Early 19th Century Sculptures

This handsome bronze portrait bust of Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) stands 22cm high, and is mounted on a plinth made from slabs of yellow Siena marble, quarried from Monte Arrenti near Sovicille in central Italy. The bronze, dating from the Restauration period, has mellowed with age and acquired a fine brown patina, which adds to its wonderful character. Rousseau, the famous French-Swiss social philosopher and moralist is depicted in the sculpture wearing the fur turban...

Sculpture of a foot in yellow Siena marble. The sculpture rests on a hinted ground. Replica of a classic type, the construction is excellent, from the proportions to the minimum atte...

Antique statuary Carrara marble bust depicting a male in the classical Roman portrait style. Life-sized and beautifully carved in the purest of white statuary marble. The bust is of Sir Aubrey DeVere Hunt, 2nd Baronet (1788-1846), with stylized beard and wearing a Roman toga. Hunt was an Anglo-Irish...

Believed to be powerful protectors against malevolent spirits, fu lion dogs have stood guard at the entryways and thresholds of Chinese buildings and temples for centuries. Known as ...

Burmese Painted & Giltwood Buddha

A beautifully cast bronze of an older man lifting a younger woman as she clings to a floral sheaf. An allegory of age and youth? Susannah and the Elders? It is hard to say what the allegory is in this compelling bronze. It is a fine cast done by an accomplished and talented artist. Unsigned, mounted on a white marble base. German Romantic...

Pair of Staffordshire Pottery pearlware figures which feature brightly coloured cockerels or roosters, stood on a circular base. Decorated 'in the round' - decoration to front and re...

Embossed and engraved silver plaque La Madonna del lago (The Madonna of the Lake) Probably Milan, post 1824 Brass frame It measures 16.14 in x 13.85 in (41 x 35.2 cm) and it weighs 10.357 pounds (4.698 g): silver 1.31 pounds (598 g) + brass 9.03 pounds (4.100 g) State of conservation: some abrasions on the bottom. The frame is old, but not original. The plaque is made up of a sheet of embossed and engraved silver, and held in a solid brass frame. It depicts the “Madonna del lago” – “Madonna of the Lake” - (the Madonna with Child and San Giovannino) by Marco d'Oggiono (Oggiono, 1474 circa - Milan, 1524 circa), while changing only the background landscape. Almost certainly the subject reproduced in the plaque was taken from a famous engraving by Giuseppe Longhi (Monza, 1766 - Milan, 1831), one of the greatest engravers of his era. The silver is unmarked, probably because originally the Madonna was due to be exposed in a church: sometimes precious metals destined for worship and liturgical use would be exempted from payment and were, therefore, not marked. It is very likely that the plaque was made in Milan because in this city in 1824 the engraving by Giuseppe Longhi was made and printed. In addition, in Milan, the alleged lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci in his Milanese period (1482-1500) would be produced; this is the painting from which Marco d'Oggiono took his version. The painting Marco d?Oggiono was one of Leonardo da Vinci's most brilliant students and collaborators (D. Sedini, Marco d’Oggiono, tradizione e rinnovamento in Lombardia tra Quattrocento e Cinquecento, Roma 1989, pp. 151-153, n. 56; p. 225, n. 124, with previous bibliography). His style reflects in every way that of the Tuscan Maestro, so much so that he was the one who executed some copies of da Vinci's paintings. The execution of the “Madonna del Lago” probably draws inspiration from a lost painting by the Maestro, created while he was living in Milan (1482-1500). There are many similarities with other works by Leonardo such as the “Vergine delle rocce” or the “Vergine con il Bambino e San Giovannino, Sant’Anna e l’Agnello”. The painting, from which the drawing and then the famous engraving were taken, is found today at the M&G Museum of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where it came to rest after the sale of the Harrington Collection in London in 1917. The work appears in the inventories of the collection of Napoleon and Joséphine Bonaparte at the castle of Malmaison, before 1809. The Malmaison building was born and developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century it belonged to Jacques-Jean Le Coulteux du Molay, a wealthy banker. Later, during the Directory, Joséphine Bonaparte de Beauharnais bought it on April 21st, 1799, but settled at the castle definitively only after her husband separated from her in 1809. She remained there until 1814, the year of her death. When Joséphine died, the estate passed to her son Eugène de Beauharnais, who moved to Munich with his whole family in 1815, bringing with him the collection of paintings he inherited from his mother. Eugène died in 1824 and his wife Augusta of Bavaria (von Bayern), unable to keep it, in 1828 sold the Malmaison to the Swedish banker Jonas-Philip Hagerman. It is likely that in this period Augusta also sold part of the paintings inherited from her husband, including the “Madonna del Lago”. This painting then came into the possession of Leicester Stanhope, fifth Earl of Harrington (1784 - 1862) and then was passed down to his descendants. In 1917, at the death of Charles, eighth Earl of Harrington, his brother Dudley inherited the title and properties and he put up a part of his collections for sale. Among these, precisely, the painting by Marco d'Oggiono was to be found. On the occasion of that auction the painting was presented as a work by Cesare da Sesto, by virtue of a handwritten note by the Countess of Harrington on the back of the table. However, already in 1857, the German critic Gustav Waagen had identified Marco d'Oggiono as the author of the painting, then exhibited in the dining room of Harrington House in London (Treasures of Art in Great Britain, in 4 volumes, London, 1854 and 1857). The engraving Giuseppe Longhi was one of the most renowned engravers in Italy between the end of the 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th century. In 1824 Giuseppe Longhi, based on a design by Paolo Caronni, made a famous engraving of the painting of Marco d?Oggiono. The activity of Longhi was then at the peak of his notoriety, enough to earn him very substantial commissions; it is not risky to suppose that some of his successful engravings were also reproduced using other means: in our case in silver. (A. Crespi, a cura di, Giuseppe Longhi 1766–1831 e Raffaello Morghen...

