Iron pharmacy mortar. 18th-19th centuries. An old cast iron mortar for pharmaceutical use. It follows the usual structure for this type of utensil between the 15th and 19th centuries, with a truncated cone-shaped body with very thick walls that has vertical ribs and perpendicular protruding handles to facilitate gripping during use. In this case it shows eight polylobed ribs and two large handles with ends in the shape of a child's head, indicating that it would be a piece from the Baroque period or later, probably from the 18th or 19th centuries.
Spice rack in glazed ceramic. Talavera de la Reina, 18th century. A three-cup spice rack in the shape of an equilateral triangle, made of ceramic and decorated with high-temperature enamels typical of Talavera polychromy: manganese black for the edges and antimony oranges and yellows, copper green and cobalt blue. It is a classic-style piece, with clean lines that delimit the different parts of the structure, well-organised decoration and synthetic motifs that refer to the Greco-Latin ornamental repertoire, such as the palmette and the acanthus leaf.
Oriental wedding basket. Plant fibre, wood and metal. China, early 20th century. Wedding basket with two articulated compartments, constructed using basketry and reinforced with wooden slats and cut-out, openwork metal fittings. Rectangular in shape and with a free-standing lid, it is decorated with applied metal rosettes and with careful calligraphy on one of the sides. This type of stacked basket, articulated by a simple system of metal pins that can be removed to separate the different compartments, has traditionally been used in China and other Southeast Asian countries to contain gifts and small objects linked to the wedding ritual.
Handmade basket. Vegetable fibre and lacquered wood. China, early 20th century. A flattened ovoid Chinese basket that combines meticulous and complex basketwork on the body with a lid, mouthpieces, handles and foot in lacquered wood. The tondo that tops the lid depicts a figurative scene in a style derived from contemporary ink painting, with precise golden brushstrokes on a black background, red details and the face highlighted in a soft ochre tone. It depicts a richly dressed lady in a landscape setting, sitting in front of a stream from which she collects a veil.
Clock and candlesticks in porcelain and gilt bronze. France, 19th century. Mechanism in perfect working order. Mantelpiece consisting of a clock and two five-light candelabra, all three pieces made from a combination of gilt bronze, with raised and rounded elements and cold-chiseled details, and porcelain decorated with low-temperature enamels, including gilt enamel. The porcelain pieces follow 18th-century models from the Sèvres National Manufactory, with large pictorial cartouches on a cobalt blue background decorated with gilded plant motifs. The ensemble follows a historicist design that combines baroque and neoclassical elements with Rococo-inspired enamelled scenes, depicting landscapes and scenes with mythological themes alluding to the arts and the goddess Venus. The clock mechanism is stamped “Chles. MT”, with serial number 17420. The main enamelled porcelain plates are signed DP Boncher. The clock follows an architectural structure, with an oval base with a prominent front on the ground plan, raised on four moulded feet in the shape of a top, on which a large ornamental vase is placed. This base has a distinct pinto and, above it, a main body like a façade, with a circular pediment that houses the clock face. This includes black enamelled Roman numerals on white medallions with a gold border, arranged around the central representation of a cupid reclining among clouds, holding a floral garland and accompanied by musical instruments. Between the medallions that house the numbers, a small jewelled decoration evoking pearls and inlaid rubies, which is echoed in the secondary areas of the body of the piece and also of the vase, always combined with delicate gold filigree. On either side of the face are two female portraits of 18th century ladies, in oval frames. Below, a classically inspired scene with a muse holding musical instruments, probably Euterpe or Erato, accompanied by a cupid reading a score. On the sides of the clock body, two large curved rectangular plaques house highly pictorial enamelled landscapes, worked with the same miniaturist precision as the rest of the enamelled cartouches. These are landscapes of romantic heritage, again inspired by the 18th century, with ideal twilight-like settings, featuring classical ruins. The vase that tops the clock body has a hemispherical tank, shoulders ending in a ridge, an openwork truncated conical neck that opens gently towards the shoulders, and a domed lid, also openwork. The handles are figurative, in bronze, with two female herms crowned with flowers, clearly inspired by Greco-Latin, worked in the round. The vase houses two enamelled porcelain cartouches on the top, the front with two cupids and a dove – a symbolic allusion to Venus – and the back with musical instruments. The clock design is completed by two thick S-shaped plant supports in bronze, under the vase, and counter mouldings and plant motifs cast in relief and cold-chiselled, combining a matt and polished finish. The candelabra follow a similar design, with large neoclassical vases on pedestals, in this case cylindrical, raised on four low turned feet. The bases house porcelain cartouches with scenes of cupids related to the arts; one shows two cupids practising painting, and the other two in a scene related to classical lyric poetry, with one putto writing while the other, holding a lyre, raises a laurel wreath above his head. The cartouches on the front of the candelabra vases show scenes of Venus and Cupid in ideal landscape settings, one of them with a background of classical ruins. As with the clock, the candelabra vases include figurative bronze handles, in this case with rams' heads. The lighting body of both pieces includes four bronze arms based on vegetal braces, finished with cylindrical porcelain burners, with the fifth highest burner standing out, crowning the central axis.
