Related Products

• 

  Details

  Liberty & Co. / Leonard Wyburd Egyptian Revival Four-Legged Oak Thebes Stool c. 1890-1895

  Leonard Wyburd UK
  Liberty & Company London

  Four-legged Thebes stool circa 1890-95.  Oak with highly figured grain, concave slat seat, turned details.

  Marks: 4 (impressed on underside)

  This design was registered by Liberty & Co. in 1884.

  Related Liberty & Co. stools illustrated: Liberty’s 1875-1975 :  An Exhibition to Mark the Firm’s Centenary  (London:  Victoria & Albert Museum, 1975) p. 35, illustr. C1, Liberty Design, 1874-1914 , Barbara Morris (London: Octopus Publishing Group:, 1989) p. 103; Egyptomania: Egypt in Western Art, 1730-1930 (Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux and Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1994), pp. 465-66.

  H: 15″ x D: 17″ x W: 17″

  One of the driving influences of the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century was an informed interest in authentic ancient designs inspired by recent archaeological discoveries.  Both the three and four-legged Thebes stool were inspired by actual furniture and wall paintings unearthed from royal tombs in the ancient Egyptian city for which they are named.  Leonard Wyburd, who was one of the principal designers for Liberty, patented his designs for the Thebes stools in 1884. Liberty & Co. continued to make the popular stools into the early 1900’s.

• 

  Details

  Bismarck Family Crown – House of Koch, Chignon crown, Moonstones and diamonds set in an elaborate platinum mount, original leather box, c. 1900

  BISMARCK FAMILY CROWN

  HOUSE OF KOCH Germany
  

  Chignon crown c. 1900

  Moonstones and diamonds set in an elaborate platinum mount, original leather box

  The renowned “House of Koch” made this remarkable bejeweled chignon for the Bismarck family of Lauenburg, Germany. It is an early example of exquisite work in platinum and is set with cabochon moonstones and rose cut diamonds. The jewelry firm, known as the “House of Koch” was founded by Robert and Louis Koch in 1879 in Frankfurt, Germany with a branch in Baden-Baden. By 1883, the jewelers had earned the coveted title of Jeweler of the Court of Frankfurt and crafted jewels for many European Royal families. In fact, their jewels were famous across Europe, and their fashionable styles were worn in the courts of several European royals including the King of Italy and the Czar of Russia. By the time Robert Bosch had assumed control of the firm in 1938, the Koch family was forced to “Aryanize” their jewelry house. It was common during the late nineteenth Century for prestigious families to retool old antique heirloom pieces to bring them up to contemporary fashion standards and since this chignon has characteristics of both the 18th and the 19th Century jewelry, it was likely made from older pieces owned by the Bismarck family. The company closed doors in 1987 and jewels from the great time of the House of Koch are very much sought after in today’s antique jewelry market.