Tag archive
Rococo
Posts tagged Rococo from the RareVictorian furniture archive.
Leveraging Newfound Galusha Reference Images
For those of you interested in the Rococo Revival furniture of Elijah Galusha, you may remember from this post that I had isolated a pattern that I had seen on several pieces at the Renssalaer Historical Society in Troy,
Did Henkels Produce Laminated Furniture?
Some text accompanying a recent auction ad caught my eye that had made reference to a laminated Rosewood parlor set that would be part of the upcoming sale. I had seen the pattern many times before (as any a long-time Vi
Elijah Galusha Rococo Revival Sideboard
Continuing with my series of photos taken at the Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, NY, I present several of a sideboard by Elijah Galusha made in the Rococo style. Make note of the mirror-image carved foliage
Wareroom Pieces of Prudent Mallard Sell at New Orleans Auction Galleries
NEW ORLEANS – October 10 and 11 found New Orleans Auction Galleries, Inc. in full fall swing offering more than 1,200 important lots including some fabulous Victorian items. Of most interest was an elegant mid-19th cen
Grand View And Jenack Auctions Results
Grand View Antiques & Auctions presented a wonderful collection of more than 400 period and Victorian items from estates in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania at their September 12 sale held at the Nor
A Real Galusha In Our Midst
It's not as frequent as Belter, Meeks, Horner, Hunzinger, and the other usual Victorian-era furniture makers, but it isn't unusual to see furniture somewhat liberally attributed to Elijah Galusha. Galusha was a cabinetma
Klauder And Deginter, Philadelphia Furniture Makers
Flomaton Antique Auction has suspended it's monthly auctions indefinitely, but that hasn't stopped Nevin Heller from bringing quality antiques to the world. I was perusing his antique site, "Circa 19th Century" (a busine
Gold Gilt Belter Furniture
I recently ran across this four-piece set of John Henry Belter Rosalie chairs online and asked the owner if I could post the image here. What struck me about this set is that the crests are gold-gilt. I have never run ac
The Wild Side Of John Henry Belter
I hadn't been paying attention. It took a couple years into my Victorian furniture "mindshift" for me to notice that some of the attributed John Henry Belter chairs had lions carved into the arms. I had probably seen hun
Not A Belter Work/Sewing Table
I received a note from Joan Bogart about the table that was profiled in a few previous posts. It was documented in the book, "The Furniture of John Henry Belter and the Rococo Revival" on page 83. Joan feels that the tab
Don’t Believe All That You Read, Part III
I'd like to get back to the series of posts on issues with using furniture books, catalogs, and ads as proof-positive sources for furniture maker attributions (Trade Catalogs Can Be Misleading; Don’t Believe All That Y
Victorian Transitional Sidechair - Gothic Revival Meets Rococo Revival
Sometimes in the Victorian era of furniture making, you can see the confluence of two styles in one piece simultaneously as you can see with this sidechair to the right. Both Gothic Revival (spires, arches, crockets) and
Stubby Finds a Home
Are there any independent film producers out there? I have a new movie title for you to produce, "Stubby Finds a Home". Probably more of a Disney flick than a Tom Cruise action flick. The new owner of the cut-down Rococo
Just Call Me Stubby
I love how the seller of this cut-down Rococo parlor table puts it in the listing: This WAS once a magnificent Victorian rosewood center table with turtle marble top. Somewhere down the line a long time ago, some rocket
Rosewood Rococo Revival Sofa With Carved Bird's Nest
I have a friend who can't pass up taking in needy animals (strays) which I can sympathize with and admire. I think she has about 11 cats by now? My mother has a more modest group of 3 stray cats in residence. I have a si
September 13th Grand View Auction Victorian Furniture Overview
Grand View will have a little of everything Victorian in this upcoming sale on Saturday. The bed above will be up for sale and they are attributing it to Alexander Roux. I would be happy to pay within the expected range
Flomaton Auction August 29th
The Flomaton sale snuck up on me today since it isn't being conducted with an online Ebay bidding capability. There are several Victorian items up for bid including a few Belter chairs and the bed above, whose provenance
This Sofa Is Flipping Us The "Bird" (Pattern)
When speaking of John Henry Belter and J & JW Meeks furniture, there are several "patterns" that were typically made by the makers as original designs or commissions for wealthy clients and subsequently produced agai
J. H. Belter or Meeks Rococo Sofa at James D. Julia
The sofa depicted above is coming up during James D. Julia's "Spectacular Maine Auction" on August 26th. I'll be profiling more of the delectable Victorian pieces in future posts as we near the sale, but let's talk about
Nearly Identical Pair Of Rococo Bedsteads
If you've ever wanted a pair of Rococo style Victorian beds, QUEEN size no less, then this is your chance. There are minor differences in the carvings, but you can see that they appear to have come from the same shop, po
Video - Antique Rococo Revival Chair Crest Repair
Some good friends of mine asked for a recommendation on a repair shop and I mentioned to them that Rose Valley Restorations does good work for me, so they brought the chair to me to take in to John Hutchinson. This will