Jug or jug with basin. Silver in its color. MARTINEZ MORENO, Mateo. Córdoba, Spain, 18th century With hallmarks and engraving marks. Made of silver in its color, the jug has an oval base, which rises flat until reaching a molding with vertical lines grouped in threes; after this it has a curve and a decoration of engraved circles until reaching the body of the piece. This is divided into three areas, a widening at the bottom until reaching the central area and, finally, another curve up to the mouth, all decorated with a series of curved "segments" of different widths. The handle, of a type known as a tornapunta, it presents architectural and vegetal decorations. The lid repeats the lines of the body and ends with a vegetal shape, in addition to presenting a piece towards the handle. The spout, curved towards the outside, shows two moldings halfway up the of its journey. The typology to which this jug belongs was common in Spanish silverwork during the Rococo period, and similar models can be found both in the capital and in other centres. With Philip V, numerous French influences came to silverwork, together with some Italian ones, both by artisans from these origins as well as pieces. There was still little marking on the works except in important centres such as Madrid, and civil typologies acquired great importance. As in the rest of the country, the Baroque tendencies coexisted in the Court , Rococo and Neoclassical, although, as it was the centre that set the tone for the rest, the former soon moved away, introducing Rococo before 1740 or at that time, and Neoclassicism around 1770 (gradually imposing itself from 1780). Let us remember, again, that the jug follows the most common prototype since the arrival of the Bourbons, characterized by its European influence and by the great difference it shows with the type known as "spout jug" (present in the Renaissance, etc. ). It has several hallmarks at different points of the piece, some of them frustrated (partially preserved). It is possible to identify the locality, Córdoba, and the master silversmith's, although the numbering alluding to the date of creation of the work is still to be fully identified. Mateo Martínez Moreno was active in Córdoba during approximately the second half of the 18th century and was a faithful contrast to the city between 1780 and 1804 (the year in which he died). Weight: 1.167 kg.
Landscape with Classical Ruins. Oil on canvas. Attributed to Giner, Vicente (ca. 1636–1681). Relining. A landscape with rocks and buildings in the background, featuring, in the foreground, buildings with a distinctly classicist feel, accompanied by two female sculptures on pedestals. At the foot of this building, a group of people, dressed in classical attire (women, children, and a soldier with a spear), are situated. Vicente Giner, a canon and artist originally from Castellón, is documented working in Rome during the last quarter of the 17th century (until his death there in 1681). He is documented there, along with others, petitioning Charles II to establish an Academy of Spanish artists in the city. Experts consider him a collaborator and distinguished follower of Viviano Codazzi (in whose studio he worked in the 1670s, possibly having come from that of Cornelius de Wael). He painted perspective views of classicist temples and palaces, usually accompanied by representations of popular themes, in which the figures (small in number) are merely anecdotal elements compared to these architectural elements. Several of his works are held in private collections and institutions, such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia, the Bank of Spain Collection (Madrid), and the National Trust (Scotland), among others.
Oriental basket. 19th-20th centuries. Circular basket with handle decorated with elements of Chinese influence, a style that can also be related to the materials and shape of the piece. This type of object was highly appreciated in Europe from the 19th century onwards for its exoticism.
