15th Century and Earlier Art

This 15th century bishop - sculpted ca AD1460 - has a smile on his lips and a benevolent presence. He is also something of an Adonis - one tends to forget that in the medieval churc...

Albrecht Dürer, German (1471 -1528) - Diptych from First Edition of The Ship of Fools, Year: 1494, Medium: Woodcut and Engraving, Image Size: 7 x 12.25 inches, Frame Size: 10.75 ...

Figure of a Chanting Warrior Ceramic with bitumen highlights 300-600 CE (Classic Period) Mexico, Veracruz, possibly Nopiloa Veracruz Culture Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Vera Cruz culture...

Seated Shaman Colima culture Mexico ca. 300 BCE - 300 CE Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A hollow-cast and highly-burnished terraco...

Gypsum cast-medieval tile, inspired from Central Europe. Adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install.

St. Francis of Assisi Italian School, circa 1500 oil paint on copper, unframed copper: 6.75 x 10 inches provenance: private collection, Loire Valley, France condition: for a work tha...

They may be damaged and battered, but real historic objects will always give you a sense of awe. Can you sense it, looking at this ancient carved granite which depicts, as it is call...

Unknown French Art and Workshop, Middle 15th century Roundel depicting St. Catherine (?) Gouache, ink gold wash and gold burnishing on vellum Book of Hours folio attributed to the C...

Christ Crucified (Christus Patiens) with God the Father, the Virgin and St. John In the manner of 14th century Tuscan painting Tempera on panel Height: 150 cm Width: 99 cm Perform...

Anonymous 15th Century Italian, Probably Milan area The Nativity of Christ Pigments, ink and gold leaf on vellum Unsigned as is always the case with illuminated manuscripts The Virgi...

Gypsum cast-medieval tile, inspired from Central Europe. Could be also adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install ( price will be different).

Eugene Larkin Quartet No. 1 Woodcut in two colors Signed and titled by hand Size: 20 x 29.5 inches COA provided Eugene Larkin (1921-2010) The late Eugene Larkin was an artist who worked in the Twin Cities area for many years and needs little introduction. His works have been shown, collected and appreciated by numerous galleries, museums and collectors throughout the United States. Larkin was influential both as an artist and as a teacher. He taught at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design between 1954 and 1969, where he was head of printmaking and Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. From 1969-1991 he was a professor in the Design Department at the University of Minnesota. Eugene Larkin, a lithographer, teacher and artist who left behind scores of works, some of them in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art. He was considered an early promoter of lithography education, Larkin introduced it into arts programs while teaching at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. He held a prominent place in the art world through decades of working and teaching in Minneapolis. His work depicted a wide range of subjects, from musicians to nature, including a series of woodcuts based on William Blake's ""Songs of Innocence and Experience." Larkin also wrote a textbook, ""Design: The Search for Unity."" It was his work with lithography, an 18th-century printmaking process, for which he was best known. His last local exhibit was a retrospective at The University of Minnesota Weisman Museum in 2005. ""Sometimes I start the artistic process from a literary source - Adam and Eve, the Egyptian nature gods, or classical Greek themes but sometimes I start from nature. Trees have always been a favorite subject. I see trees as people, as vertical objects...

Beautiful late 15th-century Burgundian Netherlandish portrait of a woman. Carved walnut. Original polychrome has been removed with traces at base and lower portions of figure. Minor ...

Gypsum cast - medieval tile, from Central Europe. Adjusted in a frame, ready to hang or install.

Bildnis mit florentiner Hut. is a beautiful black and white etching on cream-colored and laid paper, realized in 1898 by Hans Thoma. Monogram and Date on p...

This rare and fascinating series of 10 ceiling tablets, painted in tempera on poplar wood, represents a remarkable example of 15th-century Lombard decorative art. Originating from a ...

Virgin and Child with Goldfinch Workshops of Metz, Lorraine, circa 1330 Limestone carved in the round with remains of polychromy Height: 61 cm The sculpture of the Virgin and Child ...

