19th Century Russian Dore Bronze Jewel Mounted Bloodstone Jasper Tray

A Magnificent 19th Century Italian Dore Bronze Mounted Champlevé Enamel and Lapis Lazuli Coupe. This remarkable creation stands as a testament to impeccable artistry, as showcased by...

An Antique 19th century dore bronze mounted moser light-amber colored crystal and enamel centerpiece/bowl. The crystal is fabulously hand-blown and hand-carved with a multitude of ha...

An Incredible 19th Century French Ormolu Champlevé Enamel Footed Centerpiece, Att. Barbedienne. This captivating piece stands as a testament to the impeccable craftsmanship of its e...

A Fabulous 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Dore Bronze Mounted Snake Handle and Faux Porphyry Porcelain Centerpiece. This piece is beautiful and so well made that the hand-painte...

Beautiful antique bronze tazza, a bowl on a high foot. The bowl is decorated with graceful flowers and dates from the late 19th century. Multicolored patina. The bowl is signed Oudry, a well-known French designer of bronze statues and ornamental objects. The tazza is of a very fine quality and in good condition. L. Oudry & Cie stands for Leopold Oudry...

This is a superb quality antique Italian Pietra Dura mounted, gilt brass and alabaster table-centre comport dish, dating from the late 19th century. With striking pierced Neo-Gothic chased brass mounts this splendid alabaster dish is set with six highly decorative pietra dura roundels depicting various floral decoration. It is raised on a sturdy circular brass base. It is a sumptuous piece which will make a great statement in any special room. Condition: In really excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 8 x width 29 x depth 29 Dimensions in inches: Height 3.1 x width 11.4 x depth 11.4 Pietra Dura is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored 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 colored marbles or semi-precious stones into a stone base, often in geometric or flower patterns...." Giovanni Montelatici...

An elegant small footed dish. Made of gilded bronze with an enameled, hand painted dish in the centre. The dish is in good condition. Dimensions: 17 x 9 cm and 9 cm tall. Made in Fra...

Bowl made of Egyptian porphyry and fire-gilded bronze mounting, sign. Escalier de Cristal Paris (1804-1923), France, 2nd half of the 19th century. Cf. for the vessel type: D. Del Buf...