Lapland, about 1800. Protective eyewear carved on wood and coated internally with pitch black to reduce reflection of the back surface. Object was found during an Arctic exploration in 1907.
Italy, late 1800. Ex voto in silver-plated, dedicated to St. Lucia. Northern Italian school for the item factory.
Syria, 2nd or 1st millennium before Christ. Object of prehistoric worship from Tel Barak. The idol in question is represented by two large eyes testifying to the importance attributed to this organ since prehistoric times.
England, 1790. Silver and mother of pearl handle custody Adams style lorgnettes.
Venice, end 1700. Nice horn pocket eyeglass made with a negative lens. The lens is kept in the handle when it is folded. Many air bubbles included in the vitreous mass.
France, 1850. Theater binocular with handle. The structure is in gilded brass, the bodies and the focus adjustment wheel are in ivory like the handle. Two rings in foliate embossed brass surround the two bodies.
Holland, end of 1600. Ceramic Delft tile. A nobile lady is represented here, holding an object. It could be one of the first depictions of the famous Venetian or French eyeglass developed among the nobility which was actually a monocle.
Holland, 1670. Ceramic Delft tile with an itinerant optician. He is carrying a shoulder box and holding bow specs with both hands.
Japan, first half 1800. Blonde tortoiseshell bow spectacles of considerable size, thank to the diameters of lenses, 5,5 cm. Contained in a blue silk case and wood walnut.
China, 1890. Folding metal silver bow spectacles, maybe Alpacca, with front spacer. Plano lenses. Contained in its ray skin case.
China, second half 1800 year. Silver spectacles with folding temple.Ring terminals and lenses in brown quartz. Content in its shagreen case.
Japan, first half of 1900. Sunglasses without screws with big round lenses. Very similar to the glasses made by prisoners in Europe.
Italy, Venice 1750. The alchemist, printed by Il Chiozzotto for Nicolò Cavalli. Original hand colorful.On the nose of the chemical it is placed a beautiful bow leather spectacles.
Press cutting, the ’Jokers Dancing’ (1622-1627) from de Jacques Callot (Nancy 1592-1635). The minstrel is depicted with a large pair of glasses.
France, 1803/1809. Mother of pearl and silver gilt scissor glasses. It has two marks: a lozenge with initials and a bundle.
Japan, end 1800 year. Wood spectacles, probably to work at close range considering the power of the lenses +4.00 dt. who needed protection even lateral view the particular structure. Also this specs. has an appendix spacer to prevent the lenses they supported the lashes.
Leather bow spectacles with iron bridge. Nord european area, England early XVIII century. Rare and extremely delicate nose spectacles. The thickness of the frame, measuring less than two millimeters , and the flexible iron bridge fastened by rivet pins, made this frame extremely lightweight and elastic but at the same time, not very resistant. The lenses are particularly oxidized. Intransparency numerous micro air bubbles trapped in the glassy mass are visible, which is typical of the earliest productions. The spectacles are contained in a contemporary case made of boiled leather, and embellished with dotted diamond shapes with longitudinal and parallel lines obtained by hot pressure.
Venice, mid 1700. Whalebone bow spectacles with dark green plano lenses.Contained in cardboard case and ink stained at tortoiseshell effect. Presents felt pads on the nasal side to reduce slipping caused by the lens diameter of about 4 cm.
Germany, about 1770. The peculiarity of these two copper glasses is the construction of the lens called ”facetten glaser”, due to the type of manufacture. The glasses with yellow silk on the nose are very rare, as it is made with plano lenses. The lenses are slightly darker but not too much to protect from the sun and that’s why the glasses was described as ”conservative”. Used to preserve the eyes during the reading from the white paper. Held in their double ray-skin case.
Nurnberg copper bow spectacles with yellow thread, in the nose area, to reduce the slipping. Lenses signed ”London” to guarantee the high glass quality. Contained in a trilobate and carved boxwood case, from northern Italian appennines. Consists of two lamine retained by iron nails and a lower leather strip that acts as a locking and stopping of the spectacles.
Center Mediterranean area, Syria or Candia XVIII century. Silver folding bow spectacles. Two dolphins or Triton are the ornamental theme for the arms of these pivoted spectacles. Their heads create the hinges of eyerings conjunction and the locking pin designes the eye of the fish. Contained in a brass and silver banjo case, is characterized by numerous engravings that imaginatively represent fish, snakes and birds, inspired by the post Byzantine miniature typical of Greek decorations. On the lid there is an inscription most likely subsequent to the production of the object: X MAMA DAM ASKENOS, 1816 which translated is, Hadji: noble and rich, Mama: male name, Damaskenos: from Damascus (surname), definitely the name of the user or to whom was given the object. Due to the type, the origin date is certainly earlier than the date engraved.
Austria, 1870. Gilded brass eyeglasses, equipped with an extendable pin arms and X-shaped bridge with barrel separator. It is contained in the Moroccan red leather case decorated with cross stitch.
United States, 1870. Bifocals silver spectacles with coulisse temples. The frame has a different angle in the lower zone to help reading. Patent registered in 1867 by GEORGE D. EDMONDSON. Contained in wooden case.
Italy, 1751. Incredible piece of iron spectacles temple. The right lens signed ”Camillo Lazzarini fecit 1751 Pesaro”, indicates that it is one of the first temple spectacles depicted in the British trade card after the spiral temple from Scarlett. The power of the lenses is about -18.00 diopters. Content in impressed leather case.
France, late ’700. Fantastic brass theater telescope , ivory and blue Limoges enamels with gold decorations. Case in papier mache and red cloth, covered with red morocco.
Venice, second half 1700. Telescope coated in parchment paper mache and painted with floral motifs with the technique of Venetian lacquer. Consisting of three bodies.
Italy, 1920. Splendid walking stick with silver and agate box knob. Contains a silver lorgnette stamped ”800”. It comes from Buenos Aires (Argentina) where there was a large community of Italian immigrants. It was probably built specifically to hold this lorgnette.