Three Centuries Shop Desk Accessories

Revolving Vanity Table Mirror in Brass 1960s Elegant double sided table mirror Entirely made of patinated brass, overall shape in the style of Charles Hollis Jones. The mirror can...

Lovely desktop Murano glass vanity mirror from Italy. Decorated with handmade Bohemian flowers and supported with a wooden back. Original label on the mirror. Mirror Glass Size: 6 ...

Large solid brass oval double sided swivel vanity table mirror.

American Burlwood vanity table mirror with round mirror glass and brass hardware, Circa 1930's.

Mid 20th-century Venetian mirror with floral accents. Fantastic vintage Venetian standing table mirror. Gorgeous hand blown glass with ruffles and flowers. Wooden back with stand.

Gorgeous vintage metal money bank. A beautiful decorative item, with nice patina. Made in Europe, circa 1960s. Nice addition to any collection, desktop, living room or children's roo...

This is a superb decorative antique Italian Grand Tour marble Pietra Dura mounted desk paperweight, circa 1880 in date. This splendid rectangular paperweight is exquisitely inlai...

This is a wonderful Derbyshire Ashford pietra dura obelisk, inlaid with lillies, circa 1880 in date. The obelisk is beautifully inlaid with a Pietra Dura of white flowers and malach...

This is a superb decorative antique Italian Grand Tour marble Pietra Dura mounted desk paperweight, circa 1880 in date. This splendid rectangular paperweight is exquisitely inlaid with a sumptuous arrangement of semi-precious stones including malachite, agate, onyx and amethyst. It is beautifully inlaid on a slate base. Not only is this desk paperweight very functional, but it is also an exquisite mineralogical wonder that can be admired by all discerning collectors. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation, Dimensions in cm: Height 2 x Width 17 x Depth 10 Dimensions in inches: Height 1 inch x width 7 inches x depth 4 inches. Pietra dura is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished coloured stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art. Pietre dure is an Italian plural meaning "hard rocks" or hardstones; the singular pietra dura is also encountered in Italian. In Italian, but not in English, the term embraces all gem engraving and hardstone carving, which is the artistic carving of three-dimensional objects in semi-precious stone, normally from a single piece, for example in Chinese jade. The traditional convention in English has been to use the singular pietra dura just to denote multi-colored inlay work. However, in recent years there has been a trend to use pietre dure as a term for the same thing, but not for all of the techniques it covers, in Italian. But the title of a 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe used the full Italian sense of the term, probably because they thought that it had greater brand recognition. The material on the website speaks of objects such as a vase in lapis lazuli as being examples of "hardstone carving (pietre dure)" The Victoria & Albert Museum in London uses both versions on its website, but uses pietra dura. "A method of inlaying coloured marbles or semi-precious stones into a stone base, often in geometric or flower patterns...." Giovanni Montelatici...

Elegant Mid-Century Italian vanity mirror in brass on a Carrara marble base.

This antique paperweight is unsigned, but presumed to have been acquired during a Grand Tour through Italy, and dating to approximately 1880 and do...

Antique table mirror, dressing mirror or make-up mirror with jewelry tray and original mirror glass made entirely of gilded bronze, graceful floral and animal decoration, entirely in...