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Menologion of Basil II (c. 985).

20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia. [x] [x] [x]

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Moebius

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Cornelis Saftleven, An Enchanted Cellar with Animals, Dutch, ca. 1655–70, black and red chalk, brush with gray and brown wash, and watercolor, 10 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.

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The Dutch Master  Cornelius Saftleven 

Saftleven’s greatest contribution to Dutch painting are his images of Hell. Equally innovative were his satires and allegories. Saftleven excelled in painting animals and he often portrayed them as active characters, with a hidden allegorical role. Also well known are Saftleven’s black chalk drawings with single figures, usually young men, or his sketches of animals with Savery’s influence. Nowadays about two hundred of his oil paintings and five hundred drawings have preserved.  This work is a fascinating example of Saftleven’s engaging satire and peculiar subjects. In the painting a young man and a child are seen at the barn door watching a monkey conducting a chorus of cats, while an owl and a magpie are cheering them on. All the cats are wearing fine ribbons and collars, and one has an elaborate headpiece. The barn floor is strewn with playing cards, dice and bottles of alcoholic spirits, all referring to sinful idle life. In the 17th century cats, monkeys and magpies were all regarded as capricious and untrustworthy animals, while owls, who nowadays are the symbol of wisdom, marked ignorance and overindulgence.

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Pillar of Eternity

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Paul Gustave Doré - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

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Andreas Achenbach - Sunset after a storm on the coast of Sicily

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Leonora Carrington - Occult Scene (Jacob’s Ladder)

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Zdzisław Beksiński

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Take a look inside the breath taking view of Russia’s Psychedelic Salt Mines. Isn’t it beautiful?

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Tachi Sword

Dated: 17th century

Culture: Japanese

Measurements: overall length 101 cm

The sword was designed and made for wear at the Imperial Court. It features a gilt scabbard with brass mounts, finely engraved and carved with racemes, tsuka with fish-skin covering, ending in a big hilt depicting an in-the-round bird. The streaked, gilt, lacquered saya has with brass mounts decorated en suite, complete with painted loops.

Source: Copyright © 2016 Czerny’s International Auction House S.R.L.

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Untitled by Hirofumi Nagata