Extraordinary collection of 12 gilded copper plaques with glass paste eyes, originating in Limoges, France, and dating from the early 13th century. These fine plaques, each about six...

Master in the circle of Michael Pacher (Mühlen ca. 1435 - 1498 Salzburg) Salzburg Around 1480 Carved limewood Old polychrome version Height 118 cm This Madonna is an outstanding ex...

ROMAN MADONNA “Sedes Sapientiae” Auvergne Around 1175/80 Pine wood Polychrome remains Height 40 cm This depiction of the Madonna is a masterfully carved, extremely early figure made...

NUREMBERG CHRONICLE, 1493 THE GOLDEN CALF (THE CALF OF GOD) 1493 Woodcut. from "Liber Chronicarum." Printed by Anton Koberger text by Hartmann Sc...

Rare Vierge romane en majesté en pierre calcaire sculptée en très haut-relief. La Vierge tient l’Enfant entre ses deux genoux dans une parfaite frontalité, une caractéristique des pr...

Beautiful antique Peruvian face vessel. Chimu Inca, c.1500 Terracotta, measures h. 8 in., w. 4 7/8 inches. No repair or conservation.

Very rare wooden helmet-bearing head, datable between the 13th and 14th centuries, extraordinary evidence of medieval material culture. This object, carved with essential and primiti...

APOTROPAIC DEVIL FIGURE Romansh South Tyrol or Grisons Around 1120/50 Carved pine wood Original version Height 151 cm This singular figure is a demonic, devil-like figure carved fro...

Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528 German The Penance of St. Chrysostom Monogrammed in the plate lower center "AD" Copper engraving on laid paper “Whatever was mortal in Albrecht Dürer li...

Nicolò Zafuri (circle of) (documented in Candia between 1487 and 1500, died before 10 July 1501) Title: Madonna with Child Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: without frame 49 x 40 cm ...

"Roman Bronze Figure Of A Romping Dog" Roman Empire, circa 1st Century B.C.- 1st Century A.D. Bronze width 7 cm width 2 3/4 in Provenance: Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) Private Collection, Zurich, prior to 1986 American Private Collection, acquired in 1991 Literature: A.P. Kozloff, et al., More Animals in Ancient Art...

ANCIENT ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF FRAGMENT Rome, 1st Century b.C. marble 23 x 15 x 5 cm without base 9 x 6 x 2 in

Elegant 15th-century wooden sculpture of a finely executed infant missing his arms. The work, of central Italian provenance, recalls the Donatello manner in the delicacy of the featu...

Readings from the "Communion of Saints": folio from an Italian Missal Pigment on vellum Mid 17th century Provenance: Otto F. Ege (1888-1951) Phillip Duechnes Bookseller, New York, c. 1948 References And Exhibitions: Otto F. Ege Box Folio 27 Ege describes these folios as: Epistolary (Epistolarium), Italy, Middle 15th century Latin Text: Rotunda or Round Gothic Script, square rhetorical neumes Sister folio are in the following rare book libraries: Case Western Reserve University Cincinnati Public Library Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland Public Library Denison University Kent State University Kenyon College...

Angel of the Annunciation Prague workshop from the circle of Master Theoderich (mentioned from 1359 to 1368) Around 1380/90 Carved & polychrome painted limewood Height 88 cm An ang...

original impressionist acrylic painting. SOLÁ paints in a natural way, which reflects the Old Masters, soaking up the colour, air, smell and the pure scent of his environment. He d...

