Catalog (971)

A wonderful miniature portrait, on natural material, painted and signed lower left, by Peter Lens. The sitter, a young woman in a yellow gown and white fichu, is shown against a startling blue background.

The condition of the miniature is excellent with no problems or flaws. The white area at the lower edge is light reflection. The size of the pendant gilt metal case is 1 7/8" by 1 1/2".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Peter Paul Lens (1714? - 1750?) was apprenticed in 1729 to his father, Bernard Lens...

A fine miniature of a handsome gent with strawberry blond hair, painted by Henry Jacob Burch. Adding to the desirability of this example is the Burch trade card that was fitted to the back of the painting, rarely seen in his works.

Excellent condition, with an overall size of 2 3/4" by 2 1/4".

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Henry Jacob Burch was born in London in 1763. He entered the Royal Academy Schools at the age of 16, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1787 to 1834. Examples of his wor...

This fine work, done in watercolor and bodycolor on organic material, was most probably done in Naples. The sitter is an attractive child looking directly at the viewer and holding a jumping jack toy of Pulcinella, a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. The reverse of the portrait is also quite special, with its plaited hair, ivory plaque, golden hair work initials, metallic threads, and pearls.

The ...

A nicely executed watercolor, on natural material, of a gent in a black coat with white stock and ruffled shirt. Presented in the original gilt metal case with hair work under glazing on the reverse.

The overall condition is fine, with some tiny dust motes under the glass. The white areas circling the top half are reflections from the chamfered cover glass. Overall frame size is 2 1/4" by 2".

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 c1790 fine miniature done by John Barry. This portrait of a gentleman in a gray coat, with his powdered hair en queue, is an extremely well painted example, and in excellent condition. Presented in a 1 7/8" by 1 1/2" period gilt metal case.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: John Barry, who lived in London and was active from 1784 to 1827, exhibited at the Royal Academy during this period. Among his sitters was Rev. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Barry's works are in various museums, including ...

A striking c1790 miniature by Richard Cosway. The subject, a blue-eyed infantry officer with his hair en queue, is wearing a red jacket with a white epaulet, white trim, and cravat.

This portrait is a good study example as many of Cosway's techniques and style characteristics are present: use of floating transparent paints to allow the luminosity of the substrate to show through, enlargement of the pupils, massed hair as opposed to finer individual strands, a sky background using a stro...

A large and truly magnificent glass from the South Germany area; an elongated round funnel bowl sits atop a stem with a central inverted baluster knop surrounded by 2 5-tier sets of merises; 2 other baluster knops and merise sets; a wide central band of elaborate foliate engraving surmounted by a band of engraved drapery devices and a series of arches below; the border of the foot is also engraved; 8 3/4" tall, 3 1/4" diameter bowl, 3 7/8" foot diameter

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.

A wrythen molded wine or ale glass made in the Netherlands in the Venetian style that was popular in the 17th century. The elongated bowl ends in a merise, below which is a hollow knop with applied pincered vertical ridges above the hollow stem, which terminates in a domed foot; soda glass

6 1/2" tall, 2 1/2" bowl diameter, 2 1/2" foot diameter

A wonderful English lead metal gadrooned ale glass dating from the late 17th century. It has a flared round funnel bowl, and teared shoulder and basal knops above a folded foot. Of a lovely dark metal with superb striations and tooling marks, this glass stands 5 1/2 inches tall, with a bowl diameter of 2 7/16 inches and a foot diameter of 2 3/4 inches. Perfect condition.

A glass of this type should not be confused with the later and much less rare dwarf ales, which have shorter stems and less ...

A rare and early English heavy baluster wine glass of beautiful proportions and stance. It has a trumpet bowl with a markedly solid base containing a tear over an angular teared knop, and a basal knop over a domed and folded foot. The height is 6 inches and there are no flaws or restorations. This is a superb early glass of dark metal and heavy weight.

A rare and early baluster champagne glass featuring an everted lip cup bowl over a hollow inverted baluster knop. Finishing the stem is a basal knop over a high domed and folded foot. The height of this gem is 4 1/4 inches, and it has no condition issues whatsoever.

Although this type form was also made slightly later, the thinly blown dark metal strongly suggests a late 17th century date.

A fine Dutch dark green glass globular wine bottle from the second half of the 17th century, with the applied seal depicting the arms of Amsterdam. Of goodly size with a height of 8 3/8" and a diameter of approximately 5 1/2". The condition is excellent, with no chips, cracks, or restoration. Normal expected wear. It is very uncommon to find an early bottle with the seal totally intact.

NOTES: 1. The bottle was purchased in 1968 from Frides Lameris, a well-known and highly respected glass deal...

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 large 4 sided jar in sea-green glass, having a wide ridged strap handle and folded lip. The base is decorated with a segmented circle in the center of which is another circle. Smaller circles are at each corner of the base. This is NOT a reproduction, but an original period piece.

The jar is in excellent condition, with no cracks, chips, or repairs. It is 9 1/2" tall, and 3 1/4" on each side of the square base.

NOTES: 1. For similar examples see "Italian Blown Glass by Giovanni Mariacher f...

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...