We found 228098 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 228098 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
228098 item(s)/page
Lot 772
A collection of sterling silver dress brooches to include a enamel pheasant brooch, Niello butterfly brooch, Celtic knot swirl brooch, gilt filigree flower brooch, leaf brooch, mother of pearl panel brooch along with a silver white metal marcasite art deco duet brooch. Highest measures 6 cm and widest measures 6.5 cm.
Lot 63
MARIA CALLAS ruby and diamond ring A ruby and diamond ring 18 carat gold, cabochon ruby, marquise and brilliant-cut diamonds ring head length 2.7 cm A ruby and diamond dress ring, the central oval cabochon ruby with marquise and brilliant-cut diamond tiered cluster surround to the plain hoop. PROVENANCE Important Jewellery, 11 Dec 1991, Christies, London, lot 63 private collection, Athens LITERATURE Important Jewellery, 11 Dec 1991, Christies, London, lot 63, illustrated Maria Callas was born Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos in New York City, on the 2nd of December 1923. She began classical piano lessons at the age of seven. As she was growing up she proved adept at singing, with dramatic flair, hence her mother encouraged her to pursue a vocal career. In 1937, when Callas was a teen, her parents separated leading her, her mother and her sister to move to Greece. In Athens, Callas studied vocals under the famed Elvira de Hidalgo. As a student, Callas made her stage debut in 1939 in a school production of Cavalleria Rusticana. For her dazzling performance in the role of Santuzza, she was honoured by the conservatory. In 1941, Callas made her professional debut with the Royal Opera of Athens in a modest role in Franz von Suppé's Boccaccio. Later that year, she was offered her first major role in Tosca. In the mid 1940s, she moved back to New York to spend time with her father and to look for work, however she encountered a number of rejections. She eventually moved to Verona, where she met rich industrialist Giovanni Meneghini. The two married in 1949. Callas's Italian opera debut took place at the Verona Arena in August 1947, in a performance of La Gioconda. Over the next few years, under the management of her husband, Callas continued to perform in Florence and Verona to critical acclaim. Though her voice captivated audiences, as her fame increased, Callas developed a reputation as a temperamental, demanding diva and was nicknamed The Tigress. In 1954, Callas made her American debut in Norma at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The performance was a triumph and was seen as a signature role. In 1956, she at last had the opportunity to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in her home city of New York. Callas's marriage had begun to deteriorate. Callas and Meneghini split at the end of the decade, during which time she was having an affair with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. During the 1960s, Maria Callas's formerly stellar singing voice was discernibly faltering. Her performances grew fewer and farther between, as a result of her frequent cancellations. Though she formally retired from the stage in the early '60s, Callas made a brief return to performing with the Metropolitan Opera mid-decade. Her final operatic performance was in Tosca at Covent Garden in London on July 5, 1965, attended by The Queen Mother Elizabeth. In 1969, she also appeared in the title role of the film Medea. In the early 1970s, Callas tried her hand at teaching. In '71 and '72, she conducted master classes at Juilliard in New York. On the 16th of September 1977, at the age of 55, Maria Callas died suddenly in her Paris home in what was believed to have been a heart attack.
Lot 186
REVERSE GLASS PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG WOMAN DRESSED AS A SHEPHERDESS BASED ON AN OIL PAINTING ATTRIBUTED TO GIUSEPPE CASTIGLIONE (1688-1766), QING DYNASTY depicting a young Chinese lady, possibly the Fragrant Concubine of Emperor Qianlong (Rong Fei), seated beneath a tree and clad in a Western dress, holding a staff in her left and a basket of flowers in her right hand, in later Rococo-style gilt wood frame 93x55cm (sight) Provenance: Private Scottish collection. For more information, please see lot 183. Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) and Chinese Reverse Glass Paintings The art of reverse glass painting flourished in China during the so-called 'Kang-Qian Golden Age', under the reign of the three successive generations of Qing Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. It is a vivid example of the active economic and cultural exchange between China and the West in the Qing Empire, as the techniques both for manufacturing the material - namely flat sheets of glass -, and for painting on the reverse side of these sheets originated in Europe, and was brought to China by Jesuit missionaries. Chinese craftsmen who learnt from the Jesuits quickly mastered the techniques, and by the late 17th century, workshops in Canton were already busy producing large quantities of reverse glass paintings for export to Europe. These paintings not only became prized possessions of wealthy European families, but their shimmering quality and aesthetic beauty also caught the interest of the Imperial Court. According to the Jesuit missionary, Joseph Marie Amiot, Emperor Qianlong became so fond of reverse glass paintings that he summoned Cantonese artists to Beijing to produce such paintings and also commissioned his two Jesuit court painters, Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining, 1688-1766) and Jean Denis Attiret (Wang Zhicheng, 1702-1768), to paint on glass (see Joseph Marie Amiot: Mémoires concernant l'histoire, les sciences, les arts, les mœurs, les usages, &c. des chinois). Born in Milan, Giuseppe Castiglione was sent to China by the Jesuit Mission in 1715 and subsequently served a total of fifty-one years as painter in the Imperial court, until his death. The three Emperors of the Golden Age were his patrons. Besides producing a great body of work himself, he also taught his Chinese counterparts the illusionistic devices of Western oil painting, such as linear perspective and chiaroscuro. Paintings by Castiglione and his students appear more three-dimensional and more realistic than any traditional Chinese painting, although, to cater to the taste of the Qianlong Emperor, who disliked strong light and shadow contrasts and thought of shadows as dirt, Castiglione softened his use of chiaroscuro, especially when it comes to the rendering of faces. Although it is a well-known fact that Castiglione was commissioned to produce reverse glass paintings, no surviving sample can be attributed to him beyond doubt, to the effect that no reverse glass painting has been included in his catalogue raisonné. The present lot is interesting due to its striking similarity to a surviving oil portrait attributed to Castiglione, possibly depicting the Fragrant Concubine of Emperor Qianlong (Rong Fei) (see Cécile Beurdeley & Michel Beurdeley: Giuseppe Castiglione: A Jesuit painter at the court of the Chinese emperors). Both the colour and the compositional schemes are identical, suggesting that the reverse glass version was based on the oil painting. Iconographically, the shepherdess as a symbol of innocence and benevolence is a persistent theme in the history of European painting, harking back to the depiction of the Virgin Mary as the Divine Shepherdess. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it became very popular and was emblematic of the European aristocrats' longing for Arcadia to represent young ladies as shepherdesses in a bucolic landscape, a longing which may or may not have been shared by Emperor Qianlong as he commissioned Castiglione to portray his favourite concubine.
