Pair of Baroque Style Giltwood Dolphin Carvings on Lucite Bases, 19th century

This striking pair 19th-century Italian carved wood fragments in the form of stylized dolphins, now mounted on custom Lucite bases. Originally part of a larger decorative scheme—like...

A pair of French carved giltwood eagle sculptures from the early 20th century mounted on new Lucite bases. Born in France in the turn of the c...

Very glamorous Palm Beachy pair of Chinese style dolphins in carved and gilded wood.

A powerful and dramatic pair of Italian neoclassical carved and gilt wood mythical animal figures on faux painted bases, mid 19th century or earlier, Italy. The fantastic beasts are well carved, with dramatic wings that follow the sensuous curve of the neck, and a sinuous body ends in an eel-like tail gracefully curled in upon itself. The bearded heads feature a flattened snout with sharp teeth and a lolling tongue, and pointed horse ears and mane. The long forelegs stretched out in front of them and ending in pawed and clawed feet. The beasts have characteristics of several different mythical animals, making them hard to positively identify. The most likely candidates would be dragons, hippocampi, or chimeras. The beasts are unfinished to the back, indicating they were originally part of a relief decoration, possibly from a mirror. They have now been mounted to wooden bases faux painted to imitate porphyry. They would make perfect bookends or mantle sculptures.