Eggshell Collectibles and Curiosities

Carl Andre (born 1935), the American minimalist artist, is perhaps best known for his grid-based floor sculptures but also for large, outdoor public artworks and small sculptures, poetry and installations. In this unprecedented comprehensive monograph Alistair Rider here shows that it is the materials that he uses to make his works that inspire him, from his controversial bricks to all sorts of metals, found wood, even hay bales, Andre is fascinated by what materials make up the world and presents them for contemplation. Andre's early wood sculptures show the influence of Brancusi, who he had met through their mutual friend Hollis Frampton...

PRESENTING an EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Hair Pin/Bobbin or Slide. This slide is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before, it is a VERY RARE survivor. From circa 1860 – 80 and made in Tunbridge Wells, England. Made of walnut with gorgeous marquetry inlay on the entirety of the front with classic Tunbridgeware micro-mosaic all over the front. The rear is walnut. The marquetry inlay appears to be various different woods, namely, maple, walnut and satinwood. Would have been worn in a Lady’s hair bun with the micro-mosaic facing forward. This would have belonged to a VERY ELEGANT LADY in the mid to late 19th Century. Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different coloured woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion. There is a collection of Tunbridge ware in the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery in Tunbridge Wells. The famous makers of Tunbridge ware were in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent; their most notable work was from circa 1830-1900. Early makers of Tunbridge ware, in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-18th century, were the Burrows family, and Fenner and Co. In the 19th century, around 1830, James Burrows invented a technique of creating mosaics from wooden tesserae. Henry Hollamby, apprenticed to the Burrows family, set up on his own in 1842 and became an important manufacturer of Tunbridge ware, employing about 40 people. Edmund Nye (1797–1863) and his father took over the Fenner company when William Fenner retired in 1840, after 30 years in partnership with him. Thomas Barton (1819–1903), previously apprenticed at the Wise factory, joined the Nyes in 1836, and worked as Nye’s designer; he took over the business in 1863 and continued there until his death. In Tonbridge (near to Tunbridge Wells), George Wise (1703–1779) is known to have had a business in 1746. It continued with his son Thomas, and Thomas’s nephew George (1779–1869), who took over in 1806. In its early years the company made articles such as workboxes and tea caddies with prints of popular views; later items had pictures created from mosaics. Their workshop in Tonbridge, Wise’s Tunbridge Ware Manufactory, was next to the Big Bridge over the Medway; the building was demolished in 1886 to widen the approach to the bridge. Tunbridge ware became popular with visitors to the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, who bought them as souvenirs and gifts. Articles included cribbage boards, paperweights, writing slopes, snuffboxes and glove boxes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Tunbridge ware by Edmund Nye, Robert Russell and Henry Hollamby was shown; Edmund Nye received a commendation from the judges for his work. He exhibited a table depicting a mosaic of a ship at sea; 110,800 tesserae were used in making the picture. The manufacturers of Tunbridge ware were cottage industries, and they were no more than nine in Tunbridge Wells and one in Tonbridge. The number declined in the 1880s; competent craftsmen were hard to find, and public tastes changed. After the death of Thomas Barton in 1903 the only surviving firm was Boyce, Brown and Kemp, which closed in 1927. Marquetry was an old technique which was continued by Nye and Barton to create images such as birds or butterflies. ‘Green Oak’ as caused by the fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. Stickware and half-square mosaic was invented by James Burrows in about 1830: a bunch of wooden sticks of different colours, each having triangular or diamond-shaped cross section, were tightly glued together; in the case of stickware, the resulting block was dried, then turned to form an article such as the base of a pincushion. For half-square mosaic, thin slices were taken from the composite block, and applied to a surface. Tesselated mosaic, was a development by James Burrows of half-square mosaic; it was adopted by George Wise and Edmund Nye. Minute tesserae were used to form a wide variety of geometric and pictorial designs. Many sorts of wood were used for the various colours; about 40 were in regular use. Only natural colors were used; green was provided by “green oak”, produced by the action of fungus on fallen oak. Designs for articles were often taken from designs of Berlin wool work.

Exquisite leather cigar case with sterling silver collar. Expands for differing lengths of small cigar or cigarettes. Made in the U.K. in the 1900-1920´s. It has the stamp of the re...

Ladies' handbag cigarette case with an oval section in 925/1000 gilded silver with translucent enamel on a guilloché and a monochrome, hand-painted miniature of a landscape, in the E...

Handbag cigarette case in 925/1000 sterling silver with black fire enamel. Opening with spring button. Size cm. 6.3 x 9.7 x 1.5. Weight gr. 215. Created in Art Deco style for Cartier...

