Oil on canvas. Signed and dated 'R.S. 1804' (lower right). The featured ship is the Alfred, shown in three positions, thought to be off the Mersey, Liverpool.

This remarkable depiction of the surface of the full moon in oil is the work of Julius Grimm (1842-1906), scientific photographer and Hofphotograph (court photographer) to the Baden court, and was presented to Grand Duke Friedrich I von Baden in 1888. Grimm knew of the Grand Duke's fascination with astronomy and was granted an audience with Friedrich in November 1887, during which Grimm's photographs of the moon were discussed. Soon, Grimm embarked on an ambitious project to produce an oil painting of the moon, based on his photographs, to be presented to the Grand Duke. Grimm's representation features an arrow to the left of the moon, which indicates the direction of illumination adopted by Grimm. The shadowed surface would have been based on photographs of the different phases of the moon, when shadows do occur, as well the model-making technique that Grimm also adopted.

Watercolor on paper laid to canvas in original green painted molded frames.

Of pencil and watercolor.

The present drawing represents a sophisticated perspectival study of an imaginary classical interior. The architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch, whose signature is on the reverse of the picture, was for almost fifty years of the nineteenth century an eminent teacher and theorist at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, exercising considerable influence over the cultural life of Denmark. In 1822 Hetsch was appointed Professor of Perspective, becoming Professor of Architecture in 1829, it seems likely that the present picture was an aid for the studies of perspective undertaken at the academy under Hetsch’s tutelage.

Of pine with painted marbleized decoration. The model of a three storey building six bays square, the first two storeys articulated with a giant Doric order of painted marbleized decoration supporting a plain entablature, the upper storey with a Doric order of painted marbleised decoration below a balustrade, the building set to front and reverse with two storey pedimented portico doorway of double bay width with paired columns, the double doors below a fanlight, the arched window openings of each storey with columns, those of the upper two storeys with curved balconies, the sides with two storey doors of double bay width below a fanlight to either end, the building surmounted by a three tier cupola dome terminating in a ball finial, each tier with Doric colonnade, the first two tiers with balustrade.

Of mahogany. The oval wine cooler with upholstered top opening to a divided interior, set to the side with paired faux ring handles, centred to the front with mask of Jupiter, the whole raised on two outswept plinth feet.

The present pair of knife boxes belong to a tradition of decorative cutlery cases made in the late Federal period. Before silver drawers were incorporated into sideboards, knife boxes were meant to sit atop staple dining room furniture singularly or in pairs. These cases were chiefly made of mahogany, which became the favorite primary wood used in furniture after its introduction in the colonies. Although no overtly similar pieces have been located, making comparative interpretation problematic, the overall design, certain decorative elements, and acquisition history in Baltimore (along with a pair of card tables which are most certainly of Baltimore origin), suggest the origin of the knife boxes. Furthermore, the secondary woods of poplar and white pine, although not exclusionary, support the attribution.

Of limewood with original green-painted and faux porphyry decoration. Each surmounted by a circular gadrooned top above a shaped stem with reeded central section and anthemion decoration raised on four winged female figures and a pylon shaped faux porphyry base decorated to each side with a wreath and crossed poles with acorn finials, the whole raised on four bold paw feet and a square faux porphyry plinth with canted corners. These exceptionally sophisticated pair of torcheres are identical to a single example in the Victoria and Albert Museum. They originally formed part of the collection of the Earl of Lascelles, at the great Yorkshire mansion, Harewood House, built between 1759 and 1771 by a combination of the architects John Carr and Robert Adam.

Of gilt brass. The corona cast with lotus leaves above a canopy of acanthus leaves, the body, suspended on five supports, each with acanthine decoration, the five foliate arms, each arm terminating in a foliate drip-pan and nozzle, the whole centered by five oil reservoirs, each in the form of a Grecian urn, the whole terminating below in a lotus leaf final.

Of gilt bronze. Each in the form of a trophy surmounted by a stylized foliate paterae, composed of flowers foliage and instruments of music, agriculture and the hunt, each issuing four curving arms with scrolling foliate decoration terminating in foliate drip pans and stiff-leaf nozzles. Marked to the reverse with a C inside a lozenge.

Of giltwood with painted opaline glass panels. Of geometric form, the giltwood frame comprising gilt beaded and guilloche mouldings and fitted with panels of opaline glass painted with scrolling foliate decorations, the whole terminating in an acanthine finial.

