Private Inventory

Fabergé Sedan Chair

0

Important Fabergé miniature sedan chair in the Louis XV style, mounted with engraved three-color gold and enameled a translucent pink. The front, back, sides, and bottom of the chair are enameled on a ‘moiré guillochage’, the top panel in a circular and floral pattern, with mounts of carved green, red, and yellow gold. The windows are engraved rock crystal and the interior is lined with engraved mother-of-pearl.

By Fabergé, workmaster Henrik Wigström.
St. Petersburg, 1910.
Height: 3 in. (7.62 cm)  Width: 1 5/8 in. (4.13 cm) Length: 4 ½ in. (10.8 cm)

Sculpture of a seal carved in obsidian on a rock crystal base resembling ice

Fabergé Obsidian Sculpture of a Seal

0

Hardstone sculpture of a seal in obsidian on a rock crystal ice floe.

Fabergé, ca. 1900.
Height: 4-1/4 in.

Fabergé Silver and Sandstone Fish

0

Silver match holder with stone striker in the form of a fish, with cabochon moonstone eyes.

Fabergé, workmaster J. Rappoport,
St. Petersburg, ca. 1890.
Length: 6-1/2 in.

Close up view of Faberge jasper sculpture of a monkey with diamond eyes sitting on a gilded perch

Fabergé Monkey Sculpture

0

Carved jasper sculpture of a monkey on a silver gilt perch with nephrite base, with rose diamond eyes.

Fabergé, workmaster M. Perchin,
St. Petersburg, ca. 1900.
Height: 3-7/8 in.

Original hollywood case stamped “St. Petersburg/Moscow.”

Illustrated: A. K. Snowman, Carl Fabergé: Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia, New York, 1979, pg. 143.

Fabergé carved obsidian sculpture of a hippo with ruby eyes, facing right

Fabergé Hippo Sculpture

0

Carved obsidian sculpture of a hippopotamus.
Fabergé, ca. 1900.
Length: 1-3/4 in.

 

Porcelain snuffbox with cover open to reveal interior portrait of Frederick the Great

18th Century Porcelain Snuffbox

0

Porcelain snuffbox featuring a portrait of Frederick the Great (1712-1786 [R. 1740-1786]) decorated with scenes after Boucher, and in a varicolored gold mount echoing the borders of the scenes.

The inside of the cover depicts Frederick wearing the orange belt of the Order of the Black Eagle with a pen, inkwell, and book to his left.

The decoration and portrait are possibly by Isaak Jakob Clauce (1728-1803?), and the portrait is after one by C. A. P. Van Loo (1719-95), Court Painter to Frederick the Great until 1769.

Berlin, ca. 1770.
3-3/8 x 2-5/8 x 1-3/4 in.

Porcelain snuffbox with cover open to reveal interior portrait of Frederick the GreatPorcelain snuffbox illustrated closedSide view of porcelain snuffboxOther side view of porcelain snuffboxBack view of porcelain snuffboxBottom view of porcelain snuffbox

ALVR catalog on pink background

ALVR’s 2020 Catalog

0

Our 2020 holiday catalog is now hot off the press! If you would like to receive a copy please email us with your name and mailing address at alvr@alvr.com. You can also sign up for our mailing list.

Antique Russian Mantel Clock

Saturday May 16th: our final weekend hours until the fall

0

Saturday, May 16, 2015, will be our final Saturday until the fall.  Summer hours begin from May 23. 

Or click here for our Hours!

October 18 – Linking Past and Present

0

Four Vices CufflinksUtilitarian and decorative, cufflinks have an interesting background. For much of history men’s shirt cuffs were hidden beneath outer garments, as their exposure was considered indecent. This began to change in the sixteenth-century when ruffles, the antecedent to the modern cuff, appeared on men’s dress. In the following centuries men began to adorn their wristbands with buttons, but it was the starched cuffs of the mid-nineteenth-century that necessitated an easier fastening solution, heralding the era of the cufflink. In fact, shirts with attached buttons were fairly uncommon, ensuring the widespread use of this accessory

Common among the middle and upper classes from this point onward, cufflinks were a welcome addition to the Victorian gentleman’s rather limited repertoire for sartorial expression. A range of whimsy in cufflink designs allowed a man to show a bit of his personality through common themes like playing cards and sports.