Portable temple monstrance. Gilded silver, glass. 16th century, possible restorations. Monstrance made of gilded silver (the finish has been lost in some places) composed of a base, a shaft or stem and a two-storey upper architectural structure with some figures at the top. The base has a flat base on which tubular shapes with discs are placed, followed by a mixtilinear shape with an openwork front with circular details and an upper part with plant elements in relief (flowers, scrolls, palms, etc.) and a heraldic shield. The shaft or stem begins with an architectural shape with flying buttresses and tubular shapes with discs (similar to those of the base) and continues with another body of niches with sculptures of saints, which have columns with double faced balusters and arches with arched elements finished on the outside by winged angel heads with leaves in their hair; this area ends with an architectural element that recalls the lower part. The upper two-storey area has a hexagonal base and architectural, figurative and vegetal decorative elements with a marked classicist influence, together with others of a classical Gothic type, and is topped by a Deesis with a rocky floor (the Virgin and Saint John flanking a crucified Christ). Just below the gallery of trilobed arches that top it off, two garlands of leaves and fruits hang; and two heraldic shields are engraved. Next, there is the virile for the Holy Form, sheltered in a structure with grotesques functioning as columns and angels playing musical instruments. Above this, another structure shows seated children holding the emblems of the Passion and an enclosed space with balustraded balconies with crosses in the centre, within which a haloed figure appears blessing and holding an orb topped with a cross (in reality, this figure tops the virile, but can be seen through this gap); there are also niches with figures. Between one floor and another, there are a series of chains attached to small rods that ensure that the vault does not open. One of the two engraved heraldic shields already mentioned shows a Tau, also known as the Cross of Saint Thecla or Saint Anthony, common in Tarragona and in orders such as the Franciscan Order, for example. The other heraldic shield, which is very similar to the one on the base (here the border is different, there are more plants...), is cut, with a bull or ox passing to the left in the upper part and three plant stems (perhaps reeds) coming out of the ground (under which there is another line that could allude to a water course) in the lower area. The temple custodians are a relatively frequent typology in the Burgos and Valladolid schools (in fact, it seems to be common in Castile and León except for some areas such as Palencia), although they appear throughout the Spanish school together with the tower custodians and the type known as "sun custodians". Compare, for example, with the monstrance from the Church of Santa Eulalia in Paredes de Nava, or that from the parish church of San Pedro de Aibar (dated around 1476-1488, perhaps made in Burgos by Juan de Santa Cruz), that from the parish church of Sasn Juan Bautista in Horta de Sant Joan (workshop in Tortosa, 16th century (documentation from around 1520); note the high base, with an openwork front with circles), the Samaniego monstrance (Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of the Basque Country, made by Sancho de Salcedo –doc. Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1495-1511-), the Arisgotas monstrance (Parish Museum of the Town of Orgaz, dated before 1547 and made by Francisco Martínez de San Román from Toledo), etc. Weight: 3 kg.
Wall light in coloured glass. It has a violet-blue upper decoration and a pink lower decoration, its veins reminiscent of work done in marble or hard colored stones.
Oriental ticket office. Carved wood, metal. 19th century. Wooden cabinet on legs (the front ones carved) with two doors at the front with metal handles and decoration based on squares combined with two panels of simple geometric openwork motifs that have been highlighted with a gilding that is largely preserved. Both the shape and the aesthetics of the piece of furniture are common in oriental pieces, with a strong Chinese influence.
Still life with flowers. Oil on canvas. Signed (lower right area). Daughter of the bullfighter Rafael Albaicín, María García García was a disciple of Regla Ortega. Niece of Josefa García Escudero, she was better known as María Albaicín, and became a renowned flamenco dancer.
Mirror. Carved and gilded wood. Spain, 19th century. Rectangular wall mirror with a frame made of carved and gilded wood, with some openwork areas. It has a crest at the top, with architectural and plant decoration (garlands of flowers, leaves, etc.) arranged around (and symmetrically) a curved shape reminiscent of 18th century Rococo rocailles. Also note the wavy edges of the frame in this area. In the rest, outside a usual composition of smooth mouldings, there are a series of plant and architectural motifs (scrolls, leaves, scrolls, etc.), with some details showing, again, a certain Rococo influence. The piece clearly shows the influence of 18th-century Rococo works, as already indicated, but with a more common arrangement in 19th-century works. In addition, a clear French influence can be mentioned (in this school we would speak of the Louis XV style). Compare, for example, with several mirrors in the Cerralbo Museum in Madrid in which the upper part of the mirrors shows soft curves (inv. 04166 –dated in the second half of the 19th century-, etc.).
