Beautify Your Boudoir. . .

. . . with this stunning sterling silver vanity set enameled in glowing guilloché.  This five-piece vanity set would look lovely on any dressing table.

The translucent aqua enamel is applied over a machined background, a technique known as guilloché, which gives the design depth and makes it shimmer. Guilloché enamel was popularized by renown Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé in the 1880s. 

This substantial set is clearly marked "Sterling" and with a model number. Although the maker's mark is blurred, it appears to belong to the Thomas Company, founded in Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1920. Overall the set is in wonderful condition considering its age and fragility. There is some slight chipping on the shoehorn and the mirror needs to be replaced (something that could be custom cut by a glass company), but the set displays beautifully as is.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16378-225

 

Cool Caddy-o, Daddy-o

The wonderful retro bar caddy includes eight frosted glasses and matching ice bucket in a handy chrome handled rack, all accented with shiny silvery leaves.

This Silver Leaf pattern was produced from 1953 through 1978 by Libbey, Inc.  The pattern was popular, in part because Libbey cleverly promoted it by offering free juice glasses in boxes of Silver Dust and Duz detergent. This vintage barware is so cool, you almost don't need to fill that ice bucket!

The pieces are marked with Libbey's cursive capital "L." The company was first founded in 1818 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the New England Glass Company.  In 1888, the company relocated to Toledo, Ohio, and was renamed Libbey Glass Company in 1892. Throughout its long history, this company has been renown for its many innovations in glass manufacturing as well as its contemporary creative designs. 

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16096-724

Tantalizing Tantalus

This extraordinary antique liquor or wine caddy is also known as a tantalus. In Greek mythology, Tantalus was an evil king who was punished by the gods by being forced to stand for eternity in a pool of water beneath the boughs of a tree laden with ripe fruit; however, if he bent down to drink, the water sank beneath the ground, and if he reached up to pluck a piece of fruit, the boughs lifted just out of his reach. The word "tantalize" is derived from this legend. The liquor tantalus got its name because originally there was a bar to lock the decanters in place, keeping thirsty servants and children from helping themselves to its tantalizing contents. However, the term came to be applied to any sort of liquor caddy or decanter stand that offered a variety of libations. This superb example features four graceful glass decanters set into an elaborate silver plated frame with a handy center handle. This lovely liquor caddy is just want one needs to get into the holiday spirit (and spirits) in grand style.

The decanters are each etched with a delicate design.

Underneath, this stunning decanter stand is stamped with the anchor mark and initials "A." and "F" of the French manufacturer Armand Frenais. Founded in 1877, this company was a rival of the famed Christofle company. Frenais produced high-quality sterling and silver plate flatware, tableware, and decorative items with elegant designs that reflected the tastes of the time. Their products were highly sought after during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Frenais closed in 1927.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

8096-418

 

Pleased as Punch. . .

 . . . is what you might be when your admiring guests gather around this outstanding shimmering silver-plate punch bowl set from International Silver. Whether making merry for Christmas or toasting in the New Year, this set will ensure that you do it in grand style. The fifteen-piece set includes 12 cups, a matching ladle, and even a serving tray. 

All the pieces are deeply embossed with bunches of plump grapes peeking out from heavily-textured leaves. This is a set certainly suitable for your next bacchanal!

This impressive punch bowl set is by International Silver. Founded in 1898 in Connecticut, the company became one of the largest producers of flatware and tableware, through its high quality, contemporary designs, and clever advertising. For example, in the late 1930s, it sponsored a radio program entitled the "Silver Theater" that featured many of the top names in Hollywood and its print ads in popular magazines of the day featured many of these same famous actresses endorsing its products. The company closed its Connecticut plant in 1981 and liquidation was completed in 1983.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16376-6

Who Needs Five Golden Rings. . .

. . . when you can have an entire bracelet of them?

Of gleaming 18 karat gold, this breathtaking bracelet is woven of an assortment of intertwined rings. It is from the Danish jewelry firm, Halberstadt, founded in Copenhagen in 1846. The textured ring by the safety chain clasp carries a small silver-toned disk with this maker's mark. The company is know for its finely crafted high-end jewelry and creative designs. 

The clasp for the safety chain is stamped "750," the assay mark for 18 karat gold.

The bracelet is 9.5 inches long and weighs a substantial 73.3 grams It has a toggle closure as well as a safety chain. This would be a superb sparkling stocking stuffer for someone who has been very, very good  (or perhaps very, very bad. As sultry actress Mae West once purred, "When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better!")

 There will be a photograph of this beautiful bracelet kept in the display case, but you can request a private and personal viewing. The bracelet will come with a G.I.A. appraisal.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

Twinkling Tanzanite

If you want to bring some special sparkle to someone on your holiday shopping list, this gleaming gold ring set with a richly colored tanzanite is the perfect present. Or, if you are looking for a glittering gift for some lucky lady born in December, tanzanite was declared the December birthstone by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002. This ring would also add zing to any holiday outfit or New Year's ensemble.