Father Stefan Fridolin, "Schatzbehalter" (Treasury of the True Riches of Salvation): The 30th Figure - Astrological Diagram with Scene of the Nativity Woodcut, 1491 Unsigned, as issued Published by Anton Koberger Diagram has Zodiac signs on outer ring, planets in the lower registers, and Nativity in the center. Condition: Very good for a 15h century woodcut, with the usual slight age stains Sheet size: 11 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches Wogelmut was the teacher of Albrecht Durer and employed young Durer in many project of the last decade of the 15th century. Michel Wolgemut Biography Wolgemut trained with his father Valentin Wolgemut (who died in 1469 or 1470) and is thought to have been an assistant to Hans Pleydenwurff in Nuremberg. He worked with Gabriel Malesskircher in Munich early in 1471, leaving the city after unsuccessfully suing Malesskircher's daughter for breach of contract, claiming she had broken off their engagement. He then returned to his late father's workshop in Nuremberg, which his mother had maintained since Valentin's death. In 1472 he married Pleydenwurff's widow and took over his workshop;[3] her son Wilhelm Pleydenwurff worked as an assistant, and from 1491 a partner, to Wolgemut. Some consider Wilhelm a finer artist than Wolgemut, however he died in January 1494, when he was probably still in his thirties. Wilhelm's oeuvre remains unclear, though works in various media have been attributed to him. Woodcuts Michael Wolgemut, Danse Macabre, 1493 Two large and copiously illustrated books have woodcuts supplied by Wolgemut and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff; both were printed and published by Germany's largest publisher, the Nuremberger Anton Koberger, who was also Dürer's godfather. The first is the Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichthumer des Heils (1491); the other is the Historia mundi, by Schedel (1493), usually known as the Nuremberg Chronicle...

Mother Goddess Figurine Early Indus Valley Civilization (circa 3500 - 2800 BC) Handmade pottery, 140 mm x 45 mm, 60 g Provenance: Prince Collection, 1990s-2014; Pierre Bergé Colle...

"World Water Day is Monday and is a fitting day to precede the release of these Wave of Distress prints. World Water Day not only focuses attention on the water crisis and drinking w...

A Chinese, Tang Dynasty, Sancai-glazed, three colors of brown, green and creamy, sculpture of a horse with a cut fur blanket. This Chinese, Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), glazed earthenw...

Provenance: with “Mr. Scheer,” Vienna, by July 1918; where acquired by: Jindřich Waldes, Prague, 1918–1941; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York Literature: Rudolf Kuchynka, “České obrazy tabulové ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Památky archeologické, vol. 31 (1919), pp. 62-64, fig. 5. Jaroslav Pešina, “K datování deskových obrazů ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Ročenka Kruhu pro Pěstování Dějin Umění: za rok (1934), pp. 131-137. Jaroslav Pešina, Pozdně gotické deskové malířství v Čechách, Prague, 1940, pp. 150-151, 220. Patrik Šimon, Jindřich Waldes: sběratel umění, Prague, 2001, pp. 166, 168, footnote 190. Ivo Hlobil, “Tři gotické obrazy ze sbírky Jindřicha Waldese,” Umění, vol. 52, no. 4 (2004), p. 369. Executed sometime in the 1380s or 1390s by a close associate of the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, this impressive panel is a rare work created at the royal court in Prague and a significant re-discovery for the corpus of early Bohemian painting. It has emerged from an American collection, descendants of the celebrated Czech industrialist and collector Jindřich Waldes, who died in Havana fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. The distinctive visual tradition of the Bohemian school first began to take shape in the middle of the fourteenth century after Charles IV—King of Bohemia and later Holy Roman Emperor—established Prague as a major artistic center. The influx of foreign artists and the importation of significant works of art from across Europe had a profound influence on the development of a local pictorial style. Early Italian paintings, especially those by Sienese painters and Tommaso da Modena (who worked at Charles IV’s court), had a considerable impact on the first generation of Bohemian painters. Although this influence is still felt in the brilliant gold ground and the delicate tooling of the present work, the author of this painting appears to be responding more to the paintings of his predecessors in Prague than to foreign influences. This Resurrection of Christ employs a compositional format that was popular throughout the late medieval period but was particularly pervasive in Bohemian painting. Christ is shown sitting atop a pink marble sarcophagus, stepping down onto the ground with one bare foot. He blesses the viewer with his right hand, while in his left he holds a triumphal cross with a fluttering banner, symbolizing his victory over death. Several Roman soldiers doze at the base of the tomb, except for one grotesque figure, who, beginning to wake, shields his eyes from the light and looks on with a face of bewilderment as Christ emerges from his tomb. Christ is wrapped in a striking red robe with a blue interior lining, the colors of which vary subtly in the changing light. He stands out prominently against the gold backdrop, which is interrupted only by the abstractly rendered landscape and trees on either side of him. The soldiers’ armor is rendered in exacting detail, the cool gray of the metal contrasting with the earth tones of the outer garments. The sleeping soldier set within a jumble of armor with neither face nor hands exposed, is covered with what appears to be a shield emblazoned with two flies on a white field, somewhat resembling a cartouche (Fig. 1). This may be a heraldic device of the altarpiece’s patron or it may signify evil, referencing either the Roman soldiers or death, over both of which Christ triumphs. This painting formed part of the collection assembled by the Czech industrialist and founder of the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company, Jindřich Waldes, in the early twentieth century. As a collector he is best remembered for establishing the Waldes Museum in Prague to house his collection of buttons (totaling nearly 70,000 items), as well as for being the primary patron of the modernist painter František Kupka. Waldes was also an avid collector of older art, and he approached his collecting activity with the goal of creating an encyclopedic collection of Czech art from the medieval period through to the then-present day. At the conclusion of two decades of collecting, his inventory counted 2331 paintings and drawings, 4764 prints, and 162 sculptures. This collection, which constituted the Waldesova Obrazárna (Waldes Picture Gallery), was first displayed in Waldes’ home in Prague at 44 Americká Street and later at his newly built Villa Marie at 12 Koperníkova Street. This Resurrection of Christ retains its frame from the Waldes Picture Gallery, including its original plaque “173 / Česky malíř z konce 14 stol.” (“Czech painter from the end of the 14th century”) and Waldes’ collection label on the reverse. The Resurrection of Christ was one of the most significant late medieval panel...

