Decorative Accessories

Decorative Accessories

Globe armillary sphere is good for life changing conversations about the historical aspects of the Copernican versus the Ptolemaic view of the universe…

Early man, looking at the heavens, believed the stars were fixed to the inside surface of a rotating sphere. Copernicus gave his name to the theory of an Earth-centered universe, and the Vatican propagated his belief by threatening to burn science heretics at the stake for stating otherwise. We now know that we live on the fringe of a nearly infinite and ever expanding universe. Armillary dials have the earth positioned inside a mesh of bronze hoops, symbolizing the course of the planets as known at the time. The course of the sun is shown by a wide band called the ecliptic circle.

18th C. Atlas Armillary. An interesting mix of early science and Greek mythology: One of the legendary Titans battling Zeus was defeated and decreed to carry the weight of the world on his mighty shoulders. Forever... Our armillary dial, however, has Atlas carrying the entire universe. That’s to say the known Renaissance universe, when the earth was still believed to be at its center. Gracefully intertwined silver rings symbolize the position and trajectories of heavenly bodies around the earth. In all aspects ethereal, science combined with beauty, myth with historic fact.

Mercator Globe. Decorative and well-executed globe from the age of exploration. Stand is made of detailed turned wood and has an antique walnut finish. This desk globe is an exact reproduction of 16th C. Mercator globe, hand applied paper gores

Phrenology head. A tool of trade for the Victorian doctor's desk. Crackled porcelain like Staffordshire china. Phrenology head is a highly interesting and challenging gift, valuable home decor.

Victorian science was fascinated with the human brain. Phrenology was one of the fanciful results of highly creative research. Moods, data storage, creativity, and sensitivity were among the 'senses' that were neatly catalogued and given a defined location. A doctor's desk was not complete without a model of a head depicting the areas associated with each of the senses.

Phrenology head inkwell was at hand, as prescriptions were still written with a stylus and a nib. Phrenology inkwell is an interesting oddity fascinating in its own way. Our porcelain phrenology inkwell is an exact replica of an antique phrenology head inkwell found at auction years ago.

Large horse model. Renaissance painters and sculptors of renown worked in ateliers with students, apprentices, and trained artists at hand. These studio-workers are the source of many paintings and sculptures referred to at auction or in literature as: "from the workshop of" or "in the style of" or "from the circle of"... The walls of these workshops were filled with plaster casts of classic sculptures. Casts of busts, hands, feet, legs, arms, torsos... Articulated wood models of the human form and of horses were in demand for everyday use.

In our time antique art models have always been in demand by cognoscenti for their esoteric presence. Large horse model is sculpted in wood, elaborately jointed and movable. Highly expressive, they love to convey a message! In style and classic taste…

Art is forever, life is short is the Latin expression. This from an age when art was considered a learned craft for the talented. When ateliers were filled with articulated art models and plaster casts of classic sculpture. When masters had an apprentice finish the lesser details of now famous paintings. Finesse and expertise were pre-eminent goals. Both our art and our artist models closely match the style and content of ages past.

Indianapolis Desk Racer. Its original makers were the famous Dooling Brothers, who manufactured around 1000 units at the time. They were offered to aficionados of the famous Dooling spin-dizzies, miniature motorized racecars that reached dizzying speeds. They were closely modeled on the famous Mercedes Silver Arrows of the early 1930s. Originals are now rare and highly prized by collectors.

Molded with the same exacting detail as its original, our 12.2" Indy racer is hand-cast in airplane aluminum. Hand polished and buffed to a high shine, it features a detailed dashboard, faux leather seat, steering wheel and brake. In keeping with its original model-toy character, the front wheels are not linked to the steering wheel. The wheel hubs and rubber tires are made with the same exact detail as the original.

Enjoy a truly unique piece of Grand Prix history. This shiny, sleek desktop racer represents both the romance and the dramatic beauty of the most famous Grand Prix racers ever!

Bantam Midget. The 1930s saw the rise of hand built model racecars, known as spindizzies or tether cars. Miniature racecars built by hobbyists zoomed around banked wooden tracks at speeds approaching 150 miles per hour.

Resembling the full-size racers of their day, several spindizzies competed at once, tethered by cables to a central pole. Powered by model airplane engines, spindizzies raced against the clock. Incredibly detailed and aerodynamic, these miniature racecars were beyond toys; they were pieces of art representative of the best pioneering technology of the era.

Constructed using original blueprints our Bantam Midget model resembles the original down to the smallest detail. One look and you'll be ready to join the competition.

Ferrari Desk Model. Septuagenarian and octogenarian visitors to the 1949 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will wax lyrical over the legendary Ferrari type 125 with its 12 cylinder supercharged engine. The Talbots, Maseratis and Alfas were beaten by street lengths. Oh, the joy of popping Magnums of Piper-Heidsieck and Veuve. These sleek, deceptively simple desk models are made by an extremely complex crafting process. Hand cast and hand polished to perfection in pure aluminum, the material of choice for racecars and airplanes

Maserati Desk Racer. Sleek and stylized, extravagantly finished aluminum. Sinuous elegance. Iconic desk piece for the man who grew up in the era of legends like Fangio, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss. Maseratis and Ferraris racing in the Grand Prix at the Monza circuit. Vintage outlines, in cool, hand cast and polished metal. A piece that stands out and doesn’t try to fit in.

Bolt Sculpture. Is it the bold size that attracts? The cool, refined, oversized wildness of it? It most definitely offers sculptural appeal. Its cachet to hold a trove of diamonds, a beribboned love letter, the deed to your great grandfather’s mansion on the Côte d’Azur? All of the above and more. This weighty exaggerated aluminum sculpture, for both utility and esthetic, would surely have caught the eye of Andy Warhol.

Flower Models for 19th C.biology lessons. Educational models made of papier-mache. View our meticulous, colorful replicas made with the approval of the Royal Herbarium of the Netherlands. Judged on par with the originals, or above. Wood base, reprints of original labels, maker’s name plaque.