The oval stone is set in 10 karat gold and framed by a sparkling halo. Tanzanite is variety of the mineral zoisite and is renown for its deep blue and violet coloring. Discovered in Tanzania in the 1960s, it was christened "tanzanite" by Tiffany and Company after the country in which it was discovered. Tanzanite is found only in a small area located in Tanzania.

 All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

10851-138

Fantastic Fossil Vase

This extra large vase is part of the fossil series created by Kjell Engman for the famed Swedish glassmaker Kosta Boda. The body of this unusual and artistic vase resembles mottled silvery gray stone.

A glass medallion with the frosted image of a trilobite is applied to the front, looking like a fossil embedded in rock. Trilobites were one of the earliest known groups of arthropods, first appearing 521 million years ago. They died out around 251.9 million years ago, leaving behind their fossilized exoskeletons.

Kosta Boda is famous for its fine glassworks and its creative avant-garde designs. Its history can be traced back to 1742, when a glassworks was founded in Kosta, Sweden. Although the company originally  made utilitarian glass, beginning in 1898, it began to hire its own glass designers. Kjell Engman is part of this tradition, joining Kosta Boda in 1978. He is one of Sweden’s leading glass artists and examples of his work are in the Swedish National Museum of Art and Design.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16049-398

Thrashing it Out

We get a lot of unique art in our trove, but this large stencil and acrylic work may be one of the most unusual. It is by Thrashbird, a Los Angeles-based street artist of unverified identity. He works in various mediums and is especially known for his stencils and posters. Thrashbird typically uses urban structures for his street art, such as billboards, walls, and abandoned buildings. His works satirize social media and selfie culture, consumerism, and society's obsession with technology. Thrashbird's most recognized image is a character entitled "The Clone," a silhouette of a slender figure, its face obscured by a hoodie, hunched over a cell phone and ignoring the world around it. He has been called one of the most exciting contemporary street artists to watch. His work has been included in street art auctions, including the 2016 Street Art and Contemporary Art sale at Julien's Auctions alongside works by Banksy.

The work is Thrashbird's interpretation of the cover of the May 1974 edition of Esquire magazine, which featured a Norman Rockwell inspired image of a young graffiti artist. The cover article, "The Faith of Graffiti," was written by Norman Mailer.

Thrashbird featured his version, this time painted on the side of a building, in his Instagram account. The artist wrote, "I have always loved the original image, to me it invokes feelings of nostalgia and wonderment of the time. I'm a great admirer of #normanrockwell as well and the image reminds me of his work."

On the back of the back of the work is a label authenticating the piece. The piece is described as "Aerosol, acrylic, & resin on wood," and was originally priced at $2,995.00. But our price is currently only $795.00!

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

12708-2851

Merry (Christmas)-Go-Round

This intricate example of German woodcraft is called a Christmas pyramid. Each of the graduated tiers is centered around a rotating axel, with a multi-bladed fan atop. When the candles are lit, the warm air causes the fan to rotate and the miniature figures turn as if on a merry-go-round. These pyramids, called "weihnachtspyramide," trace their origins to the Erzgebirge region of Germany, which has a long tradition of woodcarving, including the production of toys. Some historians think that the Christmas pyramid predates the Christmas tree. The ancestor of the Christmas pyramid was the 18th century lichtergestelle ("light stand"), constructed of four poles and decorated with evergreen boughs, which were tied together at the top, and lit with candles. As the lichtergestelle was eventually replaced with the Christmas tree, Erzgebirge artisans refined the lichtergestelle, crafting it from wood, decorating it with tiny scenes, and adding a spinning motion.

The Christmas pyramid incorporates scenes from the nativity. On the top tier, angels herald the birth of the Christ child.

On the next tier, the first of the rotating levels, an angel appears to the shepherds watching their flocks, One kneels in awe while the his fellow shepherd follows the sheep.

The third tier depicts the shepherds journeying with their flocks.

The bottom tier depicts the arrival of the Magi, bearing gifts as they circle Mary, Joseph, and the baby in the manger.

In Germany, outdoor Christmas markets may feature a giant Christmas pyramid, but you don't have to travel all the way to Germany to see one. Every year, Fredericksburg, Texas displays a 26-foot high version during the holiday season.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

230-9787

 

A Kiss on the Hand. . . .

May be quite continental,

But diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949)

And ladies, your new best friend is waiting for you at Next-to-New! The antique Edwardian ring has been tested as 14 carat white gold (shout out to Ricky Wilson Jewelers!) and is set with a sparkling white diamond. 

This pretty petite ring has a delicately detailed openwork shank.

For its dainty size, this elegant antique ring makes a substantial statement. 