Of silver-plated tin. The circular corona issuing stylized foliate fronds above a moulded band surmounting the pierced spreading body composed of roundels, facing C-scrolls, flowerheads and S scrolls and acanthus leaves, the body centred by a stylized pierced undulating frieze issuing eight drip-pans raised on shaped brackets, the frieze above a shaped drum similarly composed with shaped S-scrolls and acanthine fronds terminating in an inverted finial.

Of various woods including boxwood, purple heart, mahogany and ebony. The rectangular top with curved corners with original black leather inset within a band of Greek key decoration and edged with a geometric border, the continuous shaped frieze inlaid with a striped pattern and concealing four drawers to the front opened by hidden locks and catches and concealing an extending writing surface to the reverse, the central ratcheted slide inlaid with a coronet. The knee-hole to the front flanked by two deep drawers, inlaid with a geometric patterns and released by a hidden mechanism below each drawer, the sides and reverse similarly inlaid, the curved corners inlaid with a lozenge pattern, the whole raised on four shaped and turned legs, each inlaid with tapering striped decoration.

Of ebonised wood with gilt bronze mounts. The rectangular top inset with a leather panel and encased with a gilt bronze moulded edge, the panelled frieze fitted with three drawers to the front, each edged with gilt bronze moulding and centred by a cartouche key-escutcheon and foliate drop handle, the frieze fully dummied to the reverse. The whole raised on four circular, tapering and fluted legs, each leg headed by an acanthine capital, the flutes with bronze festoon mounts, each leg terminating in acanthine decoration and a toupie foot.

This pair of globes were designed and constructed around 1830 by Newton and Son, one of the leading manufacturers of globes throughout the 19th century. The firm, founded by John Newton in 1780, won the prize at the Great Exhibition of 1851 for a manuscript globe six feet in diameter. Large floor-standing globes were an item of great luxury that adorned the libraries of some of England's finest homes, such as Binfield, Leigh Park, and Broomwell House. The size of the spheres, and the wooden bases on which they rest, indicate the quality and costliness of the pieces: at twenty-three inches, these globes were probably the largest size made by the company; and their bases are boldly carved from solid walnut, indicating that must have been an important commission.

The Mughal term "parchin kari" translates literally to "driven-in", and this technique of pietre dure inlay developed independently in India, at the court of Shah Jahan, the 17th-century Mughal emperor. At this time, architecture was evolving from grounds of red sandstone to white marble, and from relief carving to inlay with semiprecious stones in floral and arabesque motifs. The most famous Mughal building to feature parchin kari is the Taj Mahal, built between 1632 and 1653 by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The parchi kari of the Taj Mahal employs the same angular and curvilinear lines as the design of this tabletop, and is embellished with similar three- and five-petaled flowers, buds, and leaves. The base of this table was constructed specifically for these precious inlaid panels in the manner of Richard Bridgens, the 19th-century English architect and designer, who furnished residences such as Abbotsford House, home of Sir Walter Scott.

During the Renaissance, panels and tabletops inlaid with semiprecious stone began to be produced in Italy, with materials and geometric designs derived from classical Roman motifs. The present tabletop, which was probably made in Rome around 1680, represents a complete departure from this tradition, since its design is an imitation in mosaic of ancient marble, possibly Egyptian alabaster or giallo antico. We know of no comparable example, and so believe this top to be probably unique. Egyptian alabaster, which can appear with a combination of opaque milky sections and yellow-orange-brown fibrous layers, was one of the stones most highly prized by ancient Romans, and was used in making many ritual objects. The ebonized base, which was made for the top in the 19th century, is reminiscent of mid-17th century designs for drawer-leaf tables found in the Netherlands and Sweden.

The present tabletop's inlaid design of colorful birds, flowers and branches with fruit comes from the distinct style of mosaic found in Florence from the 17th century well into the 19th century. While the base has many elements that point to English Regency design, such as the fine brass inlay on a contrasting ebonized ground, the zoomorphic feet, and the outsplaying trestle-ends, there are many constructional features that suggest an Italian origin. It is possible therefore to speculate on the English cabinetmaker Henry Thomas Peters as its author: Peters lived and worked in Genoa in the first part of the 19th century, and supplied furniture for King Carlo Alberto.