This silver and enamel cigarette case is hallmarked by an unknown maker and is presumed to have been made in Austria in approximately 1920. The case is composed of .800 silver and ha...

Royal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this very collectable and super quality, Asprey London Sterling Silver & Gold Gilt with Diamonds and finishe...

Catalog of the seminal avant-garde exhibition held at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery in 1942 and published in an edition of 2500. Edited by Peggy Guggenheim with cont...

Written by Susanna Salk, Foreword by Robert Couturier, Photographed by Stacey Bewkes America's leading interior designers show readers how to live in the most stylish way with their adorable dogs, offering an array of inspirational tips for keeping both your home and dogs attractive and chic The most elegant, stylish, and well-appointed house is nothing but a shell without its inhabitants, including the canine kind. Just ask the 22 A-List interior designers who grace the pages of At Home with Dogs and Their Designers who love nothing more than letting their best pals sleep in bed with them, cuddle on the couch, and essentially rule the roost. No room is off limits, no piece of furniture banned, clothing is optional, but their accessories are just as chic as their surroundings. Accidents may happen on vintage rugs, antiques are sometimes mistaken for chew toys, and more than one pair of ruined designer shoes have befallen them, but none would consider living without their loyal and loving best friends among the things they love. With individual chapters exploring each of the dogs' amazing lives as they romp through the stunning interiors and gardens they call home with their humans, this book as much an inspirational design book, even if you don’t live with pets, as it is a resource, packed with clever tips from the interior designers themselves on ways to live with dogs. Teddy, Alex Papachristidis’ Yorkie, uses a miniature vintage chair to hop from the floor to the bed instead of doggie steps while Brooke Gianetti created a custom doggie gate made from antique wooden doors to keep Bebe, Sera, Frasier, and Sophie from getting into trouble while she is away from home. With 6 pups on the loose, Carolyne Roehm always orders extra yardage of fabric to make protective covers and quilts. Mary McDonald happily climbs on the oversized dog bed her 5 Pugs—Jack, Lulu, Boris, Eva, and Violet—share for daily “pug hugs” while Charlotte Moss’ Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Daisy and Buddy, lounge in a cabana out in the Hamptons on summer weekends. All of the featured pooches are interviewed, giving us insight into the luxury of their daily lives from their favorite places to sleep to their guilty pleasures. Complete with a resource guide for your decorative needs as well as pet needs (including adoption and rescue organizations), At Home with Dogs and Their Designers opens the door—from coast to coast, townhouse to beach house—allowing us to peek in and embrace this love letter from these designers to their pets, who are most assuredly family members. FEATURED HUMANS/INTERIOR DESIGNERS: Martyn Lawrence Bullard,Nathan...

Inspirational and visually on trend, Ashley Hicks's latest work is a pattern book for the 21st century. Offering insights and revelations, Hicks's own exquisitely quirky and colorful historicist interiors are discussed with designs from the recent and faraway past. Ashley Hicks has created a mix of manifesto, souvenir album, and confession in this collection of noteworthy rooms--featuring his own one-of-a-kind interiors along with rooms that have inspired him. The manifesto aspect is rather limited, since Hicks is not a great believer in aesthetic rules or the value of so-called good taste, but as a souvenir album, it charts Hicks's personal creative journey of the last few years, illustrated with photographs of some favorite historical interiors and objects that represent a mixture of source material and inspiration. The book's twelve chapters reveal Hicks's creative process, how he approaches different themes in his own interiors, furniture designs, and works of art, and how these themes can be applied to the works of others. Such subjects as flowers, color, layers, form, pattern, and memory are presented in the context of actual projects. Historical and recent interiors are discussed for their decorative value--notable rooms and architecture include the Pantheon in Rome; Emperor Maximilian's tomb in Innsbruck; the Royal Pavilion, Brighton; and the Petit Trianon at Versailles. Hicks has created a book for devotees of decorating and the history of interior design. About the author Ashley Hicks is a British author, architect, interior and furniture designer, and photographer. He is the son of Lady Pamela Hicks and the legendary decorator David Hicks. His personal Instagram profile has amassed over 200,000 followers. Christian Louboutin is a celebrated French shoe designer.

Ladies’ cigarette case rectangular convex “olive” shape in 925/1000 sterling silver with black and white fire enamel with Art Deco style design. With “lost” hinge, that is semi-invis...

An English Art Deco period sterling silver cigarette (or other) holder case, circa early-20th century, England. Marked 'Sterling' on inside; please see last image.