Art

A Chinese Procession Ornament dating from the Liao Dynasty, from 907 to 1125 AD. The Liao Dynasty, also known as the Khitan Empire, was an empire in northern China that ruled over the regions of Manchuria, Mongolia, and parts of northern China proper. It was founded by the Yelu family of the Khitan people in the final years of the Tang Dynasty, even though its first ruler, Yelu Abaoji, did not declare an era name until 916. The Liao Empire was destroyed by the Jurchen of the Jin Dynasty in 1125. However, remnants of its people led by Yelu Dashi established the Xi (or Western) Liao Dynasty 1125 - 1220, also known as Kara - Khitan Khanate, which survived until the arrival of Genghis Khan...

JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN. Phytanthoza Iconographia…. Published by Raisbonae. Regensburg, 1735-47. Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret. Hand-colored mezzotin...

"World Water Day is Monday and is a fitting day to precede the release of these Wave of Distress prints. World Water Day not only focuses attention on the water crisis and drinking w...

Paire d'appliques Régence en bronze doré à 2 bras de lumières de forme mouvementée. Joli décor rocaille à motifs feuillagés et fleuris. Ep.XVIIIè. H.43 L.22.

This is an exemplar of a "mortaretto d'allegrezza", meaning "fire-craker/mortar fireworks of happiness" that was used during festivities (for exemplar, triumphal entries of kings or ...

Small bronze burning scents of the 18th century representing a chinese man riding side saddle of a donkey.

After François Girardon 1628-1715 French Pluto Abducting Proserpine Bronze This High Baroque period composition captures the famed narrative of Pluto and Proserpine from Roman mythology. The late 17th-century patinated bronze, created after François Girardon's marble composition, captures the very moment that Pluto seizes Proserpine. The anguished goddess reaches skyward, attempting to escape the god’s grasp while Pluto’s stoic face betrays his knowledge that his ploy will succeed. This pivotal moment in the mythological tale has captured the imagination of many art historical greats, from Bernini to Rubens. François Girardon’s version of the climax demonstrates incredible finesse and artistry, modeled expertly in bronze in the present work by a later sculptor. The statue brings a twist of intertwined bodies into a dynamic frenzy, paralleling the tension of the legendary story. In ancient Roman mythology, Proserpine, the beautiful daughter of Ceres — known as Persephone in Greek mythology — was picking flowers in the fields when she was suddenly abducted by Pluto, the god of the underworld, and taken to his kingdom. Consumed with grief, her mother Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, scorches the earth, stopping the growth of grain and fruit. Jupiter attempts to intervene and secure Proserpine’s return to earth, negotiating a compromise with Pluto and the Fates that allows Proserpine to be released for part of the year before returning to Pluto’s underworld. Proserpine’s journey back and forth is an allegory for the changing seasons; when Prosperine is with her mother, the earth warms and provides bountiful harvests. Upon her annual return to the underworld, however, the earth once again becomes cold and barren. After returning to France after years of training in Rome, François Girardon quickly rose to become one of the greatest artists in France. He was elected a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1657 and would become Chancellor of the Royal Academy in 1695. The artist was approached frequently for royal commissions and Girardon’s Pluto was originally commissioned by Louis XIV for the gardens at his Palace of Versailles. It was one of four monumental marble groups intended to decorate the corners of Charles Le Brun’s never completed garden at the chateau, the Parterre d’Eau. Each group of three figures symbolized one of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Pluto’s association with hell made him the apt...

"Spectacular Cartel Louis XV Signed Etienne Baillon In Paris" SPECTACULAR CARTEL LOUIS XV and its tail lamp in Martin varnish with a green background and decorated with garlands of f...

"Pair Of Louis XV Period Andirons" Pair of andirons from the Louis XV period, representing Zeus and Mars Original gilding. H.30 W.31

Gilt bronze Louis XVI clock representing a helmeted man holding a profile of King Louis XVI above the enameled movement. To the right, a cannon, cannonballs and various flags. Blacke...

"LOUIS XVI CLOCK François Duchêne Received Master In 1733" LOUIS XVI CLOCK in gilded bronze representing a helmeted man holding a profile of King Louis XVI above the enamelled movem...

Flight into Egypt, Cusco School XVII Century. Oil on convex panel. The panel is carved on the frame, making everything one single piece of wood.

16th Century Venetian bronze sculpture of a Young Man in Armour attributed to the Florentine artist Andrea di Alessandri, called Il Bresciano (Fl...

