Furniture
Hickory Chair Company released a James River Plantation Collection line inspired by the 18th-century antiques found in homes along the Virginia James River plantation. This Pembroke side table pairs a rich mahogany finish with a sleek design. The table includes double drop leaf features that, when stabilized with swivel arms below, complete the oval top. The front legs brandish an inlaid patera design bordering the single bowed front drawer. Simple brass hull hardware reveals ‘Historical James River Plantation, Hickory Chair Company’ branded on the floor of the drawer.
This 19th-century dining table would have been used in elite settings, likely for large gatherings and dinner parties. Already a sprawling 84 inches in length, the table expands by two underlying leaflets to 156 inches. Two cranks hidden below the lip of the tabletop lock the leaflets in place or mobilize them to be pulled out. The heaviness of the table reinforces the idea of excess and bounty that would have been displayed on here. Ornate repetitive woodwork complements the weight of the piece yet while accentuating the wealth necessary to acquire it.
This side table's smooth upper surface caps a wealth of intricacy below. Starting with the band that foots the tabletop, shields, vases plush with foliage, and scrolling elements carved in high relief span the half-moon shape and give way to two supporting legs. The legs' alternate smooth, slender segments with globes carved with more high-relief detail. A sequence of ram faces protrudes from each of the upper globes with ribbons threading their horns. The lower globes are more subtle with sequences of four-leaf floral cameos.
This 19th century pedestal table is a beautiful combination of dark stained wood and glass and is accompanied by four chairs. The pedestal refers to the one "leg" in the center which holds the glass tabletop. The pedestal is comprised of a simple geometric base with a squarish form. As the eye moves up toward the center of the pedestal, one is greeted by an intricate carving of four lion heads enmeshed within a field of leaves. The top of the base is a small circular design echoed within the larger circular design of the glass tabletop.
The massive Baroque style sideboard is adorned with ornamental flourishes and whimsical creatures on the front side. The finish is dark in color and shines with an almost bronze quality. The sideboard contains two drawers and two cabinets separated by three columnal outcroppings.
Gabriella Polony Mountain's work includes four major themes. The first three themes are clearly recognizable as the Cosmos, Nature, and Figural works with the fourth theme encompassing history, philosophy, and culture. In her life as an artist, Polony Mountain worked with many different medium including mosaics, weavings, sculpture, stained glass, and repousse. Repousse, or repoussage, is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering the reverse side of a sheet a metal. On the other side, a low relief design is revealed.
A matching set of cast iron ornamental bookends. These classical style bookends feature a green patina, and have an intricate leaf and swirl design. Each pair of the ornamental bookend portions are anchored to an "L" shape black base with a discreet foam matting for placement protection.
This pair of bookends has a deceiving quality as its cast iron (and thus weighty) fabrication is disguised by flora inspired embellishments. The pieces maintain their dark slate color with silver coloring worn onto the edges of the embellishments. The design rests on a low-profile "L" shape. There is discreet foam matting on the bottom side to protect against placement damage.
Southhampton Antiques describes this piece as a rare miniature Renaissance Revival Victorian walnut two door bookcase. Although small, it portrays a sense of substantial mass through a heavy base with minimal ornament. The cabinet doors are arched with thick black molding surrounding the original glass. Within the cabinets are two original adjustable shelves that provide a clear display of the inner contents, held safe by the wooden exterior. The novelty of this piece is its size, as it has all the same quality attributes of similar pieces often two times as large.
Gabriella Polony Mountain's work includes four major themes. The first three themes are clearly recognizable as the Cosmos, Nature, and Figural works with the fourth theme encompassing history, philosophy, and culture. In her life as an artist, Polony Mountain worked with many different medium including mosaics, weavings, sculpture, stained glass, and repousse. A mosaic is a pattern or image made from small irregular shaped pieces of colored stone, glass, or ceramic called tesserae (individual tiles). These tesserae are held in place by plaster or mortor.
Looming at seven and a half feet tall, this solid mahogany grandfather clock balances the simple and ornate into a concise sophisticated design. The clock has a rectangular bonnet, body, and base with complementary elements to offset the weight. Four narrow columns extend the space between the bonnet and base and reinforce the recessed space left by the body. Near the top of the bonnet, a beveled split pediment frames a spinning top-shaped finial. The bottom of the bonnet frames the clock face with a half-moon recession.
This Grandfather Floor Clock, produced by Howard Miller, features a white, porcelain-like dial framed by a hinged top door with a composition of mahogany veneers in a sunburst pattern. The dial includes black Roman numbers with black hour, minute, and second hands. Text on the clock on the upper center of the clock face features the manufacturer, HOWARD MILLER. Additional text on the left of the clock face includes Silent, Night Off, Strike. Text featured on the right of the clock face includes Whitt. St. Mich. Western Silent.
While the date for this particular etagere is unknown, it is a very nice example of an etagere. Etageres would have been used to hold and display ornaments and bric-a-brac for show. This particular piece is a four tiered etagere made of brass, glass, and orange marble. The top two tiers have orange marble display shelves while the two lower tiers are made of six beveled glass pieces with three pieces of glass to each shelf. Acting as the body of the etagere, ornate floral and tassel brass elements juxtapose functional brass structural elements.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.
This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcase with glass doors, above which exists the same swag pattern. Four ornate lion heads are carved into the piece. Two are located on either side of the top of the glass doors with the other two located on either side of the drawers.