White Faience Urn with Gilt Bronze-Mounted Horses from France, circa 1900

Rouen, located in the region of Normandy, just outside of Paris, has been at the center of French faience production since the mid-1500s. This lovely hand-painted jardiniere (circa 1...

This stunning lidded urn might have once been found in a 19th century Italian apothecary. The front of the shaped urn body has the hand-painted phrase “C. Violaru”, which is the heavily abbreviated form of the Latin word for violet (violaceum). Up until the mid-1700’s, apothecaries would make syrups from violets and use it to treat kidney ailments. Above the Latin wording is a whimsical musical scene with a man blowing a horn leading a couple who is holding hands over rocky terrain lined with shrubbery. A large house and trees can be seen behind the trio with a pair of mountains in the distance. On the opposite side of the urn is a floral display with a bird perched on a rock. Beneath the bird is a geometric design, possibly a stylized sun with radiating beams of light. Both scenes are segmented by a pair of thin quarter round moldings that encircle the entire vase. Other hand-painted motifs include floral and foliate margents, geometric patterns, and Vitruvian waves that are infilled with horizontal fluting. The sides of the urn have a fish-scale background beneath two mustachioed mascarons. Both men have been styled in grotesque fashion, with a pair of spiraled horns emanating from their heads. In between the horns is a looping handle that is affixed to the body in similar tight spirals. The domed lid has three scrolled arms that merge in a geometric finial. The base color of the urn is white, with illustrations in a monochromatic cobalt oxide blue, reminiscent of Delft blue pottery...

A beautiful Louis XVI-style urn from France, circa 1860, this grand gilt bronze decorative accessory has been mounted on a square white marble with light cream accents. The main body...

Inspired by the movement of plants and flowers, Art Nouveau is a decorative style associated with art and architecture during the late 19th early 20th centuries. Sometime after 1900, the undulating lines associated with Art Nouveau began to disappear and were replaced by geometrical shapes. That places the crafting of this silvered bronze table...