Miracle of Saint Peregrino Laziosi. Oil on canvas. Spanish School, 18th century. Oil on canvas depicting a man surrounded by angels and seated on a cloud next to the crucified Christ, who is touching the man's wound in the leg. Below is a cartouche with an inscription alluding to the monk's identity and the moment depicted. Saint Peregrino Laziosi or Saint Pellegrino da Fortí (1665/66-1345) was a friar of the Order of the Servants of Mary, also known as the Servites. According to tradition, he developed cancer in his foot and spent the night before his leg was amputated in prayer. Upon awakening, he was cured, and is therefore considered by some to be the patron saint of those afflicted by this disease. Peregrino was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. The composition of this work, while not the most common on the subject, can be seen in other examples, such as Girolamo da Rocca's 1682 painting of the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata in Guastalla, Italy; a painting in the Servites of Carmona (Seville); etc.
Landscape. Oil on canvas. GARCÍA LESMES, Aurelio (Valladolid, Spain, 1884-Mexico City, Mexico, 1942). Signed (lower right area). Aurelio García Lesmes was a Spanish painter who began his training in Valladolid and, thanks to a pension from the Provincial Council, continued his training at the San Fernando Academy in Madrid, the city where he became better known at National Fine Arts Exhibitions (he won a Third Medal in 1917; Second in 1922 and First in 1926). In the capital he met Valle-Inclán, Ricardo Baroja, Darío de Regoyos, etc., and alternated his stay here with long periods in Valladolid, where he worked on his well-known canvases of Castilian fields. Over time, he established himself as one of the most prestigious Spanish landscape painters of his time and established his workshop in Valladolid. After the Civil War he went into exile in Mexico. His work can be seen in prominent institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the Museo Patio Herreriano (Valladolid), etc.
Urban view. Oil on Tablex. Possibly, CALVO DÍEZ, Luis (Zaragoza, 1935-2021). Luis Calvo Díez was a Spanish painter, born in Zaragoza, who has received international recognition (Sitges, Huesca, Bordeaux, etc.). Until the age of thirty he worked in agriculture. He studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in his hometown, with Albiac and Alvareda, and furthered his studies with Alejandro Cañada. His work is preserved mainly in private collections in France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the United States of America.
Silver perfume bottle. 19th century. Teardrop-shaped bottles with a foot, elaborate handles decorated with plant elements and scrolls of classical influence, and stoppers with flowers and leaves. On the outside of the body, the perfume bottles have compositions with a certain medieval resemblance. This mixture of styles was common in 19th century European art. Weight: 44 gr
Three-light wall light. The inspiration in nature motifs is notable in the lamp: the base of the wall resembles leaves, and has a series of intertwined stems that visually direct the eye towards the lampshades, made of green and gold veined glass, which have been shaped like flowers. The inspiration in Art Deco is clear for the creation of this work.
