Old English tablespoon by England's most famous female silversmith, Hester Bateman. London. 1780. Original owner's engraved monogram in feathered script, 'JMA.' Very good condition with no repairs. Egg-shaped bowl retains its shape. Bottom marked with some compressing of hallmarks but still very legible. HB maker's mark is quite clear. 8 inch length.
Rare sterling silver spectacles in a green shagreen eye glasses case with silver mounts. Circa 1790-1800. The silver eyeglasses are unmarked, but are probably English, with folding frames. The shagreen (shark skin) case is in excellent condition with unmarked silver mounts and a working push-button catch. Size: 5 1/4" ht. x 2" width x 5/8" depth. Shagreen was made from the skin of the dogfish, a variety of shark, and was filed smooth and then applied like leather over a wooden case...
George III sterling silver sauceboat by famous English female silversmith Hester Bateman. London. 1783. Serrated rim with flying scroll handle and supported on three hoof feet. Engraved with a family crest of an arm dexter holding wheat. Size: 5 1/2 inches length x 3 1/2 inches ht. x 3 1/8 inches depth. Condition: one foot slightly bent. No repairs. Legible hallmarks on underside. 5.71 troy ounces.
A double sided leaf from the 'Nuremberg Chronicle' depicting a Lightning Strike Upon Istanbul (1490) and the Fall of a Meteorite in Alsace (1492). Hand-colored woodcut engraving. Published in 1493. Sheet size: 17 inches x 12 inches. Plate 257. The 'Nuremberg Chronicle' is the most famous of Incunabula (pre-1500 book) and was written by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), being published in a Latin version (Liber Chronicarum) in 1493 and then later in the same year in a German language edition...
William III/ Queen Anne Britannia silver dognose spoon, London, marked only with maker's mark of Francis Archbold. Circa 1700. Rare early spoon showing the transition of styles from the trefid to dognose. The dognose form is so called because of the shape of the end of the handle, also sometimes referred to as 'wavy end.' This example retains the broad, shallow bowl and ribbed rat tail of the earlier trefid form but without the characteristic notches in the terminal of the trefid...
William III silver trefid table spoon, London, c.1700, by Francis Archbold. Length - 7.25 inches. Weight - 1.38 troy ounces. A typical trefid form table spoon with broad, shallow bowl and a double ribbed and beaded rat tail. The upturned handle's terminal is cut with two notches, a characteristic of the trefid form...
Early William III Britannia standard silver trefid tablespoon, London, 1699, by silversmith Francis Archbold, length 7.25 inches. The shallow bowl gilded on the interior and with a double ribbed and beaded rat tail. The upturned handle's terminal is cut with two notches. Hallmarks are quite well struck apart from the date letter which is worn but still legible. The higher Britannia silver standard of 95.84% was introduced in 1697 but is rarely found after 1730...
Rare three-legged turned chair. English. Circa 1610-1650. The three-legged version is the earliest form of turned chair, sometimes referred to as a "Turner's chair." All of the parts are turned on a lathe, except for the seat which is let into the supporting seat rails. These chairs first appeared in England and the Continent in the 16th century and continued to be in fashion until about 1660...
Prehistoric carved stone (steatite) spider effigy pipe, Fort Ancient Culture, circa 1,000-1,200 A.D. Size: 3 inches x 2 inches x 1.5 inches. Excellent condition. Discovered in Posey County, Indiana, this early stone elbow pipe dates from the Mississippian period and was carved by the people of the Fort Ancient Culture, who lived along the Ohio River, in the regions that now occupy S. Ohio, N. Kentucky and S.E. Indiana. This pipe bears the very detailed carved effigy of a spider...
Rare Yuan dynasty red lacquerware oval tray, Chinese, 14th century, carved with two three-toed dragons encircled by a border of crashing waves. Size: 8 3/8 inches x 6 3/4 inches x 1 inch deep...