The writer W.H. Valentine once wrote “There is nothing more fascinating than collecting coins, all history is summed up in them…they are the story of humanity.” The story of humanity: for many, this is the romance of antique coins–unlike many other relics of the past, ancient coins can pass through so many hands, great and […]
Legend has it the ruby is lit by an inner flame that can’t be extinguished. According to ancient Asian lore, the ruby contained the “spark of life,” and was known as “the lamp stone”–an Emperor of China was even said to have lit his chamber with a ruby that “burned as bright as day.” We […]
Penguin cocktail shaker with original silver plate. American, ca. 1928-1932. Height: 12″ Sooky Goodfriend Gallery A couple of weeks ago, we covered A Global Collection of Vintage & Antique Chairs for summer home decor. With hot weather and Fourth Of July weekend upon us, our Antique Summer profile series continues with a collection of cool […]
Summer is in full swing and we have many new vintage & antique finds for summer entertaining and home redecorating. This month, we feature some of our galleries’ most playful objects for summer, including a vintage penguin cocktail shaker and a charming gold terrier pin. See more here. The Manhattan Art & Antiques Center is […]
This beautiful weather is making us think of leisurely strolls and sun-drenched afternoons, and since nobody painted languid contentment quite like the 19th century Italian painter, Francesco Beda (1840-1900), we thought we’d highlight this painting of his in our New Vintage & Antique Finds series. This important oil on canvas entitled “A Royal Party on […]
The social circles of French artistic contemporaries, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) and Jean Lurcat (1892-1966) overlapped at the glittering edges–both knew Pablo Picasso, another artist who painted ceramic plates in addition to participating in other innumerable artistic ventures in that heyday of Bohemian creativity in early 20th century Paris. Despite their differences, the spirit of their […]
As we were browsing the online catalog for our post, A Global Collection of Antique Chairs, we came across this serendipitous surprise from Hemingway African Gallery. With World Cup 2014 fever sweeping the globe, it feels only right to profile this relic of both the near and distant past. Notably the first World Cup hosted […]
Thonet child’s chair, beechwood and cane, Vienna, circa 1900. Width: 15-1/2″ Depth: 18″ Height: 27″ Burke’s Antiques. With summer home decoration in full swing, we thought we’d take a look at our galleries’ fantastic collection of antique and vintage seating furniture. Taken together, it’s a fascinating picture of the opulent, playful, daring ways to […]
Airplane Figure with Six Places for Cigars, silverplate, America, 1960s. 14″ x 8″ Sooky Goodfriend Gallery. Father’s Day is coming up Sunday, June 15, but it’s hard to deny that men get the short end of the stick when it comes to parental celebrations. Following Mother’s Day both in the calendar year and in its […]
This June, Kaminski Auctions, Gallery #28 at The Manhattan Art & Antique Center, presents a broad selection of impressive items, from important paintings, to fine estate jewelry, a large collection of chintz, and collectable dolls at their Massachusetts location. One of the stars of the auction is sure to be A. T. Hibbard’s painting “Down […]