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07 May

Posted at 10:49h in

A collection of George III urns of Derbyshire Blue John.   Also known as Derbyshire Spar, Blue John is a semi-precious mineral,a rare form of Calcium Fluorite, with distinctive, purple, blue and golden banding which runs through the stone. In the UK it is only found at two caverns at Castleton in Derbyshire. In the 19th Century, it was mined for its ornamental value and some small-scale mining continues today.    ...

07 May

Posted at 10:34h in

King James I of England and VI of Scotland (1566-1625), in mulberry-coloured costume, wearing the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Garter, the sceptre, crown and orb on a table at his side. Studio of Paul van Somer, the Flemish artist who came to London from Antwerp and became a leading painter at King James's court. This is a version of a portrait by van Somer in the Royal Collection. Oil on canvas   200cm x 125cm   James was the only...

03 May

Posted at 15:06h in

Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1555-1601). English School.   198cm x 126cm.   Peregrine was the son of Richard Bertie and Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. He was born at Wesel on the Rhine in 1555, while his parents were fugitives from England to escape persecution as Protestants under Queen Mary. After several important diplomatic and military appointments abroad, Elizabeth I appointed him General of her forces in the Low Countries in 1586. He fought for the Huguenots under Henry...

23 Apr

Posted at 16:05h in

A pair of Louis XIV ormolu-mounted Boulle side tables by André-Charles Boulle (d.1732).   The tables are decorated in marquetry: the art of inlaying furniture with small pieces of different materials to create intricate pictures. André-Charles Boulle was the most skilled craftsman in the technique, particularly his designs in tortoiseshell and pewter or brass. One of these tables is in première-partie (brass inlay on tortoiseshell) and the other is in contre-partie (tortoiseshell inlay on brass). Their design follows the drawing ascribed to André-Charles...