AUSTRIA 1900 Antique Cigar Cutter Sculpted Hunting Dog In .900 Sterling Silver

An art-nouveau cigar cutter made in Germany. This is a beautiful cigar cutter created in Germany during the late art-nouveau period, back in the 1910-1920, The cigar cutter has been...

Figurine of a dog in solid sterling. This is a beautiful and very well made figurine of a standing dog created in Firenze Italy, back in 1970. The little decorative lovely dog has b...

An art deco petrol lighter designed by Naldun. Very beautiful and useful petrol lighter, created in America by the Naldun Company, back in the 1930. It was crafted as a slider piece in the art deco style, with an octagonal shape in solid .925/.999 sterling silver. Embellished on top with an Essex glass piece depicting the intaglio carving of a horse. It is in great shape with minimal trace of wear, with no dings, marks or bumps. The Essex glass piece is in perfect shape with remains of all the vibrant colors. Weight: 16.40 Grams, (10.51 Dwt). Size: Octagonal Small. Measurements: 15 mm by 15 mm by 43 mm (0.59 x 0.59 x 1.70 Inches). Hallmarks: Stamped with the maker's mark, the mark for the assay of the silver and signed, "NALDUN REG. MADE IN U.S.A PAT. PEND. STERLING". Essex Glass Essex crystal pieces are formed from a rock crystal cabochon (polished domes of rock crystal with a flat base), an image or motif is then reverse carved into the flat base, and then painted, to give them impression of a three dimensional object or image encapsulated in the cabochon when viewed from above. Production of a reverse crystal intaglio begins with the mining and cutting of fine rock crystal from Brazil or Madagascar. A well-formed cabochon is the key to a beautifully made reverse intaglio and the tedious process of hand polishing it to perfection had to be completed before the design work could begin. A watercolor rendering of the image was painted on the underside of the cabochon and an oil and diamond dust mixture was used along with up to 250 scribing tools to carve the design into the interior of the crystal “…the deeper the carving the more pronounced trompe l’oeil effect.” Once the carving was established the painting process began with extremely fine brushes and paint working in reverse to create incredibly detailed images. This process of carving into the back of the cabochon is sometimes referred to as reverse intaglio, not be to mistaken with intaglio, which is designed to be viewed from the same side on which it is carved, unlike Essex crystal. Particularly when the image is of something which is itself small in reality, such as an insect, they can be very convincing when created by skilled craftsman. Thomas Cook was believed to be responsible for introducing them to Britain from the continent in the 1860s, and there were initially sold by Hancock’s in London. During the same period the artist William...

Desk elephant Striker Lighter designed by Ronson. The striker lighters made by Ronson are famous under collectors. This extremely rare desk Striker Lighter was created in New Jersey United States by The Art Metal Works for The Ronson Co. during the art deco period, back in the 1935. Designed in the shape of an Elephant made in polished solid chromed steel attached to a oval black base. The colored plastic tusks were named Ïvoroid” by Ronson. Weight: 597.5 Grams, (1.32 Pounds). Measurements: 82.55 mm by 91.44 mm by 116.84 mm (3.25 x 3.60 x 4.6 Inches). Marks: Signed with the maker's mark label, "FASHIONED BY RONSON". Ronson The Ronson lighter company started as The Art Metal Works in 1897 and was incorporated on July 20, 1898, by Max Hecht, Louis Vincent Aronson and Leopold Herzig, in Newark, New Jersey. Louis V. Aronson was a huge creative driving force for the company; and, with a few business adjustments, including the addition of Alexander Harris (1910–11) as Business Manager, the company soon became World Famous. In the 1910s The Art Metal Works were producing very good quality Hood Ornaments and gained a reputation as a dependable supplier of same. All accounts state that Louis Aronson was a gifted man, who at 16 years old set up a money-making shop in his parent's home - before receiving a U.S. patent for a commercially valuable metal-plating process he developed when he was 24 years old, and he sold half the rights while retaining the Right to Use. "His experiments, which he has been conducting since his early youth, resulted in 1893 in the discovery of a process for electrically producing tinplate. Much money was expended upon improving the process... and has been of great practical value to the whole industry. Retaining its rights, he sold half the patent rights, and later used part of the proceeds to open the Art Metal Works in Newark, N.J. Soon the company was producing a variety of high-quality Lamps, Book ends, Art Statues and other decorative items, prized today for their detail in the collector marketplace. Literature: Urban K. Cummings, Ronson, the World's Greatest Lighter : Wick Lighters...

Antique American sterling silver and warthog tusk cigar cutter, circa 1920-1930.

Silver hound bracco handicraft

Classic early 1940s or older silvered Metal Cigar Cutter. Very rare large size cigar cutter in the form of a horse head. Found at an estate sale in Leipzig, Germany. It has its all o...

Sculpture of dog Cocker in silver