Robert J Riesberg Antiques Inc.   

  Fine 17th, 18th, and 19th Century Antiques

 

     The pair of English mahogany serpentine front knife boxes combine  wonderful craftsmanship with fine design, patina, and age. These were made about 1785-1810 using delicate conch shell and "barberpole" inlays. Set upon a period sideboard or server, and filled with gleaming polished silverware these would offer a statement of elegance in a well furnished dining room tableware. Both unusual and stylish. H. 15" w. 8" d. 9" each.

     Here is a window into the excitement of an age of canal boat transportation. In the foreground, figures along the river watch the passing barge while men fish in the distance. This work is oil on canvas (26" x 33.5") and probably English. Gilt frame.

     "The canal age was very different. The channel was new and artificial and the water was still, without current either way. Bridges were low and numerous but each was provided with a towing path under it for the horses and mules that pulled the new long thin canal boats, reliably and regularly, sometimes even to a strict advertised timetable. This was a huge improvement on both road and river traffic and canals reigned supreme and profitably for half a century until the railways came to challenge them. Then they had to tighten their belts somewhat and concentrate to compete, but the old equation still held true - a horse and barge remained an efficient way to move bulk cargo."