Gorgeous turn-of-the-century Martelé-style Art Nouveau 950 silver basket. Made by Black, Starr & Frost in New York. Flared and ovoid mouth and cylindrical body flowing into spread foot on 4 turned-under scroll supports; fixed and shaped c-scroll handle. Ruffled and irregular rims. Chased and applied ornament with flowers and climbing and entwined tendrils overlaid with leaves. Hand-hammered ground. Fully marked with maker’s stamp, no. 7577, and phrases “Exclusive Design”, and “950 Fine�...

Six Victorian Classical sterling silver goblets. Made by Charles Stuart Harris in London, 1884-9. Medici urn bowl with bellied bottom and flared rim. Spool shaft with flange flowing into raised foot. Chased and engraved garlands and two leaf and cattail wreath frames of which 1 vacant and 1 with applied coat of arms. Super fancy and capacious for ceremony or dining. Very much the special occasion set. Fully marked including date letters 1884 (2), 1886 (1), 1888 (1), and 1889 (2). Excellent cond...

Set of 8 Wedgwood sterling silver goblets. Made by International Silver Co. in Meriden, Conn., ca 1920. Each: Ovoid bowl on cylindrical stem with base knop mounted to raised foot. At mouth rim raised band with Neoclassical ornament, including paterae and amphorae, entwined with flowers and scrolls between beaded and Vitruvian scroll borders. At foot border alternating volute scrolls and W’s. Seven goblets have gilt-washed interior. An elegant tribute to the historic English pottery firm. Fully...

English Thatcher-era sterling silver champagne set, 1981-3. Retailed by Asprey in London. This set comprises 4 flutes and 1 tray.

Each flute: Ovoid bowl on gilt cast stem in form of fruiting grapevine with leaves and bunches set in open foot. Tray round with deep well; shoulder inset with same. A stylish way to remember the no-apologies, let-it-rip capitalism of the Eighties.

Fully marked including maker’s stamp (Hector Miller) and London assay stamp. Flutes have retailer’s stamp. Tray h...

Edwardian Classical sterling silver urn. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. Curved and tapering bowl with leaf flange on domed foot; leaf-capped, wrapped, and mounted high-looping side handles. Chased leafing-scroll border with pendant flowers. Mouth rim wavy with applied leaves. Foot rim has applied swags and leaves. Gilded inside and out. Turn-of-the-century sumptuousness. Fully marked including maker’s stamp, pattern no. 14368B and director’s letter C (1902-7) and volume (7 1/2 pts). Very...

Large Japanese Meiji silver chalice, ca 1890. Oval bowl with irregular rim on tall cylindrical shaft flowing into raised and scalloped foot. Spout hammered ground. Double walled. Applied iris and chrysanthemum flowers and blossoming branches. Wire stem with flower head and bud wrapped around shaft. Mount Fuji-form mono plate (vacant). No cliché left behind. A wonderful ceremonial vessel for the advanced export market. Japanese marks and “Kuhn & Komor / Sterling”. Kuhn & Komor was a Hungari...

German 800 silver figural bird bowl, ca 1910. A big beautiful swan with graceful downturned neck terminating in closed and tapering bill. Fan-shaped tail and hinged wings ready to spread for taking flight if the party chat gets too dull. Finely chased and engraved feathering from dense and imbricated to fluffy and plumy, and tucked-up taloned and webbed feet. Capacious hollow body for holding treats or flowers. Marks include maker’s (Friedrich Reusswig) and Munich retailer’s stamp (Rosenau) ...

Belle Epoque Rococo 950 silver jardiniere centerpiece, ca 1900. Bombe oval bowl with wide and tapering rim. Embossed twisted fluting and applied round frames (vacant) with scallop shell crown supported by winged cherubs. Elaborate end handles, each with cast figure of lunging cherub, holding drapery in one hand and flowers in the other, between leaf-wrapped double-scrolls. Four leaf-mounted scroll supports. A sumptuous homage to the 18th century. Detachable brass liner. Fully marked including Mi...

Market-fresh Japonesque mixed metal and sterling silver water pitcher. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1879. Gently curved bowl and inset undulating rim with wide lip spout and integral scroll handle with tendril mounts that wraparound mouth rim. Handle has lily pad “cap” with crouching figure of frog. Applied leaves with copper-inlaid veins with one overlapping bold and scrolling interlaced acid-etched monogram on neck. A solitary beetle meanders along near the bottom. Dense allover s...