Pair of large oval-shaped baroque mirrors (II / II) Roman master carver of the seventeenth century Carved, lacquered and gilded wood Antique mercury silvered glass mirror 92 x 76 cm. (at the mirror 59 x 43 cm.) We present this pair of prestigious oval-shaped mirrors (of which a second pair is also available, of excellent executive level, which interprets the period of the Italian Baroque in an exemplary way. The works are in carved and gilded wood with a black lacquered background, richly decorated with a deep volute carving with particularly vigorous leaf motifs, coping and lateral ends embellished with cherub heads. This type of boldly carved volute acanthus mirrors...

Fine bronze figure of a winged cherub, also known as putto.

Resting on a circular Egyptian porphyry base, this fascinating bronze figure of a young cherub is a striking example of the Venetian workmanship of the 16th Century. With the head tu...

Typical of 18th Century Rome, this fascinating pink marble urn with lid is a wonderful example of Italian decorative arts. Embellished with bronze moun...

Michael Ayrton (1921-1975) Girl Wringing out her Hair Patinated bronze, 1962 26cm in height Michael Ayrton was a British artist and writer, renowned as...

A bronze Thai Bell from the Dongson Culture (1000 BC-200 AD). The work is unsigned.

Fragment of a right foot, Roman period, 3rd century AD, sculpture, antiquities 3rd century AD Hollow cast bronze Provenance : Collection of Nicolas K...

Pair of large octagonal mirrors Italy (Florence), 18th century Carved wood, perforated. Gold leaf gilding with bolus preparation. Height cm. 114, Width cm. 102 (light 80 x 70 cm.) ...

Bronze figure of a young Eros, caught in the pose of riding a dolphin. Attractive green patina, some fingers and right foot are broken. Separately worked left wing is missing. Right ...

Spiral fibula, Hallstatt, 1st Iron Age, Bronze, Sculpture, Antiquities, Design Spiral Fibula 9e-6e before j.c Bronze with brown and green patina Provenance : Collection of Aigenbauer

This beautiful cast bronze elephant head is a protome, which in ancient art was a decorative element consisting of a head - sometimes with part of the bust - of a human, animal, or f...

Spiral fibula, Hallstatt, 1st Iron Age, Bronze, Sculpture, Design, Antiquity Spiral fibula 9-6 centuries before J.C Bronze with green and brown patina Provenance : Collection of D...

This bronze sculpture is an exquisitely detailed representation of the god Dionysos, whose cult was one of the most popular in ancient times. Here, the god is nude, with a mantle that gently lies on his right leg. He is holding a bunch of grapes with his left hand, and a rhyton (drinking horn) with the right. The god is youthful and joyfully gazes forwards, with a crown of ivy leaves set upon his long flowing hair. These features clearly resemble those of the life-size Roman marble sculpture of Dionysos exhibited at the British Museum, acc. no. 1861,0725.2 . This statuette was probably part of a larger composition and used as a decorative element applied to a piece of furniture. Its finely wrought details, as well as the attractive olive-green patina led to its inclusion in the collection of the Fitchburg Art Museum for thirty years. PROVENANCE English Private Collection (Sotheby’s, London 17-18 July 1985, Lot 204) Royal Athena...

PROVENANCE Herbert A. Cahn (1915-2002), Kunst der Antike, Basel, 1988 Private Collection, Paris

Two spiral pins fibula, Hallstatt, 1st Iron Age, Bronze, Sculpture, Antiquities Two spiral pins fibula 9-6 centuries before j.c Bronze with green and brown patina Provenance : Col...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nuremberg...

JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN. Phytanthoza Iconographia…. Published by Raisbonae. Regensburg, 1735-47. Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret. Hand-colored mezzotin...

JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN. Phytanthoza Iconographia…. Published by Raisbonae. Regensburg, 1735-47. Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret. Hand-colored mezzotin...

GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770). Plantae Selectae.... Text by Dr. Christoph Trew. Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret. Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid. Nure...

Inspired by amateur archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann who discovered Troy and by past elaborate hoaxes like that of the Piltdown Man, Joshua travels the world performing sta...

JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN. Phytanthoza Iconographia…. Published by Raisbonae. Regensburg, 1735-47. Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret. Hand-colored mezzotin...

Contact Modern Art Etc to inquire availability and price Modern Art Etc presents internationally noted and rising Chinese star, Xie Ai Ge (b.1977). X...