Corpus Christi around 1150/70 Southern France or Catalonia carved oak wood

 height 109 cm, width 96 cm Remains of polychromy

Grande vierge en majesté de l'époque romane en bois polychrome. Cette Vierge à l'enfant inédite s'inscrit dans le corpus des Vierges romanes de Bourgogne. Marie est assise sur un trô...

Florentine, mid-16th century Circle of Tomaso D’Antonio Manzuoli, known as Maso da San Friano (1536-1571) The Virgin and Child with the Infant Baptist After Andrea del Sarto (1486-1...

Provenance: Sables de Fontainbleau, Seine-et-Marne, France “Gogottes” are natural creations formed out of sands deposited in Northern France during the Oligocene Period, approximately 30 million years ago. Much later, in a process that has only recently become understood, groundwater rich in silica flowed through the sands...

Rare Vierge à l'Enfant en bois polychrome de tradition romane, région du Fenouillèdes, représentant une Virgo Lactans. Avant cette découverte, seules 3 vierges allaitantes médiévales...

15th century, Italian Circle of Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1429-1498) Portrait of an Italian Noblewoman Oil and tempura on poplar panel With partial inscription: ALZETAPIN Provenance:...

GROTESQUE MASK Italy, 15h Century stone 30 x 31 x 20 cm 11 3/4 x 12 1/4 x 7 3/4 in

'Couture' by Faile, 2022 24 x 26 Inches Archival pigment print on 280gsm Entrada Cotton Rag fine art paper. Limited Edition of 300 Hand-signed by the artist duo bottom right. Artist...

