A charming little table ornament of a bronze shepherdess with her beribboned hoe on a fire-gilt stand, which is in turn mounted on a white marble circular base, a Romantic emblem of the bucolic life. It is all original, the little figure even retaining her gold-metal sash, and dates from around 1775, French or Continental. On her base, she stands a little over three inches tall, the marble being about 5/8 inch thick.

Elegantly graceful and in beautiful condition, this rare pair of classical sterling silver cups bear hallmarks that indicate that they were created by a Lisbon silversmith at the end of the Eighteenth Century. In crisp condition, the bright-cut engravings depict floral festoons encircling a frontal oval blank (never engraved!) topped by a basket of flowers. Approximately 3-1/4 inches at the widest point and 2-5/8 inches high, they weigh a bit over six ounces Troy.

Perhaps a paten cover, this finely wrought dish was a scalloped border of rays and pearls. The marks indicate its provenance and age: Guatemala, probably Cuidad Real, first half of the Eighteenth Century. Diameter approximately 4-3/4 inches.

Rather like something out of "The Last Days of Pompeii" is this wonderful sterling silver tripod tazza, with its Neo-Classical and Psuedo-Renaissance elements combined in great style. Attached chains and pinecones hang between a collar below and a pierced one above with ginko leaves. There is an exquisite monogram very much in the style of the tazza. Gorham Manufacturing Company, date mark for 1870. Superb condition. Approximately 5-1/4 inches high by 6-1/2 inches in diameter.

A wonderfully simple mug in rather classical mode is this Gorham piece bearing the date mark for 1876, our centennial year, which marked the beginning of a great interest in artistic styles. It has a a main band of "Florentine" matte finish beautifully engraved with an interlocking "CG" or "GC." Excellent condition, approximately three inches tall and 3-3/4 inches wide at the handle.

On this truly fine Austrian beaker the flared body is delicately machine turned with a central shield inscribed, “Hoch,Ehre-Freiheit Recht!” An additional tribute is engraved on the rim of the base: “Am 20 October 1848 Pannasche” Beautiful condition with one slight dimple on the upper back, hardly noticeable. Hallmarks for Vienna 1847, maker “FT.” Approximately 5-1/4 inches tall and 3-1/4 inches in diameter.

Bearing the Copenhagen silver standard mark for the year 1887, this elegant small tumbler is decorated with subtly bright-cut engraving of floral branches centering on the name “Ingeborg.” Other mark indicate the maker, “C.Hertz,” and the assay master’s cipher. Excellent condition. Approximately three inches tall and 2-5/8 inches in diameter at the rim.

You might have seen an identical pair of these on the BBC "Antiques Roadshow" a few seasons ago. The expert was viewing a woman's lifelong collection of scissors and scissor-like implements, and these he would not let out his hands! (I wonder if she got them back?) They really are fascinating: you open the chamber to receive the burnt wick, and when you close it, a guillotine rises up and chops off the used part, thus containing it and the acrid smoke...

A charming set of five sterling silver teaspoons skillfully crafted by a silversmith or jeweler without a mould for elaborate flatware. Each of the spoons, initialed "PBT" in script and dated "'92" through "'96," are bright-cut engraved with designs to suggest anthemion-crested cast ware. The stem above the bowl is torque-twisted. Marked only "925 sterling 1000." Mint condition. Each approximately 6 inches long. See Trocadero Item #13651 for a similar butter knife.

A grand souvenir of Alaska’s Yukon gold rush is this whip or umbrella handle fashioned of handsomely figured fossil ivory and gold. Now fitted with a modern magnifying glass, it retains its high-purity gold ferule bordered with tiny gold nuggets and its 18-karat gold, square-end cap, engraved “EEP” in interlocked script. In excellent condition, the original part of this treasure measures about 11-3/4 inches long, 17-1/2 inches overall.

A rare example of High Renaissance metal craft is this small oval platter, hand repousséd brass with a heavy coating of silver which was then carefully polished to simulate the real thing, all this in a time when labor was cheap and silver the main expression of status. The central scene is chinoiserie, an oriental court tableau of a potentate and his consort being serenaded by a standing figure playing an enormous trumpet...

Incorporating a fortune in Renaissance and later coins, this magnificent set is composed of two large decanters, a covered powder box and a shoe horn. It is marked "Geo.C. Shreve & Co. San Francisco." Circa 1880, superb condition. The decanters are 8-1/2 inches high and 5-1/2 inches wide, the powder box is 5-3/4 inches high and 4-1/4 inches in diameter and the shoe horn is 10-1/4 inches in length and two inches wide at the base...