This beautiful miniature portrait, painted in watercolor on natural material, is signed "SH 1786" on the right center of the painting, and also on the reverse as "Sophia Howell 1786". The sitter, a woman wearing a white gown with a lace-edged black overpiece, and holding a salmon colored muff, is posed in front of a blue drape and a stone column and plinth...

This interesting hand carved rock crystal snuff bottle is 2 ½ inches tall, 1 5/8 inches wide and 1 inch thick. It depicts a butterfly flying in front of a squash and its flower. The snuff bottle is well hollowed and polished. It has a cone shaped agate top. The crystal has natural grains and impurities.

Unsigned oil on paper laid on cardboard depicting the harbor with people in the foreground, the buildings on the right and the breakwater in the middle ground and the harbor with a ship and the far arm of land in the distance. Scenes of Naples painted either in gouche or oil were done throughout the 19th century with views of Vesuvius erupting being particularly popular. This one is attractive for the many figures and the carriages...

Ottavio Padovanino, Italian, 1582-1634. This stunning drawing is red chaulk and pencil on paper mounted on paper. It is 15"H by 10.6"W with the name Padovanino handwritten in pencil on the paper below the drawing. Verso is written Alessandro Varotari, Verona, 1588-1648, "Le Padovau...." The condition is good with minor foxing and a darkened edge due to framing. It was in a private collection in Chicago.

John Costigan, American, 1888-1972. This painting is oil on canvasboard, 10" by 14" in a 2" frame. Overall dimensions are 14" by 18". It is signed lower left J.E.Costigan, N.A. It is inscribed verso with the Title, Artist's name and address and is dated 1942. Costigan's best paintings are the wooded scenes with heavy impasto and brilliant color. This is a gem with a lovely Mother and Child among the splashes of autumn colors...

This print is 13 inches wide x 20 75 tall. it is a spectacular Big Blue. The kanji reads words to the effect Give an inch, take a mile. Maki produced this print in 1971. It is number30 of 105.

This green and yellow bitter melon shape overlay glass snuff bottle is 2 ½ inches tall and 1 ¾ inches wide. It depicts a grasshopper landing on a Chinese bitter melon plant; a moth (or butterfly) is flying around a flower. The workmanship is great and the idea to make the bottle like a melon definitely makes it interesting.

An American watercolor portrait miniature of a striking young man with brown hair and gray eyes. The sitter is wearing a black coat with brass buttons, a white vest, shirt, and cravat. Signed "Williams" at the lower right, the painting is in the original gilt pendant frame with a cast foliate rim. The reverse of the case has a glazed aperture holding plaited brown hair.

The overall size of the portrait is 2 5/8" by 2 1/4"...

A nicely limned portrait miniature painting on natural wafer. The sitter is a young gentleman with brown eyes and curly brown hair, attired in a black tie and jacket, white shirt, and yellow vest. The background is a pleasing bluish-gray. Set in a gilt metal case engraved on the reverse with "G.A.H." and the date 1836. The glazed aperture on the reverse contains a circlet of hair.

The sight size of the painting is 2 1/8" by 1 3/4"...

Maki’s earliest works were done in the late 1950s and remained rather unknown until the late 1960s. He first started producing prints using red ink in 1965 and this is probably the first example. It is also what I call a Big Red. It is very abstract and it fills up the whole sheet. Maki wanted his prints to have balance. This has it: the red field is pierced by three blue squares: two on the left side of the orange meteor-like strokes, and one on the right side...

MEDIA: Overlay Glass Snuff Bottle SIZE: H: 3 inches

Haku Maki started making embossed prints circa 1965. These in the main featured embossing that came out from the back to the front. However, I suddenly discovered that a number of prints in the 1976 - 1977 period were done with the embossing going into not out of the front This style or process does not seem to have hurt any aspect of Maki’s work nor benefited it...

This is a brilliant example of Haku Maki's Big Red prints, his frequent use of a large red character on a black background.

Maurice Utrillo, French, 1883-1955.Oil on cardstock, 6"h by 4.45"w signed LL, in good condition. Petit VaseBlanc de Fleures.