Yoeme deer dance headdress Sonora, Mexico ca. 1910 Deer hide, glass eyes, antlers This headdress is part of the collection of The National Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Apart from the beautiful collection of objects shown there, the museum itself is an extraordinary example of a Cass Gilbert Beaux Arts building. It was originally the U.S. Custom House.

Chopines,Venetian, ca. 1600. Leather, Silk, Wood. A chopine is a type of women's platform shoe that was popular in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Chopines were popularly worn in Venice by both courtesans and patrician women from 1400–1700. Besides their practical uses, the height of the chopine became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social standing of the wearer; the higher the chopine, the higher the status of the wearer.

Gustaf Lundberg, Swedish (1695-1786), Portrait of Francois Boucher Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture. He also painted several portraits of his illustrious patroness, Madame de Pompadour. September 29th is the birthdate of Boucher (1703–1770)

Norwegian Architecture firm SNOHETTA

I know this is hard to see here but I wanted to show it as it is such a lovely project. Please visit
SNOHETTA
to see more about it in a larger format.

Gold, Platinum and Diamond Charm Bangle Bracelet Ca. 1945

Hinged cuff of polished gold applied with 18 gold and platinum charms in various designs set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The motifs include animals, figures and geometric motifs.

Cizhou Baluster Vase Northern China, Song Dynasty, 11th-12th Century Vase covered with a clear glaze over a white slip to expose the pale grey body. H. 8 3/8"

Les Incas, Scenic Wallpaper produced by Dufour (France) ca. 1818. Hand-colored panel; part of a series that featured a variety of landscapes as well as scenes from “well ordered” social universes in which everyone seems to have a happy place.

Snuff Box in the shape of a shoe, British, ca. 1860. Walnut, carved and stained, inlaid with brass and glass (eyes). Shoe- shaped snuff boxes were made throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, probably as gifts. This boot, with its squared toe, is in the fashion of the 1860s. Shoes were traditionally associated with good luck wishes for travellers and wedding couples setting off on the “journey” of marriage.

Pierre-Louis Pierson (French, 1822–1913). Countess Castiglione, 1860s. Albumen silver print from glass negative. Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione was better known as La Castiglione, an Italian courtesan who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. She was also a significant figure in the early history of photography.

Brooch, David Webb (American) 1925–1975, 18 Karat gold Poseidon figure applied with black enamel, the belly set with a baroque cultured pearl measuring approximately 18.2 by 17.5 mm., and set with round diamonds (approximately 3.00 carats), and pear-shaped yellow sapphires.

Statuette, Sleeping Child, Netherlands, 17th Century by François du Quesnoy, 1597–1643. Flemish Sculptor known for his work in ivory.

Printed cottons and silks. Ca. 1920. Jacques-Emil Ruhlmann, (French, 1879–1933)

Interior and Furniture Designer. “To create something that lasts, the first thing is to want to create something that lasts forever” —EJR

Filip Dujardin, Photograph 2010. born 1971, Belgium, From the series “Imaginary Architecture” " 44" X 44"

Serpent, English made 1831–1832 Serpents were mostly played in military bands. They served as bass instruments fitted with bowl-shaped mouthpieces like a brass-instrument and fingerholes like a flute. The musician extended the range of notes available by altering his fingering and repositioning of his lips. This one is wood covered in black leather with ivory fingerholes and brass fittings. The inside—painted red.

Coat rack, Austrian (Vienna), 1825

Automaton in the form of a chariot pushed by a Chinese attendant and set with a clock. 1766, James Cox (English, ca. 1723–1800) Case: gold, with diamonds and paste jewels in silver; pearls; dial: white enamel

Diana and the Stag, a marble relief. French, School of Fontainebleau ca. mid 16th Century.
H. 17 3/8” X L. 19 7/8”.

Hoe-shaped Bracelet Japan (Kofun period, late 3rd–4th Century C.E.) Green steatite L16cm.

Head of a monkey, life sized. Cast Bronze. Florence, Italy second half of the sixteenth century. Attributed to Giambologna.

Salvador Dali, Spanish artist, 1904–1989. Tiles ca. 1954. Glazed earthenware 20 cm x 20 cm each.
Produced by MPG; Onda Spain.

Lonely Metropolitan, Self Portrait, ca. 1932. Herbert Bayer (1900–1985), Austrian graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental & interior designer and architect, and was widely recognized as the last living member of the Bauhaus.

Hat, Hattie Carnegie (American, 1889–1956). ca. 1940. Wool, Feathers, Silk.