Solid Rosewood Rococo Side Chairs ... from Baltimore
I put a modest absentee bid on a pair of chairs coming up at auction. I knew from looking at the photo above that they were obviously Rococo with a rose on the crest and were pierce-carved. I wanted to go look at them in
Unusual Marble Top Rococo Table
I thought I'd share this somewhat unusual Rococo marble-top center table that I recently had the opportunity to purchase, which I didn't, due to the price being too high for today's market. The overall form is a round ce
Book Review: Rococo - The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008
I picked up a copy of Rococo The Continuing Curve and thought I'd pass on some thoughts about it, which you should realize come from the mind of an antique furniture collector who only dabbles very slightly (currently) i
Antiques Hit Hard Across The Board - Almost
As regular visitors to this site are aware, I've been watching the health of the Victorian antique market recently for concrete examples of this trend and I thought I'd take another quick glance at some fresh auction res
Another George Henkels Conundrum
I was watching this chair during the Neal Auction sale and was very interested in the notation that was added to the catalog and the lot detail on the Neal website that didn't make it into the Ebay text. I have provided
J & JW Meeks Laminated Rosewood Marble Top Table
Ferrell Auction Co. is selling the above pierce-carved, signed, J & JW Meeks Rococo parlor table. We can date the table to 1836-1855 due to the 14 Vesey St. address included in the stamp. There is a wide range of pri
Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008
Quick note to mention that Sunday will be the last day for the Exhibition at the National Design Museum titled, Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008. Sure to be some John Henry Belter pieces among others. Has anyone s
Side Chair Manufactured by George Henkels?
It always gives me great pleasure to nail down a maker of a piece of furniture that we often see being sold as "attributed to" and be able to turn that into a definite "made by". No further need to attribute this chair t
The Victorian Humidor Project
Everyone needs at least one vice in their life to make things interesting and smoking cigars is one of mine. So what type of humidor would a Victorian Antique collector have? An antique quartersawn Oak humidor with tin l
John Henry Belter Also Worked In Oak
This Oak armchair's side chair equivalent is featured in the John Henry Belter book in figure 23. This book is not directly attributing it to Belter in the caption but it seems to lay out the foundation by which this att
George J. Henkels Medallion Back Rococo Sofa
Just a quick note to point out that a familiar George Henkels-attributed sofa form popped up for sale on Ebay. There is a little mystery surrounding this particular sofa design. The book that I recently purchased, Victor
Chair Mystery Solved - Charles Klein
If you remember this post here, you would recall that I lose sleep over Victorian furniture attributions. Not really, but close. I just hate to see the same pieces over and over again show up in auctions and on Ebay, fir
John Henry Belter "Tuthill King" Pattern Recamier
I don't know about you, but there are so many bunches of grapes on this Recamier (or is it a meridienne?) that it makes me feel like I'm in a vineyard. This is an early John Henry Belter Recamier as evidenced by the appl
Rosewood Mitchell & Rammelsberg Etagere
You'd think I was on the Neal Auction payroll by the amount of furniture I've been profiling by them (I'm not), but as usual, their upcoming sale has a lot that Rare Victorian readers would be interested in owning, budge
Egyptian Revival Parcel-Ebonized Rosewood Chair
You know I've been reading too many auction listings when fancy-schmancy decorative arts nomenclature like "parcel", meaning partial, ends up in my blog post title. I can't believe it popped into my head. Anyhow, in case
Another Early John Henry Belter Chair?
Charles, AKA "Peakangus" in the forum, sent me these photos of a Rococo chair that he owns that is possibly a Belter piece. A few characteristics that when combined point to it being by JH Belter: Hollow brass casters La
Early John Henry Belter Applied Crest Chair
This chair sold yesterday and I kinda wish I had bid on it. Those of you who have been in the Victorian Furniture world for longer than I may have run across this form before, but I have not. I believe that the seller co
Questionable Antique Descriptions
I thought that I'd share a personal experience of an example of the problem with online antique descriptions. This scenario happens to involve a dealer, but I won't isolate dealers as the only individuals capable of misl
Hemingway Home Antique Furnishings
During my recent trip to Key West I toured the home of Ernest Hemingway, which was built in 1851 by Asa Tift. Tift was a salvage wrecker, meaning that he made a living recovering the crew, ships, and cargo when approachi
Alexander Roux Pietra Dure Table
Also commonly seen as Pietra Dura, Pietra Dure is the technique of using precision cut, highly polished rocks to create a painting in stone. I've never seen this technique used by the "big names" in Victorian furniture b
Did George J. Henkels Make This Chair?
I am unsure as to whether this chair was produced by George Henkels as the seller prescribes. I have profiled this identical form of chair from another seller previously and now that I have seen a few of them, I'd like t
Splitting of Sets - Does it Bother You Too?