This elegant work of Karatsu pottery has an unglazed foot, showing the rich ferrous clay from which it is constructed, and displays splashes of ferrous pigment on a backdrop of ashen glaze with a milky white overglaze. The triangular shape and large proportions make for a very distinctive work of e-Karatsu or “painted” Karatsu.

Like many pottery traditions in Japan, Karatsu takes its name from the city where it originated. As early as the 15th century, Korean potters...

Rare Chrysanthemum sterling silver soup tureen. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. Lobed and oval bowl with scalloped and turned down scalloped rim. Bracket end handles and four splayed volute supports. Cover double domed with bracket finial. Dense and textural cast ornament in form of alternating flower heads and leaves applied to rim and cover shoulder. With dense profusion of same applied to feet and wrapped and mounted to handles. A big, drool-inducing centerpiece made soon after this histor...

Belle Epoque Rococo soup tureen on stand. Made by Tetard Frères in Paris, ca 1910. Ovoid bowl with tapering sides and curved bottom with fluted and turned-down leaf handles. Sides have projecting volute scrolls inset with leaves. Leaves stippled and irregular. Sides have curvilinear panels applied with leaf and berry garlands with central branches forming wreaths. Raised oval foot. Cover domed and paneled with fluted top on which is mounted a cast finial in form of two embracing cherubs, their ...

George II sterling silver mug. Made by Samuel Welles in London in 1759. Baluster bowl with leaf-capped double-scroll handle. Raised foot with tooled leaf border. Chased and engraved bucolic scene with hounds racing through an orchard. A later Victorian homage to the tranquility of rural life. An even later engraved presentation in the frame formed by the leafing, overhanging trees: “Palm Beach Golf Club / Florida / State Championship / 1916 / First Prize / Runner Up / Won By”. No name follow...

Victorian sterling silver wine cooler. Deep ovoid bowl on raised foot. Leaf-capped dolphin scroll-bracket side handles. Bead-and-reel and leaf-and-dart borders. Chased frieze depicting garland-entwined, barefooted, long-tressed nymphs, their loose drapery suggestive of overflowing abundance. Fin-de-siecle Classicism for a new age.

This piece was two or three years old when it was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Fully marked including maker’s stamp, patte...

Pair of striking midcentury Classical coin silver ewers. Made by Gorham in Providence, ca 1860. Each: Ovoid bowl with helmet mouth and raised foot. On neck applied frieze with ring of Bacchic boys gripping drapery swags; below applied bead-and-reel border. High-rising handle with cast cupbearer mounted to volute terminal; bottom mount in form of male head in stylized leaf and scroll surround. On front engraved armorial in form of winged gryphon. Both have variant leaf-and-dart ornament. Not iden...

English Georgian sterling silver baby cup, 1837. Bowl has curved sides and scrolled foot rim with applied scallop shells and four leaf and shell supports; leaf-capped double-scroll handle. Gilt interior.

Chased and engraved scene of boy riding on the back of a rescue dog, who stands at the entrance to a monastic hostelry in the Swiss Alps. An iconic illustration of the perils of mountain travel that was reproduced in painting and sculpture. A lithograph after British artist TC Wilson depicting...

Victorian sterling silver baby cup. Made by Robert Harper in London in 1871. Baluster bowl on raised foot; wrapped and bracketed double-scroll handle with graduated beading. Chased and engraved scene from Robinson Crusoe: In the foreground stands the hero in the baggy garb of a marooned islander. He holds a long gun with more survival tools—including a hatchet—slipped under his belt. He points to a group of people in the distance. The beneficiary of his observation is Friday, the captive ind...

French Belle Epoque 950 silver tureen, ca 1910. Tapering oval curvilinear bowl on same raised foot with gadrooned rims. Leaf-mounted double c-scroll end handles. Raised cover. Restrained turn-of-the-century Classicism enlivened with a cast still life finial: A couple bird carcasses draped on top of a sweet bunny, with forelegs raised as if to hop away, and hindlegs limp and splayed now that hopping is no longer an option. An unsentimental depiction of the dinner’s ingredients with a bit of gr...