship, hence the shy downcast look of the maiden. A wonderful piece....

A scent bottle, enameled and gilded by James Giles, the most famous and important English decorator of glass and porcelain in the 18th century. The bottle was purchased immediately after its sale at Christies in the mid 1980's and has been in a private collection, unseen and not offered to anyone, until the present time.

The glass bottle is a translucent deep blue color (the third photo shows the bottle with a light source behind it), of flattened faceted form, with the original gold moun...

An important Newcastle light baluster (NLB) antique wine glass of John Paul Jones American Revolutionary War interest. Round funnel bowl with the stem having a rare configuration of a teared and cushioned inverted baluster knop above a multi-teared inverted baluster knop, and a basal knop. The glass is from 1760, but the engraving was done about 20 years later, to commemorate the important events described below. The foot is conical with a rough snapped pontil. Condition is excellent, with no ch...

A finely painted portrait miniature, on natural wafer, of a bespectacled officer of the 7th Bengal Native Infantry of the Honourable East India Company. Done in vibrant colors and wonderful; detail, the work can be strongly attributed to Raja Jivan Ram. Works from this period in this style by Indian artists are quite uncommon and highly collected. More specifically, very few works by Ram are in private hands.

The painting here is in overall excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or bowing...

A beautiful and unusual cordial drinking glass, with a round funnel bowl, the lower half of which is fluted. The stem is of the double series opaque twist type, and is comprised of a 17-ply spiral band outside of a lace twist. What makes this a truly special glass is the domed helmet foot, and the overall proportions.

The glass is in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or restoration. There is a small slight "ripple" on the underside of the foot, which occurred at the time of manufactu...

A fine portrait on natural material of a gentleman in an early 19th century officer's uniform. Within the locket is the remnant of the backing paper of the miniature, which was incorrectly and poorly removed. A portion of the name "Miller" can be seen. Prior to this removal, a previous owner had written down on a piece of paper what had been on the backing paper. This is shown in the third photo and gives a portion of the sitter's name as John L. Sc?h???, the name of the artist (Miller) and the ...

An extremely fine and rare friendship wine glass, or goblet, of Newcastle light baluster (NLB) type with its original cover, superbly engraved c1760 by Jacob Sang, the master engraver from Amsterdam. The flared round funnel bowl features a pair of clasped hands flanked by a pair of stylized cornucopiae and surmounted by a crown. Typical of Sang's work is the fine polished detail. The reverse is inscribed, in the unmistakable hand of Sang, with a poem written c1740 by Dirk Smits Gedichten of Rott...

A beautiful facet cut ale glass with gilded hops and barley, decorated by the famous and much desired craftsman, James Giles. The facet cutting extends from the base, through the stem and 1/3 up the bowl.

Standing 5 7/8 inches tall, with a bowl diameter of 2 3/8 inches, and a foot diameter of 2 1/2 inches, the glass is of 2 part construction and is in superb condition, with no chips, cracks, or restoration. The gilding, which is generally quite worn on glasses, is superb, with just some minima...