Massachusetts - More Objets d Art and Vertu

Dragonets are baby dragons, and this white nephrite pi disk features a pair of them. Flawlessly carved by a skilled lapidary artist more than 100 years ago, this white nephrite pi disk is a superior example of a late Ming...

Elegant, rare, and dating to the late Qing period (circa 1890s), this hand-carved nearly colorless white nephrite plaque has been etched on both sides. One one, the Chinese mythological figure known as Zhang Guo Lao is depicted riding a mule. On the opposite side, a magpie sits on a branch of cherry blossoms. The magpie is associated with intelligence. The carving is breathlessly simple and excellent; the work executed -of course- without the aid of electricity or modern tools. Measuring 42.54mm x 29.92mm, the plaque has a hole drilled through the center, which is original to the piece. A silver bail is threaded through the hole and a pair of beads -black jade and coral- reside at the bottom. The jade plaque hands from a 1920s silver chain that is 32" in length. Prior to the discovery of and appreciation for the very fine green jadeite from Burma, colorless, opaque, pure white nephrite jade from the Northern mountains of China was the most revered jade; the original "imperial jade, as only members of the royal court could wear or even touch it. Most of what is commercially sold today as "mutton fat...

This excruciatingly beautiful and spare hand-carved nephrite jade pendant was created during the Qing period, most likely in the late 1800s, however, it co...

This exquisite and rare black jade tablet dates to the Qing period. The Qing Dynasty period spanned the years 1636 -1912. Precisely dating jade artifacts...

Art glass vase sign: Daum Nancy France. Evidenced by this Daum sculptural colorless blown and hot-shaped lead-crystal heavy vessel vase, the finest irreproducible artistic works in the history of the iconic French decorative-glass maker feature ornamental thick glass applications. Its most in-demand pieces today were made between 1925 and 1935, with very few major ArtDeco-period pieces remaining in private hands and even less without damage. As a significant gift acquired from Don Jacques Daum in 1950, a similarly shaped, constructed and sized circa-1925 vase with "stylized foliage" motif is in the collection of the French Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris as Inventory #36309. A later-produced vase with a similar application-motif at just the rim, but in a "Champagne" bubbled style, is among the photos in the published book about the Leo and Irina Esterkin acquisitions from 1910-1940 titled Daum Art Deco Glass--A Private Collection. On our prime-condition antique vase, applied transparent glass is styled in high relief into a flowing undulating motif that evolved from Daum's Art Nouveau foliage designs. The angular and curvilinear shapes of this vessel epitomize the bold vases, bowls and sculptures for which Daum is best known. Its tiny pencil-etched signature on the side near the bottom reads "Daum (plus the Lorraine-cross symbol) Nancy France", which resembles some published signatures since 1925. Revealing how ahead of its time this particular design was--after WWII in 1945 coinciding with the revitalization of the French glass industry--Daum used...