Leaf of calligraphy, early 19th century Iran, Signed: Muhammad Shafic known as Vesal. Ink, colors, and gold on paper.

Clappers, a percussion instrument from prehistoric times, ancestor of the castanet. These carved from a single hippopotamus tusk sawn in two down the middle, fashioned in the form of a pair of human hands and forearms. Five incised lines around each wrist undoubtedly represent bracelets. A hole in each of the upper forearms allows for a cord to hold the two clappers together.

Shoe made of leather and plastic. Designed by Katharina Denzinger (dates unknown) for Herbert Levine, Inc. American.

Pair of Sake Bottles, Japan (Momoyama period, late 16th Century) Gold on black lacquer.

Doll’s House, English 1930s produced by Lines Bros. as part of their “Ultra Modern Dolls Houses” series.

Sugar Nippers, English ca. 1750. Made of Chased silver. W. 4.4 cm, L. 13.02 cm. Sugar nippers or nips were made from the early 18th century. The sharp-edged bowl helps to cut or ‘nip’ sugar from the large, irregularly shaped loaves sugar was sold in. Sugar nippers generally have a scissor-like shape rather than the later U-shaped sugar tongs. They were often supplied with a set of tea spoons or as part of a boxed set containing caddies, spoons and nippers.

German Board Game, c.1825. “Le Grand Terme ou Le Jeu des Temps” The Game of Human Life, (Continental version) showing the ages of man. The starting point is a clock face numbered 1 and entitled Temporellite (temporary) and the finishing point is number 33, Eternity. Some of the squares require the receiving or paying of a token and some send the player forwards or backwards. The game would be played with dice and use a kitty. The player going out on the number 33 would win the kitty.

Designed by Peter Murdoch, English. Dot chair for a child. Made from one piece of folded polyurethane-coated paper in 1965.

Hand of Justice from the King of France 12th-13th C. Bracelet made in 1804. Gold, Silver, Gold Leaf, Pearl, Rubies, Turquoise. Hand, Ivory. H 39.2 cm

Mondrian Hat c. 1962. Wool and silk. Sally Victor, American 1905-1977.

French, c. 1862. Coffee pot and cover in the form of the head of an elephant. Porcelain with pâte-sur-pâte decoration and gilt. Sèvres porcelain factory (maker) Louis Marc Emmanuel (designer). H. 19.7 cm W. 16.6 cm.

An assortment of carved chair backs, 19th Century German

Printed Hide Shirt, Great Lakes Region (first half of the 18th Century) Soft, tanned hide of extreme thinness with finely cut fringe along arms, wrists, sides, bottom and V neck. The V neck accentuated by red lines coming down from shoulders.

Photograph, 1956. Marilyn Monroe Blowing Out Candle on 30th Birthday Cake. Today, June 1 is the birthdate of Marilyn Monroe.

Antelope Bracelet, Van Cleef & Arpels 1974. Gold and buffalo horn.

“Let me not forget the use of my own hands, that of a craftsman with eyes…that reflect the technology around me.” –Alexander McQueen, Prosthetic Leg No. 13, Spring/Summer 1999, carved elm wood.

Printed linen furnishing fabric, England 1925

Fan, English 1800-1825. Wood decorated with penwork—A technique that involves the decoration of a wooden surface, with decorations to imitate oriental lacquer. Details were added in black India ink or white paint with a fine quill pen before a protective varnish was applied. These fans were used to shield the face from the heat of a fire.

Wig/Headpiece for the 1950 production of The Nutcracker, Stoll Theater, London. Stanley Hall of Wig Creations Ltd. wig maker. Artificial pearls, artificial jewels, diamanté and wire cellophane, net and wire. This headdress was a perfect evocation of a snow fairy—the diamanté crown set on a wig of opalescent cellophane under stage lights suggested cold and frost.

(Lady) Elizabeth Templeton (designer) 1747-1843, Wedgewood (maker), made 1790-1800. Vase, 14.5" tall. Templeton was considered an "amateur" artist. Although Wedgewood acknowledged her 'exquisite taste' and 'charming groups' It is thought that he probably really asked her for designs in the hope that they would appeal to female taste....................

Head of Man, Egypt, circa 1st Century B.C. made of Black Marble.

Toothpick, English, c.1620— An enameled gold arm set with a ruby holds a curved sickle for picking teeth. At the other end it has a "death's-head" finial (someone had a good sense of humor) Length: 3.8 cm, Depth: 0.6 cm, Width (across sickle): 1.2 cm.

