Catalog (971)

A round facetted example of what can best be described as flying saucer shape, as seen from the side. No condition issues, and with a diameter of 3/8" and a thickness 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 foil or leaf between them. The button is faceted to improve reflection.

2. Tingues are nam...

A round facetted example of what can best be described as flying saucer shape, as seen from the side. Uncommon transparent red base. 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 1/2" and a thickness of 1/4".

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 p...

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 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 striking French button featuring a transfer print on enameled porcelain of a swallow. Brass back and surround. The condition is excellent with no problems, and the diameter is 1 1/4".

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.

A huge stamped silver button with a scarab enameled in green, green shaded with brown, and blue. This is surrounded by pastes set in holes drilled through the silver. Of unusual size and form, the button is shown on color plate 26 of Stefan Schiff's book "Buttons: Art in Miniature".

Excellent condition with no issues. The diameter is 1 11/16".

A charming button with a beautiful border of champlevé work with a turquoise enamel on brass.

The condition is excellent with no problems and a few errant black dots of paint. The diameter is 1 1/4".

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.

Also, we frequently add items to our site,...

A fine enameled button showing a young girl with an elaborate hat and a pink dress with a rose-adorned white jabot. The portrait is surrounded with ruby and white pastes set into openwork brass.

The condition is excellent, with no issues, and the diameter is 1 1/4".

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 p...

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 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.

Formerly owned by Ingrid Bergman and Alan Freed, this is a large and exceptional fine American tinsel or foil painting featuring a full wreath encircling an urn of flowers on a green base. Although the use of a wreath in a tinsel painting is not at all uncommon, this particular format is extremely rare, if not unique. The flowers are so densely packed as to make the execution of the painting quite difficult. Further, there are 6 birds amidst the flowers, and the lower area motif has switched fr...

A beautiful pair of miniature portraits, both signed Fuger, painted in watercolors on organic material. In addition, the elaborate frames are made out of this same natural material, something rarely, if ever, seen. The sitters, in 18th century attire, are a young gent and lady posed against a blue sky with foliage and hills behind them.

Notes on the backs of the frames provide the following information: "These miniatures were bought by Ellen Franklin in antique shop Bellagio Italy in 1929. ???...

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 wonderful and charming pair of Navajo child's moccasins made of hide and fur with turquoise bead decorations. Superb condition with no flaws or problems of consequence.

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 made Shiebler silver medallion of the type known as the Etruscan or Homeric series. The medallion features a bust length rendering of a soldier wearing a crested helmet displaying a dog or wolf. The reverse of the piece is fully marked "W84/Shiebler/(wings mark)/Sterling/720". Shiebler and his company, in addition to their very fine general reputation, were especially noted for their medallion work inspired by the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The condition of the brooc...

A beautiful silver compact with the exterior sides inlaid with natural organic material. Opening this gem reveals a mirror and a heavily filigreed lid to the interior compartment which contains powder and a puff. Superbly crafted and with no damage or restoration, the compact measures 3 1/4" by 2 7/8", and is 1/2" thick.

Two baskets are being offered here and both are from the Northeast, most probably from the Penobscot of Maine. They are lidded, made of splint ash, and use natural dyes of green and orange.

Basket 1, although it has a square base, is 14 3/4" in diameter and 11 1/2" in height. They are about 3 smallish splint breaks as shown in the photos, but the basket is structurally sturdy. Basket 2 has a medial sweetgrass braid and a dyed interior. The 4 3/4" in diameter and 2 1/2" in height.

A group of Penobscot Maine baskets of small size. Each features the use of sweetgrass and various natural dyes. The condition of each is excellent, with good color and little or no splits, etc.

The baskets are as follows:

m1007: a lidded amphora shaped basket with blue dye 5 1/4" height, 6 1/2" diameter
m1008: a lidded round basket with orange and blue dyes 1 3/4" height, 3 7/8" diameter
m1009: a lidded thimble case with orange dye 1 1/8" height, 1" diameter

A fine multicolored velvet ikat from Uzbekistan, carefully mounted on acid free fabric. The condition is quite fine with one very small area with some thread separation, and the sight size is 20 1/2" by 15 1/2".

NOTE: This sample can be shipped on the board, or removed with its backing and shipped rolled up.

Signed "Inman 1842" along the right edge, this fine miniature portrait is purportedly of Theodore Roosevelt's grandmother. Painted with watercolors on organic material, it shows the sitter simply attired in a black dress with a lace collar, with the only other adornment being a brooch on that collar.

A later note on the back of the bronze frame states that the sitter is Mrs. Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt (nee Margaret Barnhill). Margaret was the mother of Theodore Roosevelt Sr., the grandmo...