Newcastle Prattware Pottery model of a horse, Attributed to St. Anthony Pottery, Newcastle upon Tyne, circa 1800-1810. The horse with cropped ta...

Circa 1800 mounted bronze 3/4 profile. Likely French but possibly English. Carved wooden backing custom just for this particular item. In the original frame and retaining an old if n...

Pair of antique Victorian Staffordshire recumbent lions having glass eyes painted in wonderful orange and brown colours

Very old solid wood statue depicts the Taoist Zen Master. He wears typical Tao robe and hat, with two fingers pointing up, and the left hand on his knee. Su...

A composition depicting a vase-shaped wicker basket with a decorative fruit triumph made of wax. The elegant wicker basket contains an arrangement of colored wax fruit. The branches ...

Pair of Italian gilt carved wood, gesso, and painted hanging wall cherubs . Early 19th Century.

Italian hand carved marble bust of robbed Eros with quivers. Eros signifies the God of love. Early 19th Century

Terracotta after Clodion, A Bacchante Mounted on a Double Marble Pedestal. Signed on the back in the clay "Clodion." Claude Michel Clodion was a French R...

A fire-gilt bronze sculpture of Aurora, also known as Eos in Greek mythology, created in France during the Empire period around 1810. She rises lightly onto one foot, poised atop a g...

Quality antique brass Chinese lidded incense burner having a quality brass incense burner with a pierced removable lid decorated with a deer, going down...

Pair of Wax Reliefs attributed to Pierre-Phillips Thomire, (French 1751-1843). "Napoleon and Josephine," 1807, inscribed "Josephine/Thomire 1807." With pain...

Intricate lovers in bronze statue. From the late 18th century. This piece stands at 23 in high 7 inches wide. Perfect addition for your study or reading room.

An important pair from the Wunderkammer: two Marlin fish beaks turned to emulate the spiral shape of the Narwhal tooth. The base is made of turned walnut, in the shape of a vase with...

An articulating santo or saint mannequin vested in a period continental bullion embroidered silk chasuble, circa 1820. Articulating arms and glass eyes; mounted on later base. 18...

This charming pair of pearlware porcelain figures was made around the time of the Battle of Waterloo. And as such, they’ve had a few scrapes with life. But they evoke the charm of co...

Roundel bronze relief of the god Hanuman shown in profile walking with his right hand raised, 18th-19th century.

This is a very special piece indeed! c1829's French Restoration Period Automaton in Gilt & Patinated Bronze. Moving water flow from main structure into a Baccarat Crystal Basin. So t...

A very fine marble sculpture of Arpocrate also know as Harpocrates, the Greek god of silence. Often depicted with lotus flowers and a horn, the sculpture in question was carved by the Italian Francesco Pozzi (Italian, 1779 – 1844) around the first quarter of the 19th century. Francesco was born in Rome a sculptor and engraver, and In conjunction with Coppa and Perini, he engraved some of the plates from the statues in the Clementine Gallery at the Vatican. He also engraved a portrait of Pope Pius VI, As a sculptor he made a Latona with the infants Apollo and Artemis...

Each with one leg bent, and nicely colored with dotted fur details slightly different from each other, circa 1860. Green double palm trees with red fruit form the supports at the bac...

Pair of large, majestic temple lions originating from a Buddha temple in Siam (modern-day Thailand). Hand-carved from wood, they retain their original silver gilding, highlighting in...

Early 19th Century silver plated putti on a modern star shaped Lucite base.