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE CAPITAL WITH MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES, 15th Century marble H 18 x Diam 33.5 cm H 7 x Diam 13 1/4 in

Attributed to Bonifacio Bembo c.1444-1477 Italy Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian Tempera on panel These exceptionally rare early Renaissance panels of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian are an extraordinary new discovery. Based on the research of art historians Marco Tanzi and Andrea de Marchi, it is believed that these represent the missing panels from the famed polyptych formerly displayed on the altar of the Chapel of San Nicola da Tolentino in the Church of Sant’Agostino in Cremona, Italy. To find two matching early Renaissance panels outside of a museum or church, particularly in such remarkable condition, is an extraordinary rarity. The central and left-sided panels of the original five-part polyptych are currently in the collection of the Museo Civico Ala Ponzone in Cremona. These panels have luckily remained intact, and respectively portray the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels and Donor, Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (the chapel’s namesake) and Saint George. While the present panels have since been reduced, that they belong to the Cremonese altarpiece is confirmed by a number of stylistic elements. All five panels contain the same rich decorative arabesque pattern on their stamped gold background, while the figures’ knurled haloes are identical in both their fineness of line and use of perspective. The proportions of the figures coincide perfectly; Saints Cosmas and Damian would have originally also been depicted as full-length figures, fitting into the vertical, Gothic style of the altarpiece. According to the Christian religion, Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian were 3rd century physicians born in Arabia. Little is known about their lives except that they were reputedly twin brothers and that they were martyred in Syria during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. It was believed that the saints were skilled in healing, and when their medicines failed, their faith and prayers could always perform miracles. Thus, the saints are often depicted with their medical equipment while wearing the traditional medieval doctor’s garb of crimson robes and distinctive round red hats. The saints are similarly depicted in the present panels, though considering the manner in which they have been cut, their medical tools are not immediately evident. The saints were highly popular as patrons of wealthy families during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, particularly the Medici, and thus they occur frequently in art from the era. The twins, for instance, are found in the famed San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico in the San Marco Museum (Florence), as well as in a set of Medici panels crafted by Filippo Lippi...

Madonna and Child, polychrome stucco relief, workshop of Luca della Robbia. Second half of the 15th century. Modeled as half-length, the Child holds his mother's veil in one hand, th...

Artist: Erhard Ratdolt (German, 1442-1528) Title: "Vol. 6, page 10-11", "Vol. 6, page 6-7", and "Vol. 6, 28-29" Portfolio: Breviarium Pataviense Year: 1490 (First edition) Medium: Set of Three Original Incunabula Leaves on watermarked laid paper Limited edition: Unknown Printer: Erhard Ratdolt, Ausburg, Germany Publisher: Friedrich von Öttingen and Christoph von Schachner, Passau, Germany Reference: Hain No. 3875; Bod-Inc No. B-542; GW No. 5426; Weale/Bohatta No. 335; Schreiber No. 3615 Sheet size (each): approx. 12.5" x 8.88" Condition: "Vol. 6, page 10-11", "Vol. 6, page 6-7", and "Vol. 6, 28-29" all have scattered wormholes, staining, foxing, and soiling about their sheets. The latter two have remnants of tape at their edges. "Vol. 6, 28-29" has heavier staining to its sheet and edge wear about. Have been professionally stored away for decades. They are all otherwise strong impressions in overall fair condition with strong colors Extremely rare Notes: Comes from Ratdolt's six volume "Breviarium Pataviense", (1490) (First edition), which consists of 378 pages of Gothic texts in Latin with red rubricated initials, psalms, readings, hymns, and woodcut engraved illustrations. Printed in Augsburg by Erhard Ratdolt on May 12, 1490. There was a subsequent printing on November 27, 1490. Both "Vol. 6, page 10-11" and "Vol. 6, 28-29" have a bow and arrow watermark in the center of their sheets. Some information and old prices inscribed in pencil to their sheets. Breviary is a liturgical book in the Roman Catholic Church that contains the daily service for the divine office, the official prayer of the church consisting of psalms, readings, and hymns that are recited at stated hours of the day. Biography: Erhard Ratdolt (1442–1528) was an early German printer from Augsburg. He was active as a printer in Venice from 1476 to 1486, and afterwards in Augsburg. From 1475 to 1478 he was in partnership with two other German printers. The first book the partnership produced was the Calendarium (1476), written and previously published by Regiomontanus, which offered one of the earliest examples of a modern title page. Other noteworthy publications are the "Historia Romana of Appianus" (1477), and the first edition of "Euclid's Elements" (1482), where he solved the problem of printing geometric diagrams, the "Poeticon astronomicon", also from 1482, "Haly Abenragel" (1485), and "Alchabitius" (1503). Ratdolt is also famous for having produced the first known printer's type specimen...

