1854

François-Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802-1855), Pendant with a coral cameo depicting Bacchus, the sculpted gold frame decorated with winged mermaids and hung with pearls and diamond sparks, 1854. Given by Dame Joan Evans (M.30-1962) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2016.

Charles Meryon (French, 1821–1868), Le Pont au Change, from Eaux-Fortes sur Paris ( Etchings of Paris ), 1854. Etching with additions in graphite; seventh state; Sheet: 7 3/16 x 14 1/16 in. (18.2 x 35.7 cm) Plate: 6 1/8 x 13 1/16 in. (15.6 x 33.2 cm). Bequest of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1966. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 67.630.9 © 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This unique impression of one of Meryon's iconic prints of Paris, worked extensively with an enigmatic penciled vignette in... [Lire la suite]

  Nova Legenda Anglie, first edition, London, Wynkyn de Worde, 1516. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000. NEW YORK, NY.- On Tuesday, April 12, Swann Galleries will hold an auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books, featuring early English books and travel texts focusing on the exploration of Central Asia. Standouts among the travel books include a first edition of John Biddulph’s Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, Calcutta, 1880, previously owned by the anthropologist Sir James Frazer, writer of The... [Lire la suite]

Amalia Lindegren, Study of a man in Turkish dress, 1854. Photo: Anna Danielsson/Nationalmuseum. STOCKHOLM.- Nationalmuseum has acquired a study of a man in Turkish dress by Amalia Lindegren, a significant addition to the museum’s collection of works by female artists. The painting was a prize in a Christmas lottery run by the Swedish Association for Art in 1854 and was won by Fredrik Bergwall, a manufacturer from Norrköping. Until now, it has remained in his family’s possession. To bolster its collection of works by... [Lire la suite]

Chinese Garden, Guan Lianchang, a.k.a. Tingqua (active 1830s-1870's), Guanghou, China, 1854, gouache on paper. Peadody Essex Museum © 2001-2014 The Peabody Essex Museum.

Insecta maderensia: being an account of the insects of the islands of the Madeiran group. London, J. Van Voorst,1854. Biodiversitylibrary. Biodivlibrary. BHL. Biodiversity Heritage Library Insecta maderensia: being an account of the insects of the islands of the Madeiran group. London, J. Van Voorst,1854. Biodiversitylibrary. Biodivlibrary. BHL. Biodiversity Heritage Library

Tsuka with Tamatori Fighting an Octupus. Japan, 1854 (late Edo). Ishiguro Masaaki (Japanese, 1813-1837). Gold, shibuichi, shakudo. L: 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm). 51.1204.2. Acquired by Henry Walters. The Walters Art Museum. The figures on this tsuka illustrate the story of Kamatari and Tamatori. Fujiwara Kamatari was a historical figure who died in 669, but this episode is from a legend. His daughter had become the empress of China and sent a boatload of treasures, including an important jewel, back to Japan to be... [Lire la suite]

Dagger Depicting Tamatori Retrieving the Sacred Jewel from the Sea. Japan, 1854 (Nambokucho-late Edo). Metalworkers: Fukawa Kazunori (Japanese, 1824-1876), Hamano Masanobu (Japanese, born 1773), Ishiguro Masaaki (Japanese, 1813-1837). Steel, gold, copper, copper alloy, silver alloy, wood, textile, shakudo, shibuichi, sentoku (?). Mounted blade: 10 in. (25.4 cm) (l.). Acquired by Henry Walters.  Provenance: Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum,... [Lire la suite]

A Fatimid carved rock crystal ewer. Egypt, last quarter 10th or first quarter 11th century, mounted by Jean-Valentin Morel, Sèvres, early 1854 ad. Photo: Courtesy Christie's The body of tapering slightly rounded conical form on short central spreading foot, each side carved in relief with a seated cheetah held on a link chain, together flanking a central panel of interlaced arabesques with palmette terminals, a meandering band of leafy vine forming a border around the composition, the back with the base of a handle drilled and... [Lire la suite]