Staffordshire Pottery pearlware model which features a child asleep in a cradle. The cradle sits on curved feet, enabling the cradle to rock from side to side.

Staffordshire Pottery pearlware bocage figure with a musical theme which features a man playing a bagpipe, his dog beside him, seated on a shaped base. Decorated 'in the round', deco...

Each well molded and painted with cheerful poses. Possibly German.

Known as the Sun King, Louis XIV, was the longest reigning monarch in Europe. His reign in France was marked as a time of unparalleled prosperity and French domination. With rich det...

Lovely pair of antique Victorian Staffordshire 'royal' figures having a lovely pair of antique Victorian Staffordshire figures of Albert & Victoria hand painted in wonderful pink, bl...

Fantastic rare large pair of antique Victorian Staffordshire figures having a fantastic rare pair of staffordshire figures with a man in lovely period clothing, a dog and a tree surrounded by foliage in vibrant green, blue, white, yellow and red colours inscribed to the base 'Dog Tray'

A Burmese sculpture of a Buddhist temple / paragoda guard carved from Alabaster. The guards guarded the temple/pagoda. From a Danish collectors est...

An impressively large mottled 'verde prato' serpentine socle of turned columnar form, rising from a stepped base to a flattened plateau above a cavetto-shaped edge. In relation to it...

Headless Plaster Statue of a Saint or Bishop. France, circa early 19th century.

Quality pair of antique French spelter figures, having a quality pair of antique French Spelter figures, raised on circular shaped bases. Stamped to bases as shown. D. 1890

Staffordshire Yorkshire Pottery Prattware figure which features a cow with a recumbent calf, stood on a rectangular base, with grassy detail. Speckled blue, orange and black around t...

In the early 19th century, in the heart of Burma, a small but profoundly meaningful masterpiece emerged—a lacquered wooden sculpture that captures the essence of devotion and prayer....

Hand-carved wooden wall relief of a sheep. Carved of oak, the Lamb shown standing on the Book of Revelation which is born aloft on a bank of clouds and surrounded by a burst of rays...

19th century cog from a sugarcane press mounted as utilitarian art. Massive Cog hand carved of Redwood used to press sugarcane from the early 1800s, Thail...

Antique Roman / Etruscan style pottery partial statue. Robed figure in draped fabric. Measures: 7.5 inches in height. Exact age unknown, the pieces in t...

Pair of antique Victorian quality porcelain dogs having a quality pair of antique Victorian dogs sitting on an oval base wearing matching blue collars in white and light brown colours.

Staffordshire pottery pearlware bust with a religious theme which features John Wesley, resting on a plinth base. Decorated 'in the round', decoration to front and reverse. Open bott...

Beautiful sculpture by Karl Hultström, Sweden, early 19th century. Wear and patina consistent with age and use. Glue residue on cheek and neck, see last 3 pictures. Engraved on the b...

Traces of painted surface decoration, wrought iron museum mount. Portuguese, Porto, first quarter of the 18th century.

A set of 19th century hand carved allegorical figures, possibly depicting the four seasons. Each statue is finely carved in the grand tour style, made from a continental softwood a...

Staffordshire pottery pearlware bocage figure with a musical theme which features a boy playing a pipe. His dog by his side, stood on a shaped base. Decorated 'in the round' - decora...

This antique Meissen porcelain figurine depicts two dancing figures and dates back to approximately 1815. The piece is crafted from high-quality porcelain and features intricate deta...

Pair of English Regency life size cast lead Whippet / Greyhound dogs garden figures, Early 19th Century

In the gentle glow of your sacred space, a treasure of the ages takes its rightful place—an exquisite Buddha sculpture, hailing from the enchanting realm of Mandalay, Burma. Crafted ...

This beautiful head of Hermes wearing his winged helmet is carved out of boxwood and has preserved the original gilding. The head is mounted on a blacke...

This finely crafted carved wooden figure from around 1800 showcases exceptional artistry and detail. The seated figure, dressed in its original white garment, exudes a gentle, childl...

This double sided hitching post was used to stall horses for short period of times. They are found throughout China and made during centuries. This hardstone example dates from the 1...

Early 19th century romantic style traditional handcrafted stucco painted like terracotta sculpture, depicting a female half-length portrait. Lovely aged patina, Florence, circa 1820....

American gilt carved wood and gesso eagle with extended wings grasping gilt rounded bar. Eagle was used for center decoration on drapery rod. Early 19th c...

Bronze Koro (Japanese incense burner) in the shape of a rooster Removable top.

A black basalt bulb pot molded as a hedgehog, made by Wedgwood in the middle of the 19th century. Finely molded as a lively little hedgehog, this unique object would have been use...