A sweet tinsel (foil) painting of a large bouquet of flowers. The painting itself is in very good condition, with no chips, breaks, or image loss. The period or earlier gilded wood frame has normal expected wear. Period wood backboard. The sight size is 11 1/4" by 9 5/8", and the overall size is 12 3/4" by 11".

NOTE: Between September 12, 2012 and January 13, 2013 the American Folk Art Museum held an exhibit on this art form. The following is excerpted from the catalog of that exhibition: "T...

A beautiful decanter set composed of 3 barrel shaped decanters, each heavily cut and retaining the original target stoppers. The stand is electroplate silver and of elegantly molded trefoil form, with rings to hold the stoppers.

Both the stand and decanters are in excellent condition, the glass without chips, etc., and the stand with little to no bleeding. The height is 10" and the width is 9".

A wonderful folksy American mirror featuring an original paint decorated frame with a red ground and black stripes. All original, including the glass and the backboard. Excellent condition, and with overall measuments of 16 1/2" by 12 3/4".

A charming first half 19th centrury miniature of a young woman. The exceptional thing about this piece is the wonderful high karat gold flip case with guilloche work (engine turning) on the front and back. The painting in this little gem is 1 1/8" in diameter and the case is 1 1/2" in diameter. Excellent condition.

A beautifully made heavy copper trivet of wonderful form. Pierced top, paw feet, and strong rivet construction. Excellent condition. 11 1/2" by 7 1/2" by 5 1/4".

A graceful stepped strap-handled pitcher of lead glass, featuring trailed threading at the rim, and engraved "RFE" with vines above ribbons, the reverse with flowering vines.

The condition is excellent, with no flaws to speak of. Good color and tooling. Snapped rough pontil. The height is 7 1/4".

A wonderful and amusing hooked rug depicting an aardvark. I have collected many rugs featuring animals but have never seen another with an aardvark. Well, at least I think this is someone's interpretation of an aardvark, or possibly a beaver, armadillo or pangolin. Whatever the craftsman was aiming for, one has to smile at this, and at the pinkish salmon background color surrounded by a scalloped teal border. Cotton yarn and with original burlap foundation.

The size is 43" by 30 1/2". The...

A fine 19th century miniature version of Gilbert Stuart's "Lansdowne" portrait, the iconic 1796 life size portrait of George Washington. The painting here is done in watercolor and gouache on organic wafer. From its origin until the present day many copies of the portrait have been made, but very few on ivory.

This 3 1/8" by 2 1/2" example is in excellent condition, with no issues. The 11" by 9 3/4" gilt over gesso frame is period and might be original.

NOTES: 1. The Lansdowne port...

Another fine example from our personal collection of animal hooked rugs, this one featuring an elephant posed on grass with fruited tree branches descending from the top of the rug.

The rug has a felt border, easily detached if so desired. The condition is excellent, with good colors and some slight scattered wear to the border. The size is 40" by 30".

A wonderful pair of miniature portraits of two young near identical twin boys, painted on organic material. Although it might often be a decent bet that any attractive English portraits of young children done in this time period were by William Egley (joking, sort of) I cannot, in good conscience, make that attribution, so the artist will, at least for now, remain unidentified.

Possibly Scottish, and in excellent condition, each portrait has a sight size of 1 7/8" by 1 1/2". They are mou...

A beautiful set of 6 Art Nouveau studs or buttons, each with a bas relief image of a woman playing a lyre. They bear the hallmarks for Birmingham sterling silver, 1907, and the maker's initials, "R & W". Accompanying the buttons are the sterling silver cross pins that go through the rear loop. All these are housed in the original leather case with velvet lining.

The buttons are 5/8" in diameter, and in excellent condition. There is one cross pin missing. The yellowish cast in the close-up is d...

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...

A charming and beautifully painted landscape done by George W. Drew (signed lower right) in the early 20th century. The scene depicts a country path following beside a river and wending around a wooden house. Adding to this idyllic scene are ducklings on the path and a woman in front of one of the cherry trees surrounding the house, The wonderful luminosity that Drew is well-known for is apparent in this work.

The painting is 36" by 24", and the fine period frame is 43" by 31". Both the paint...

A Canton hand embroidered silk piano shawl with a vibrant design of large red flowers and a vine and leaf motif with multicolored smaller flowers set against a black background. The embroidery is of a superb and dense quality silk floss. On each of the four sides is a black elaborately knotted net "bridge" between the scarf and the long fringes.

This fine example is in excellent overall condition and measures 50" square with an additional 14" fringe on each side.

A beautiful and striking gold bangle bracelet having a black enamel ground. The raised central dome has 8 emeralds surrounding a higher area topped with a gold 8 leaved flower with a diamond.

Marked 14K gold, and with fine workmanship, the bracelet is in excellent condition. The inside of the bangle measures 2 1/2" by 1 5/8".