Beautifully detailed engraved map of North America, prepared by Robert Janvier, and dated 1762.
One of the most interesting details on this map is the depiction of the Mer de L’Ouest or Sea of the West, a vast sea believed to have been located in the Pacific northwest.  The existence of the sea was eventually [...]

Holocaust survivor Vavro Oravec did not become an artist until after the second world war. Born in the Slovakian town of Tvrdošín in 1915, Oravec studied medicine in Bratislava during the 1930s. After being prohibited from practicing medicine because he was Jewish, he worked with Jewish children who had been expelled from school. In 1944 he was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, and then sent to the concentration camps at Gross Rosen and Blechhammer.

Decorative Barbotine plate with a portrait of a beautiful woman in Renaissance costume.

Vase Decorated with Symbols of Longevity and Happiness
Exquisite 19th century porcelaine vase from China. Cobalt blue background richly decorated with Bats and Lotus Blossums and the Shou symbol of longevity.
In China, Bats are a symbol of good fortune.  The word “Fu” meaning Bat is a homophone with the word for good fortune and happiness.
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Pastel drawing of the Glarus Alps in Swizerland. Shows the “Käsernalp peak.

The work is signed lower right, but we have not been able to make out the writing. Entitled “Käsernalp am Glärnisch” in black chalk.