Provenance: Dr. James Henry Lancashire, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, by 1925; probably by descent to: Private Collection, Cumberland Foreside, Maine, until 2018 This unpublished panel is a characteristic work of the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend, an anonymous Florentine painter in the circle of Bartolommeo di Giovanni, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Sandro Botticelli. The artistic personality of the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend was independently recognized by Everett Fahy and Federico Zeri at roughly the same moment in time. Fahy originally dubbed this artist the Master of the Ryerson Panels but later adopted Zeri’s name for the artist, which derives from his eponymous works from the Samuel H. Kress collection (Figs. 1-2). Fahy posited that the artist was most likely a pupil of Ghirlandaio active from roughly 1480 to 1510, and that he may be identifiable with one of Ghirlandaio’s documented pupils to whom no works have been securely attributed, such as Niccolò Cieco, Jacopo dell’Indaco, or Baldino Baldinetti. The present painting was first attributed to this master by Everett Fahy in 1989, who became aware of its existence only after publishing his definitive studies on the artist. The surviving body of work by the Master of the Apollo and Daphne Legend is largely composed of series of panels treating the same theme. In addition to the works illustrating the legend of Apollo and Daphne, there are also series on the themes of Susanna and the Elders and the story of Saint Joseph, among others. The subject of the present panel is drawn from Genesis 24, the story of Isaac. It is possible that our painting relates to another work by the artist depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac formerly in the collection of E. A. McGuire in Dublin, Ireland (Fig. 3), and that these two panels were originally part of a decorative scheme based on the story of Isaac. Although the Master’s paintings of this type have traditionally been considered painted fronts of wedding chests, known as cassoni, the scale of these paintings and the fact that they are often part of a series indicates that they are more likely spalliera panels—paintings set into furniture or the wainscoting of a room. The biblical episode depicted in this painting centers on the theme of marriage, which suggests that this work was likely commissioned for the domestic interior of a newly married couple. The Master has transcribed into paint even the minute details of this Old Testament story, in which Abraham sends a servant to travel by camel to the land of his father and seek out a wife for his son Isaac. The servant is here shown at the well...

Wearing a chiton with a himation draped at the left shoulder, and a modius on the crown of his head, the god's characteristic luxuriant wavy hair falling in ri...

Oil on panel Image size: 16 x 13 1/4 inches (41 x 34 cm) Early gilt frame Saint Sebastian was a Roman centurion who converted to Christianity and, in punishment, the Roman Emperor D...

A bronze Thai Bell from the Dongson Culture (1000 BC-200 AD). The work is unsigned.

Late 15th Century Florentine School Madonna with Child Bas-relief Pietra serena (a blue-gray sandstone) 85.5 x 60.5 cm Provenance: - via Stefano Bardini purchased in 1896 by Prince ...

The Marriage, 15th/16th Century school of BALDASSARE ESTENSE (1443-1504) Large 15th Century Ferrara School portrait of a husband and wife worshipping outside a small hillside town,...

15th Century Maestro della Pala Sforzesca Title: Ecce Homo Medium: Tempera on Panel Dimensions: without frame 64.9 x 53.2 – with frame 82 x 70 x 5 cm Beautiful "cassetta" frame in e...

MUSEUM CORPUS CHRISTI Spain/Catalonia or Asturias Around 1250 Corpus hardwood, arms softwood Remains of the original polychrome setting Height 109.5...

This piece is a pot made by an unknown artist in Pre-Columbian Peru. It takes the shape of an owl and has a circular handle with the opening on its back. This pot is a light beige an...

Sitting Madonna Central Italy/Tuscany or Marche Around 1420 Poplar wood carved Original version Height 31 cm Charming Madonna sculpture from the heyday of the Soft or International...