Table clock with Muse and writers. Blued and gilded bronze, Paris machinery. France, 19th century. Machinery in perfect working order. Table clock in burnished and gilded bronze with Paris machinery and a white dial with a gilded bronze centre (Roman numerals for the hours, lines for the minutes and Breguet-type hands). The rectangular pedestal is raised on supports and has an architectural decoration; the base of the clock, also rectangular, shows plant crowns with scrolls enhancing cartouches (with names: Virgile, Tasse, Homere, Racine, Voltaire); the dial and the machinery are housed in a gilded bronze piece that resembles a bookcase, on which appear books, a laurel wreath and a musical instrument. A burnished bronze female figure, dressed in a tunic, holds this kithara, a plucked string instrument typical of ancient Greece, similar to the lyre (the difference is the sound box, so it could be a lyre in the present). The female figure would be a Muse: these classical divinities of Greek mythology inspired the arts; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, companions of the god Apollo in his retinue, each one is related to a branch of art and knowledge. She is linked to the lyre Calliope (muse of eloquence, beauty and epic poetry) and to the zither Erato (muse of lyrical-love poetry). As for the names mentioned, the first refers to Publius Virgil Maro (70 BC-19 BC), Roman poet author of the Aeneid, the Georgics, etc. who was also known for his role as guide in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The French name “Le Tasse” refers to Torquato Tasso (1544-1595), Italian poet author of Jerusalem Delivered, Rinaldo, etc. Homer is the name given to the person credited with the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey, bases of Greco-Latin epic literature. Racine is the surname, among others, of the French playwright Jean Racine (1639-1699) and his son and poet Louis Racine (1692-1763). François-Marie Arouet (Paris, 1694-1778), better known as Voltaire, was a French writer, historian, philosopher and lawyer, with numerous literary and philosophical writings. Curiously, there is evidence of an Empire clock (located in a private French collection) in the shape of a library with books, very similar to the one in this piece. And it is worth remembering that the high specialization of French bronze makers, which gave rise to high-quality works of art, meant that several pieces of the same model were created if it was popular with the aristocracy and the upper class. For this reason, there is evidence of several clocks, with slight differences from the present one (especially in the dial and in the absence of blued bronze), kept in private collections and dated to the beginning of the 19th century. Weight: 12.7 kg.
Oriental sideboard. Carved wood, metal. 20th century. Rectangular sideboard with a smooth top and a visual division at the front into two levels: three drawers in the upper one, decorated with carvings of facing dragons; four drawers on either side of two central doors (a total of eleven drawers and two doors), with the fronts enhanced with simple lines. This door gives access to two shelves. The influence of ancient Chinese examples is clear both in the decoration and in the arrangement of the elements of the furniture.
Abstract composition, “Rose”. Framed print. BETTINARDI, Graziella (20th century). Signed (lower right area). Composition with an abstract theme and treatment with a predominance of pink tones in which several figurative elements (trees, crescent moon, geometric shapes) can be seen arranged in a square manner.
Pair of wall lights. Bronze. Silver finish. Pair of wall sconces with two lights each decorated with figurative, vegetal and architectural elements inspired by certain Rococo works of the 19th century. Weight:13.5 kg
Dressing table mirror. Mahogany, gilded bronze, marble. 19th century. Full-length rectangular mirror of the type known as “psyché” (or derived from it) that has a marble base and two circular tables on the sides, these with a white marble top, a vase-shaped foot with disc mouldings and, on the top, imitation textiles with tassels. The mirror has a gold band separating it from the wood, and has been flanked by two columns with a spiral-shaped shaft decorated with plant motifs and classical capitals; the upper part has been enhanced with a moulding and a figurative composition of a winged lady on a chariot holding a torch, accompanied by child figures and a Cornucopia; the lower part has been enhanced with a symmetrical composition based on plant motifs. Stylistically, the Neoclassical influence of the decorative elements and the composition of the piece of furniture can be clearly seen, with the figure inspired by classical mythology on the upper part standing out (it is possible that it is the goddess Aurora or Eos, or Diana-Artemis, Selene, etc.). A close relationship can be found with examples from the French Empire period, both in this decoration and in the lines of the piece. Note, however, that these full-length mirrors were very common in European palaces, but it is not so common for them to be presented with two tables to support clothing items or candelabras, a detail that is enhanced by the present example. The fashion of the full-length mirror was introduced in Spain during the reign of Ferdinand VII. From the swinging psyche mirrors of the early 19th century, the full-length fixed mirrors were later adopted, adding supports (normally for lighting). Compare this with outstanding mirrors such as those preserved in the Museum of Romanticism in Madrid, in the Royal Palace of the same city, or the one preserved in the Cerralbo Museum (inventory VH 0556) from between 1834 and 1866, which has two round side tables.
Castilian chest. Walnut wood, wrought iron and polychrome. Spain, 17th century. Rectangular chest with a flat lid, slightly raised on spheres, decorated on the outside with smooth mouldings on the top and bottom, and fittings (handles on the sides and lock shield) cut out to form vegetal and geometric elements. It is worth highlighting the presence of a “space” inside, on one side, with a lock closure and an iron decoration on the outside that retains polychromy (like some of the other fittings on the piece), and presents a drawing of volutes and vegetal elements with a certain Renaissance reminiscence and marked classicist influence.
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