Does it bother anyone other than me that auction houses (and dealers) take parlor sets that have been together for 150 years and split them up to maximize the total sale? This particular set is a John Henry Belter "Fount
JHB Chairs
A recent email from a site visitor had me thinking about the fact that most of the famous cabinet makers of their time were at one time not so famous. They had to have an apprentice period in their earlier years and they
A Bevy of Belters
A bunch of John Henry Belter's simpler designs are coming up for auction from Flomaton and Thomaston. I've provided a quick pick list below. There are a few scroll pattern chairs and sofa, a pair of "Rosalie" chairs, and
Charles Boudoine (not Belter) Armchair
Up for Auction is a very nice Rococo Rosewood armchair I will attribute to Charles Boudoine, and I believe incorrectly marked as John Henry Belter for it's auction. In looking at the listing, the "earlobe" carving on the
Galusha Rococo Revival Side Chair
If you're a fan of John Henry Belter, Alexander Roux and J & JW Meeks pieces and haven't heard of Galusha, you should add that name to your shopping list. While his pieces weren't quite as over-the-top carved as Belt
Five John Henry Belter "Henry Clay" pattern chairs
Here's a great opportunity to grab five matching Belter chairs at once for that huge parlor that you have to fill. Only a few more days left on this sale (May 5th ending) so bid soon if you are interested. You can see th
Belter Bonanza
If you are a fan of Belter furniture, there are 12 excellent lots for sale right now which are not being caught by my link on this page to Belter pieces for sale. They are listed as "JH Belter" vs. my usual search for "J
Meeks "Hartford" Sofa
Sorry the blog has been quiet since the 9th but I've been buried in business meetings this week and I finally have a few moments to look for some great Victorian furniture.This particular sale featuring this Meeks sofa i
Rosewood Parlor Table attr. Meeks
Not sure if this is truly a Meeks table as the seller attributes it to. I could not find any table in my reference books that have a similar stretcher basket of nuts and leaves nor have the mini-urns. If I were to buy a
John Henry Belter "Rosalie" Parlor Chairs
Here's a beautiful Rosalie-related set of Belter chairs, including the arm chair and 3 side chairs. It appears that this is a Rosalie variation "with grapes". All have reasonably nice matching fabric. It's hard to see if
7-piece John Henry Belter Rosalie with Grapes Parlor Set
It's not often that you see a 7-piece set of Belter furniture come up for sale together. This is Belter's Rosalie with Grapes pattern, circa 1850, consisting of a sofa, gentleman's arm chair, meridienne and four side cha
John Henry Belter Slipper Chair
Up for bidding is a Rosewood pierced slipper chair by John Henry Belter. Chairs of identical overall form with variations in the carved detail can be seen in both "The Furniture of John Henry Belter and the Rococo Reviva
John Henry Belter Rosalie Pattern Sofa
I have never seen this from Belter before - a solid laminated back to the sofa - all rosewood. The pattern is Rosalie (no grapes) Circa 1850. Dimensions 39"h x 82"l x 32"d. Bidding starts at $3,000 and expected range is
Pair of John Henry Belter Rosalie Armchairs
I'm not partial to the yellow fabric but here's a nice pair of Belter Rosalie pattern armchairs with floral and fruit carved frames and molded cabriole arms and legs. Bidding will start at $2,000 with expected range to b
John Henry Belter Armchair Needs a Home
Excuse the humor in the title but since I usually post about extravagant high-end furniture in phenomenal condition, I thought I'd profile a famous-maker piece in need of some TLC. In this case we have a laminated Belter
John Henry Belter Child's Chair
So what does the consummate Belter collector acquire when they thought they had everything covered? Why, a child's chair of course! This laminated rosewood chair has an amazing 28 1/2" height and a diminutive 11" seat he
John Henry Belter "Fountain Elms" Pattern Side Chair
Here is a beautiful rosewood John Henry Belter "Fountain Elms" pattern side chair up for auction for the next few days. I would have blogged about this chair earlier but the pictures on the listing are very dark and don'
Charles A. Boudoine Laminated Rosewood Sofa ca. 1855
I have a recently acquired habit of collecting sofas. I have more sofas than I have space to put them in. A recently purchased Jelliff sits in my garage while a Belter scroll sofa sits at a right angle to a French rococo
John Henry Belter Henry Clay Reference Set Sale Results
In January we profiled the upcoming sale of 7 pieces from the reference set for John Henry Belter's "Henry Clay" pattern here . The sale completed today with hammer prices far exceeding the expected ranges in all cases.
Belter Parlor Furniture - Reference Set for the "Henry Clay" Pattern
Up for auction from St. Charles Galleries, Inc. are 7 pieces of John Henry Belter's "Henry Clay" pattern parlor furniture. The exciting part of this sale is that these pieces are being deaccessioned from "Ashland," The E
Rosewood Rococo Sofa, But Not Belter
Pictured to the left is a very nice Rococo sofa made in the 1850-1860 time period. Since this particular sofa is solid rosewood, it is of a quality level that is above much of the furniture of the time, but it is not a B