A GEORGE III JEWELLED GOLD AND HARDSTONE NECESSAIRE AND WATCH
The rectangular upright casket set with panels of banded grey agate, overlaid with chased foliate and architectural gold cagework, applied with silver and gold-mounted vari-colour diamond and ruby-set floral sprays and emerald-set foliage, the double pagoda cover chased with foliage, flowers, scale and diaper-work and applied with alternating rows of diamonds, emeralds and rubies, each corner hung with pendant single stones, the hinged top of the pagoda cover opening to reveal a fitted interior containing various gold implements including, a bodkin, a cotton spool, an ear-spoon, a pen, a burin and a brush, the front door of the base inset with a fitted mirror and opening to reveal a red velvet-lined fitted interior with two rock-crystal scent-bottles overlaid with gold cagework, a gold cup with applied chinoiserie decoration and scroll handle, marked with maker's mark AH probably for Andrew Hogg, two gold sablé drawers chased with chinoiserie landscapes containing a gold ink-well and powder-box, the gold base on four bracket feet and mounted with diamond and emerald-set chased scrolling cartouches, with original gold door key, in later fitted black leather travelling case stamped ‘Bulgari’
Diamonds: 374 stones, approx. 31 cts.
Rubies: 109 stones, approx. 14 cts.
Emeralds: 125 stones, approx. 9 cts.
The Watch: White enamel with Roman and Arabic numerals, with winding aperture at 10 o’clock, pierced gold hands, the watch movement gilt-brass, full-plate with cylindrical pillars, fusee with chain, verge escapement, plain brass three-arm balance with flat spring and regulator, gilt brass cock, signed ‘Robert Allam London, No 396’
A lovely surprise arrived in the mail – a hand-turned cup of claro walnut made my my nephew, Tyler. The cup is about 60 mm tall and 60 mm in diameter. It is perfect.
I think I'm going to assign it the mundane but useful task of holding colored pencil stubs on my work table.
An Egyptian painted pottery vessel from the Predynastic period (c. 3400-3200 BC) sitting on Rose Uniacke’s drawing room table, in front of a rare tabernacle frame carved from marble in the mid 15th century.
20231216 Nagoya-Sakae 1 by Bong Grit
Via Flickr:
名古屋栄の久屋大通公園を撮り歩き。この船みたいな「はぐくみ」はパブリックアートだそうです。 @Hisaya Main Street Park, Naka ward, Nagoya city, Aichi pref.(愛知県名古屋市中区 久屋大通公園)
"Éventail cingalo-portugais" (Musée du Louvre, Paris) by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra
Éventail de Ceylan Objet d'art de fabrication cingalo-portugaise Cet éventail précieux fait partie d'une paire qui appartenait à Marie du Portugal, l'épouse d'Alexandre Farnèse, collectionneur de livres, de statues, de monnaie antiques et d'objets d'art. 2ème moitié du 16ème siècle Ivoire, argent, saphir Naples, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte capodimonte.cultura.gov.it/
Exposition "Naples à Paris", musée du Louvre, Paris presse.louvre.fr/naples-a-parisle-louvre-invite-le-musee-...
I've been staring at this for several minutes. It's such a thing of ridiculous beauty. Let me see if I can describe it properly (link to Pinterest where I found it*):
It's a gold lighter, up top is the light part, but if you tilt it to the left there's like, a teeny, tiny lided writing desk with paper?? And a tiny, thin pencil (pen?) that pulls out, plus, at the opposite corner, out pops a tiny little clock??? There's engraving on the inner lid of the 'writing desk', but it's hard to read. It starts with "all my love" but I can't make out the rest.
I LOVE THIS!
*sadly, the article it links to no longer has *any* photos available, so all I know is that this one is "antique"
AN AUSTRIAN GOLD-MOUNTED HARDSTONE BOX, ANTON DUDEUM, VIENNA, 1799, oval, the top and base set with Egyptian jasper, the sides with twenty specimen hardstone panels, gold borders chased with scrolls and pellets, Austrian 2nd standard (18 carat) mark, date and maker's mark.
"Our stone is life to him who knows it and how it is made, and he who knows not and has not made it and to whom no assurance is given when it will be born, or who thinks it another stone, has already prepared himself for death.” Hoghelande, Theatr. chem., I, 1659