Slender flask with handle, Egyptian 1400–1295 B.C. (yes, that is B.C.). Glass. H. 67/8”. Tomb scenes suggest that vessels such as this were used for dispensing perfumed ointments to guests at banquets.

Line Vautrin, Poet of Metals—French 1913–1997. Bronze and Gold compact representing the phrase, “Too tender man has bitter remorse.”

David Seidner Photographer, American 1957–1999. Portrait of Louise Neri 1999.

Armchair, English, ca.1754. Designed by John Linnell for the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort. The form of this chair with its rectilinear back and arms filled with Chinese fretwork remained popular until the 1770s.

Thomas Chippendale included designs for Chinese chairs in his Director, first published in 1754.

Steven Harris Architects— Staircase in a historic Renwick townhouse on West 10th Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

Originally designed in 1856 by James Renwick, the architect of the Smithsonian, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Grace Church, the house was renovated in 2008 by the Tribeca-based firm Steven Harris Architects.

The History of Navigation Mural Designed by Jean Dupas,1934 for the S.S. Normandie first class salon. Made up of 56 panels, reverse-painted gilded glass painted in black and varying pastel colors and applied to the back of plate-glass panels. Gold, silver and palladium leaf were then laid atop the paint and sealed into place with a canvas backing.

Citroën DS produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Styled by Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre, the DS was known for its aerodynamic futuristic body design and innovative technology, including a hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension.

Gio Ponti (1891–1979) Italian architect and designer. In 1923 Gio Ponti became art director for the ceramics manufacturer Richard Ginori, the relationship lasted up until 1930. This pair of hands was designed and produced in 1925. White porcelain with gold glaze. H. 34cm.

Johann Evangelist Scheffer von Leonhardshoff, Austrian, 1795–1822 Self Portrait ca. 1809 . 37.1 cm x 28.8 cm Pencil and Charcoal

Denham Maclaren, English ca1930. Maclaren designed only a relatively small quantity of furniture from the late 1920s to the end of the 1930s, he of all British designers best captured the spirit of contemporary European modernism. This chair makes innovative use of industrial glass and metal fittings as well as the choice of zebra skin upholstery. The use of zebra added an exotic, even Surrealist, touch.

Pair of Eyes, Probably Greek, 5th Century B.C. Greek and Roman statues were designed to give a colorful life-like impression. Marble and wood sculptures were brightly painted, and bronze statues were originally a pale flesh-like brown. Lips and nipples were often inlaid with copper, and teeth with silver. Eyes were usually made separately and set into prepared sockets. This pair is made of bronze, marble, quartz and volcanic glass

Mirror, Irish 1780-1790. The form of this mirror-chandelier consists of a candelabrum without base, mounted onto a mirror backing to increase the brilliance of the illumination offering excellent lighting characteristics, as well as the elegance of the ‘Adam’ style. This object represents the successful combination of Irish glass-making, British design and probably German glass-cutting, the contribution of John D. Ayckbowm.

Florence Broadhurst Wallpaper, hand printed strike-off for French Fountains. Broadhurst was born in rural Queensland, Australia in 1899, died (murdered) in 1977. Broadhurst lived and worked in Australia, Asia, and England.

Seaman Schepps, Stork Brooch Baroque pearl, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds delivering a diamond baby. 1960

Mummy Portrait/Roman Egypt. Portrait of elderly woman. Tempera on wood. 140-60 AD.
31 cm x 18.5 cm

Venetian Baroque Gilt Wood Corner Display Cabinet, 18th Century. Carved in high relief with vines and engraved with scrolls in polished gold against matted gold ground. Gilded vines entering inside of cabinet through ottom, and “supporting” small circular pedestals used for display.

Mystery Clock, Cartier 1931. Invented in 1850 by Robert Houdin, mystery clocks have hands that look like they magically move in the center of a translucent dial, making the mystery of time truly impalpable.

Cameo Ring, Italy ca. 1760. Maker: Giovanni Pichler. Based on the Greek gem engraver (1st Century) Philemon.

Mughal painting, 1698. Rana Amar Singh ll at important worship. (ruled 1698–1710) 51.3 cm x 39 cm.

Rain Spout, Germany 1600–1700 Copper and iron, gilded 800x500x1070 mm

Bronzino (1503-1572) An Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Wood 146.1 x 116.2cm

Bizarre Silk-Popular in Europe in the early 18th Century. Panels contained eccentric elements mixed with more conventional ones creating wacky but elegant results.

Gene Moore, window display for Tiffany , 1963.