Three layer Eastlake-style picture frame. Outermost molding is yellow and black with etched decoration at corners. Middle layer is black/white/gray tortoise shell style. Liner is striped alternating between pale shiny gold and darker matte gold.
Dark alligatored surface contraction reveals lighter amber colored wood beneath. Porcelain buttons at intersections. Circa 1860s/70s.
Gilt gesso oval pair with rectangular picture rabbets. Circa 1860s.
An unusual, circa 1930s child’s chair, entirely cloaked in cigar-band decoupage. Having an overall amber hue developed through decades of mellowing, its maker worked with a surprisingly disciplined hand: the decoration is largely symmetrical, built from early cigar bands and a few thoughtfully placed outliers to keep the eye moving. Every surface is addressed—legs, stretchers, […]
Shot at, blown around and maybe even struck by lightning. A star-shaped folk art lightning-rod finial made from shaped and bent tinned sheet iron, its three flanges giving the form an unexpectedly sculptural presence. The star carries the scars of its long service—tears and punctures from some bored farmer’s target practice. Mounted on a simple, […]
A notably large antique alabaster bowl—easily the largest alabaster or marble bowl, salt, or compote I’ve handled. With no discernible seam, the vessel appears to have been turned from a single, substantial piece of stone. The walls are impressively thick, giving the bowl both heft and presence, and the alabaster shows the soft translucence and […]
Octagonal wood plant stand, old white paint over an earlier green layer… wear reveals both layers down to bare wood on the top. Edge molded octagonal top further embellished with applied moldings and above courses of heart and diamond cutouts and eight tall legs joined by arches. Early 20th century.
A handsome early- to mid-19th-century document box, painted entirely in carmine and framed in black with small corner lunettes. It retains its working lock and key and has a bale handle that appears to be an older replacement.
A bold, early 20th-century (likely Mennonite) “Double Irish Chain” patterned quilt. Pieced in red and now-faded green cottons against a black ground. Bordered in alternating red, green, and black, the pattern seems to float in the dark field. Hand-stitched. West Virginia origin.
A spherical terracotta finial so thickly layered with old paint that its surface now resembles the surface of the moon. The accumulation has created a crusted, almost geological texture—evidence of long exposure and many coats of protection and neglect. A quietly sculptural form, beautiful in its accidental transformation.