In the mid-nineteenth-century guide The Gentleman’s Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness, author Cecil B. Hartley makes the following recommendation concerning jewelry:

“Let it be distinguished rather by its curiosity than its brilliance. An antique or bit of old jewelry possesses more interest, particularly if you are able to tell its history, than the most splendid production of the goldsmith’s shop.”

Antique cufflinks provide the gentleman of today with both curiosity and brilliance to enhance his wardrobe, and perhaps, more importantly, a story on his sleeve.

Ford Charm Bracelet

October 11 – Employee Recognition Jewelry

0

This bracelet features five gold and enamel charms depicting various Ford motorcars, the reverse engraved with each model’s name, dates, and production numbers. The link bracelet is by Tiffany & Co. and the charms are by O. C. Tanner, a Salt Lake City firm established in the 1920s.

While a student at the University of Utah Obert C. Tanner began selling high school and Mormon seminary class pins, soon expanding to include high school awards and club pins. In 1945, the company branched out to include employee recognition awards, a novel idea at the time. Tanner managed to persuade corporate executives to see the benefits of such awards, arguing that ‘recognizing and motivating employees with beautiful, quality emblems would promote better employer/employee relations.’

We have yet to encounter similar bracelets and welcome any commentary. Have you seen anything like it before?

Kvasniki

October 4 – Kvas: Drink of the People

0

Kvas, a mildly alcoholic drink made from bread, has a long history of being a drink of the common people. The recipe involved soaking leftover dark bread in hot water and left to ferment for a few hours, adding honey, fruit, or sugar for sweetener as desired. Kvas was cheap to make and the yeast provided nutritional benefits to an otherwise limited diet, so becoming a staple for the Russian peasantry.

In the 19th century it became more popular than in earlier times, even enjoyed by the nobility on occassion. The degree of ornament applied to these kvasniki, pitchers for kvas, hints at the newly elevated status of the beverage. Of the askos form, modeled after ancient Greek goat-skin containers, they recall a renewed interest in classical art. In the second half of the nineteenth-century, applied decorations like flowers or bright red coral, as seen here, became fashionable. These decorative yet functional vessels attest to how a simple beverage transcended class boundaries, to the extent that the Russians, in the words of Pushkin, “like fresh air they loves kvass”.

Gold Rush Buckles

September 27 – California Gold Rush Buckles

0

Remnants of the golden dream, these buckles of California gold commemorate the state officially joining the Union in 1850. The design includes imagery from the California coat of arms. On the left, the goddess Minerva sits with a grizzly bear at her feet, referencing how California, too, came fully formed, having no territorial probation.

In an 1854 history of the state, one author notes how “the plain traveller [sic] from the east will notice the profusion of rich jewelry worn here by every class, and by both sexes.” Naturally, the adventurers headed west to seek their fortunes included jewelers. Through the jewelry companies they formed they aspired to deflect attention from the jewelry centers of the east and provide the entire Pacific coast with jewelry from San Francisco.

It was not uncommon for the forty-niners to send relics of their labor to loved ones left behind. Those with the tools and time fashioned nuggets into rings, crosses, and other pieces of adornment. Others sent small amounts of gold for family members to have made into wearable relics by their local jeweler.

An assortment of jewelry also catered to tourists encouraged to take away natural specimens as souvenirs. California jewelers met the demand with a variety of trinkets including combs, brooches, and rings, which became quite popular in the early 1850s. Much of these mementos proudly displayed clusters of nuggets and incorporated gold quartz into the design. These buckles are a bit unusual in their apparent break from tradition. Collectors are sure to be struck by their historic and aesthetic value, ready to exclaim, ‘eureka!’