Crucifix base in the form of a skull topped with a stylized tree trunk, wood, Germany (?), 18th-19th century
Death of Cleopatra, oil on canvas, Italy, 17th-18th centuries.
Deity or bodhisattva, marble, India, 19th century.
Devotional Ring, Silver, Lviv, 1872-1920
Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634 – 1704) – attributed, Scene with Soldiers in a Tavern, oil on canvas, Netherlands, second half of the 17th century.
Egbert van Heemskerck I (1634 Haarlem – 1704 London) – attributed, Scene with Soldiers in a Tavern, oil on canvas, relined on panel, framed.
The painting, created in the second half of the 17th century, depicts an intimate yet expressive genre scene with a satirical-political undertone, set within the austere interior of a 17th-century Dutch tavern. The composition centers on a group of five men intently analyzing a document in the form of a large book spread out on a barrel, which serves as a table.
One of the men wears a distinctive metal soldier's helmet (a cabasset or morion type), while another clearly has a rapier attached to his side. The presence of these props indicates that the protagonists of this scene are not ordinary peasants, but rather soldiers, veterans, or members of a local civic militia (the so-called schutterij). The document they are studying thus gains a military-political context; it could be news from the front (a broadsheet), a mobilization order, a royal decree, or a letter of safe conduct, which they are suspiciously verifying.
The artist masterfully employs caricatured facial features, exposing human flaws and creating an ironic narrative about "armchair strategists" or "weekend soldiers," haphazardly dressed and armed. Egbert van Heemskerck delighted in showcasing this contrast for comedic effect. For the painter, such individuals were a brilliant satirical subject – here is a group of common craftsmen or villagers attempting to impersonate great military strategists. One has donned an old helmet, another has strapped on an oversized weapon, yet their attire and physiognomy betray that they are far from a regular army. Each character represents a different emotional state – from deep concentration and suspicion to violent gesticulation (the figure in the light shirt on the left). The composition relies on contrasting, localized chiaroscuro. Light effectively glides across the texture of the paper, drawing hands and grimaces of the characters from the darkness, and reflecting off the metallic surface of the helmet, showcasing the painter's technical skill.
The reverse side bears traces of old paper ownership or auction labels, which once protected the wood from oxidation but have since crumbled. The condition of the support indicates that the relining process onto period wood was carried out a very long time ago (likely at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries).
Dimensions: 31 cm (width) x 21 cm (height)
Egbert van Heemskerck the Younger (1676–1744), Tavern Scene, oil on canvas, England, after ca. 1695
Frame reliquary in ostensory type, silver repoussed on wood core, Naples, 1778
Richly decorated front covered with repoussed silver sheet. Decoration in the type of mature Baroque with floral (acanthus leaves, volutes) and figurative (plastic heads of putti / angels) motifs. In the lower part next to the ovolo there is a clear municipal punca of Naples: NAP 78 (marking the Kingdom of Naples with the abbreviated date 1778). Silver plate applied to a carved wooden core. The back polychromed in light color, with the original bracket preserved. Wooden base, stepped, with traces of original gilding. Authentic object, preserved in good condition. The silver is covered with a natural dark age patina. The original custody (glazing) and the relic in the central oval are missing. A very interesting and decorative item, not only for those interested in "Neapolitans". Naples in 1778 was a bustling metropolis under the Bourbons, and the goldsmiths' workshops there were famous for their finesse and panache, as can be seen in the dynamic carvings of the angels on the offered reliquary.