Lot 131
A needlework seat panel, circa 1760 and later, depicting two figures in Asiatic dress, seated beneath a tree, with a parrot perched in it, framed by scroll and foliate motifs, approximately 54 x 59cm overall, together with another needlework seat panel, circa 1750 and later, the central reserve depicting stylised birds perched amongst the branches of a flowering tree, within a red strapwork border, approximately 61 x 71cm
Lot 47
A pair of Qianlong porcelain figures of court ladies , late 18th century, the white porcelain ground decorated with famille rose and blue flowers with gilded highlights throughout, the costumes with amber-coloured borders, the under-dress with a green lower fringe, the corset centred with gilded blue bow below a necklace of pearls and amber suspending a small cross, with restorations , 53.5cm high, 23cm wide 18???? ??????????
Lot 89
A Charles II embroidered beadwork panel, late 17th century , worked on white silk and depicting an unusual seated lady, parts worked in stump-work and wearing a colourful flowing dress, sitting between two trees in a landscape with water and flanked by a lion and a tiger, with flower sprigs, birds and insects underneath clouds in the sky and the beaming sun, retaining the original japanned frame , the panel 32cm high, 49cm wide, the frame 42cm high, 58cm wide
Lot 90
A needlework picture, late 17th century, depicting a central figure, possibly Flora, her hair finely worked with chenilled curls and with seed pearl head-piece, bracelets and necklace, her dress further adorned with appliqued needle-lace, surrounded by large flowers amongst which caterpillars, ladybirds and snails hide, in a modern gilt frame, 38cm high, 48cm wide
Lot 761
CONTINENTAL SCHOOL, c.1900, an oval portrait miniature of a young boy with curly hair, on ivory, 3" (7.3cm); together with another nineteenth century oval miniature portrait of a lady in black dress, wearing a pearl necklace, 2;5" (6cm); and one other oval miniature profile portrait of a lady, W.C. on card. (3)
Lot 406
A selection of Portrait Miniaturescomprising 'Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1743-1805), after Thomas Gainsborough, 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 in; together with four other portrait miniatures including a pair by a follower of Christian Richter; a portrait miniature depicting a gentleman in red military tunic ,English School c1810; and another portrait miniature depicting a Lady wearing a white ruff and red head-dress by another hand; five (5)Sold together with three autograph letters by Leopold of Saxe-Coburg at Claremont; William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, at Bagshot Park; and Louis-Philipp Duke of Orleans (later King of France)
Lot 407
ENGLISH SCHOOL CIRCA 1810. Portrait of G. McPherson, of the 97th Regimentquarter-length, wearing uniform,oval, 3 x 2in (7.6 x 5.1cm); and a portrait miniature of a Lady, circa 1835, quarter-length, wearing a blue lace trimmed dress, oval 2 1/4 x 1 3/4 in; and four other family miniatures. six (6)
Lot 485
BRITISH SCHOOL CIRCA 1720Portrait of Athelstan Owen of Rhiwsaeson, Montgomeryshire; and Ynys-Y-Maengwyn (1673-1731); and of his wife Anne Owen (1684-1760), both three quarter length, he wearing a long brown coat, she in a blue dress with blue wrap, with landscapes beyond,oil on canvas50 x 40 in; a pair (2)Provenance: The sitters' family, by descent
Lot 488
BRITISH SCHOOL, Circa 1740Portrait of a Girl, traditionally identified as Anne Owen , half-length, wearing a white dress and blue wrapin a painted ovaloil on canvas30 x 25in (76.3 x 63.5cm)Anne Owen (c.1718- 1767), was the younger daughter of Athelstan Owen of Ynys-y-Maengwyn.She married Pryce Maurice of Lloran, Llansilin.Provenance: The sitter's family, by descent
Lot 486
ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCIS MEHEUX (fl. late 17th/early 18 Century)Portrait of Anne Owen (Corbet) quarter-length, wearing a brown dress and red wrapin a painted oval30 x 25in (76.3 x 63.6cm); and a portrait of Rachel Corbet (b.1688) attributed to the same artist. two (2)Anne Owen (1684-1760) was the daughter of Vincent Corbet of Ynys-Y-Maengwyn, and wife of Aethelstan Owen of Rhiwsaeson and Ynys-Y-Maengwyn.The attribution is a traditional one. Few biographical details are known regarding Francis Meheux. He is said to have been born in Dover in 1644, and practised as a mezzotint engraver as well as an artistProvenance: The sitter's family,by descent
Loading...-
228098 item(s)/page