Diamonds

Diamonds

I don't mean rhinestones

But diamonds are a girl's best 

Best friend!

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

12482-1582

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. . . .

"Sea-Fever," John Masefield, 1902

Looking at this extraordinary painting portraying a sun-lit harbor with ships sitting serenely under a misty sky would give any viewer the desire to go down to the seas.

Entitled "Harbor, San Pedro, N.M.," it was painted by Ovanes Berberian (the plaque appears to have misspelled his name!). Born in Russian Armenia in 1951, Berberian first received his art education under his father, who was a member of the Armenian Artists' Society, as well as a theatrical set designer and college art professor. In 1977, following his father's death, Berberian emigrated to the United States. He was awarded a scholarship in 1981 to study with master painter and noted teacher Sergei Bongart. Berberiam became a nationally renown plain aide (open air) artist, as well as a respected teacher and mentor to younger artists. He founded the Berberian School of Fine Art in Idaho, where he gives regular workshops. Known for his confident and bold impressionistic brushstrokes and harmonious use of jewel-like colors, his works are found in numerous public and private collections, including The Forsthye Group, Jack Nicholas, and Palm Springs designer Steve Chase.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16263-2

 

Next to Nouveau

This beautiful bronze-colored vase features two graceful art nouveau nymphs in flowing robes and streaming tresses. Art nouveau was an artistic movement from the 1890s through 1910s that looked to nature for inspiration and is exemplified by undulating and sinuous lines, giving the feeling of movement. Art nouveau was a reaction against staid academic art and the overdone and eclectic Victorian decor that jumbled together influences from disparate cultures and eras, from Middle Eastern harems to Gothic cathedrals.

This antique artwork was created by the Judd Manufacturing Company in Wallingford, Connecticut. From the early 1910s the the late 1930s, the company produced a decorative line of fine-quality castings in bronze, brass, and iron, including book ends, doorstops, and vases. Of substantial weight, this piece may be bronze.

The piece originally had a glass insert for holding flowers.

 All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

3-11614

Sitting Pretty

This lovely lady seated in quiet contemplation is an original watercolor by Israeli artist Patricia Govezensky. She is best known for her stylized watercolor studies of elegant women in private repose against a background of vivid colors.

The painting is signed in the lower righthand corner. Govezensky was born in Tel Aviv in 1961 and raised in Jaffa, Israel. She took courses sponsored by the Tel Aviv Museum in lithography, engraving, photography and sculpture and graduated from the Avni Institute and the Art Academy at Ramat Hasharon, two of the most highly regarded art academies in Israel. Her works have been exhibited not only in Israel, but at expositions and galleries throughout the United States, and internationally in Hong Kong and Japan. 

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

16263-3

 

Just Dishy!

Inside this box featuring a photograph of two charming children from yesteryear playing tea party . . .

. . . .is a complete set of darling diminutive dishes from the Akro Agate Company. This type of vintage opaque vintage glass colored in streaks or swirls is known as slag glass by collectors. Here the set is swirled with vivid jade green and white. 

Founded in 1910 in Akron, Ohio, the Akro Agate Company originally repackaged marbles from another firm, but soon began manufacturing its own marbles. It moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1914, making marbles, caster balls, and glass balls used in lithography. By improving its machinery and manufacturing process, Akro became the major manufacturer of marbles in the world. In the 1930s, Akro expanded into other lines, introducing colorful glass products for the home, including ashtrays, cold cream jars, toothpick holders, trinket dishes, vases, and powder boxes. During WWII, when Japanese toy exports to the United States were cut off, Akro began producing children's dish sets in a wide variety of colors and patterns. However, after the war, Akro was unable to compete with the inexpensive plastic toys entering the market; in 1949, the company stopped production, although it continued to sell off its remaining inventory, with a final auction taking place April 24, 1951.

All posted items are of sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly

16346-54

Pulling Out All the Stops

"To pull out all the stops" means to use all the resources at one's disposal to achieve a goal. And you might want to start pulling out those stops to obtain this magnificent antique oak organ with its accompanying stool. In fact this idiom originally refers to the physical stop knobs of a pipe organ.

This elegant organ is just what you might need if you want to re-enact your own version of "Phantom of the Opera" or get a Handel on your Bach (both George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach composed music for the organ). It is of vividly striped "tiger oak," a process of milling that produced oak patterned like a tiger's pelt. Although popular from the 1800s through the early 1900s, furniture manufacturers stopped using tiger oak because the milling process wasted a lot of valuable oak and was no longer economical. 

The organ proudly displays two brass plaques of the  Imperial Organ & Piano Company, Ltd., an English manufacturer established in 1902. It was known for its high quality instruments, which included upright and baby grand pianos and organs for both home and church use. 

If you are wondering where the foot pedals are. . . 

They are tucked behind a folding oak panel, which unlocks with a key (included!).

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

 9813-346