A mid-17th century German silver and parcel-gilt covered beaker on three ball feet by Franz Finsinger, Leipzig, third quarter of 17th century. Photo Bonhams.

The sides embossed with three oval panels each depicting a profile of a monarch in profile and engraved "IOH GEORG 1 - 111 D. SAX", with pendant fruit between, the separate pull-off cover embossed and chased with elongated oval panels of rural scenes and fruit, applied with a ball finial, height 15cm, weight 6.5oz. Estimate £3,000 - 3,500 (€3,700 - 4,400). Unsold

Bonhams. FINE SILVER AND GOLD BOXES, London, New Bond Street, 18 Jun 2014 - www.bonhams.com

A large 17th century German silver and parcel-gilt tankard, maker's mark ND unrecorded, Danzig (Gdansk Poland), second half of 17th century. Photo Bonhams.

Cylindrical and on domed spreading base chased with entwined ribbons with embossed flowers, the body with high relief decoration depicting the Biblical story of Abraham, one of the scenes depicts two figures embracing, this being the The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, flat and domed cover with chased entwined border and flowerheads and having a detachable figure of a swan with crown around its neck, scroll handle embellished with frosted acanthus leaf, height 25.5cm, weight 41.3oz. Sold for £10,625 (€13,272)

Notes: The maker is probably Nathaniel Detloff, active in Danzig 1689-1696. A very similar example is held in the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw. Our thanks to Dr Anna Frąckowska for her assistance in identifying the maker.

Bonhams. FINE SILVER AND GOLD BOXES, London, New Bond Street, 18 Jun 2014 - www.bonhams.com

A 17th century Swiss silver tankard, stamped twice with maker's mark a cross(?) flanked by RW. Photo Bonhams. 

embossed, chased and engraved in high relief with scenes of Sampson engaged in combat with a lion and the Delilah cutting his hair, the flat and domed cover set with a Swiss coin within a border of "Dutch blooms," double scroll thumb-piece, on domed and acanthus leaf decorated base, applied with caryatid handle, engraved to underside rim with owner's name and inventory "No 42," further engraved with varying inventory numbers and initials, height 14cm, weight 13.4oz. Sold for £6,250 (€7,807) 

Notes: For detail of mark see Alain Gruber Weltliches Silver Katalog der Sammlung des Schweizerischen Landesmuseums Zurich (Zurich 1977), page 306, number 305.

Bonhams. FINE SILVER AND GOLD BOXES, London, New Bond Street, 18 Jun 2014 - www.bonhams.com

A rare 17th century German, Lower Saxony silver and parcel-gilt small tankard, maker's mark IF in a heart-shaped punch and town mark - dexter side a leaping hart and sinister side a rampant griffin, the latter being the town mark for Hesse, circa 1689. Photo Bonhams.

Finely engraved with "Dutch" blooms between a narrow and wide plain band, and applied with lower band of lozenge motifs, the body, cover and base set with various coins from Lower Saxony, terminating in an engraved domed foot, cast eagle thumbpiece to cover and beaded rat-tail to handle, engraved under base "DENCKMAHL. TREVER. MVTTER. LIEBE BEGP.M.GF. 1676 -1689", also incuse stamped "RBF", height 10.2cm, weight 9.5oz. Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 (€10,000 - 15,000). Unsold

Notes: As there has been no firm identication on the "town", there is a strong possiblity that the "town" mark could possible be a family crest or coat of arms.

Bonhams. FINE SILVER AND GOLD BOXES, London, New Bond Street, 18 Jun 2014 - www.bonhams.com

A mid-17th century Norwegian provincial silver peg tankard, stamped with maker's mark to underside, by Anders Andersen Heins, Trondheim, circa 1650. Photo Bonhams.

see Krohn-Hansen, 'Tronhjems Gullsmedkunst', mark 17, page 158.

Plain cylindrical form with applied girdle to lower body, the body engraved with a presentation inscription in Latin within a circular foliate: border "Prabeo potand certum sitientibus usum, Ille reddit sanus qui mediocre bibit; Sed minimum largo qui se mei proluit hausta, Concidit in media sape faceti via. Edwardis Hammond. Anno 1686. Die: 23 Novemb.", the flat-domed cover with stylised bud thumbpiece, the centre engraved with a contemporary armorial with the initials 'TH' above and 'SH.DB' below, within a leafy wreath, the hollow scroll handle with central rib and terminating in vacant cartouche, on a domed skirting circular base, height 22.5cm, weight 33oz. Sold for £37,500 (€46,845)

Notes: The cover engraved with the shield and crest of HAM[M]OND of Windingham, Cambs., Teddington, Middx., Haling House, Surrey and also of Yorkshire with a brisure for difference. The cover also bears the initials of Thomas Hammond (1630-81).

Thomas Hammond settled in Trondheim, Norway around 1650 following his marriage to Elizabeth, the daughter of another immigrant merchant, Henry Sommerschield. Sommerschield had made his fortune in the herring and timber industry in Suffolk. Following marriage to his daughter, Thomas and his brother John continued the timber trade in London in receipt of goods. The marriage was considered 'useful' given Hammond was the son of a wealthy landowner and had roots as a timber merchant.

Following Hammond's arrival in Trondheim he bought timber from the peasants in the region, but soon he had his own forests and was able to run his sawmills with his timber. As business grew so did his family; Elizabeth and Thomas had seven children: four daughters and three sons, one of which was Edward.

Thomas Hammond was killed in the great Trondheim fire on the 18th April 1681. The fire tore the merchant district of Nidelva apart leaving only the Pier standing. Although the loss of buildings was serious, many of the business papers, deeds and accounts were also lost in the fire leaving huge sums outstanding. Years of litigation between the Hammond heirs and estate debtors followed although he received a post-humerus certificate from the magistrates declaring that he was an honest trader. Despite this, his wife Elizabeth died the following year, it is said she drowned herself in the river through grief of her husbands loss and her financial demise.

Little is known of Edward other than that he became the Mayor/Prefect of Bergen. His sister Sara continued the family business, marrying another important merchant, Albert Angell and later the merchant and city manager Soren Byball.

The Latin inscription to the body highlights the importance of alcoholic beverages in Nordic culture. The Norse people had an acute awareness of the perils and dangers of drunkenness with the great god Óðinn (the furious one) warning against such excessive drinking. The translation of the engraved quatrain appears to be comedic, but also bears resemblance to the Hávamál (sayings of the high one) below:

"Less good than they say for the sons of men
is the drinking of ale:
for the more they drink, the less they can think
and keep watch over their wits".

For a similar example to this tankard see: Jorunn Fossberg, Norsk Sølv: Gullsmeder Gjennom 600 AR (Denmark 2003), page 195.

Bonhams. FINE SILVER AND GOLD BOXES, London, New Bond Street, 18 Jun 2014 - www.bonhams.com

A Chinese yaozhou celadon-glazed incised plate, Northern Song Dynasty. Photo Bonhams.

the interior carved and combed with peony patterns within a thin circular band, the underside incised freely with circular strokes, the base coated with celadon glaze within a double-cut ring, 22.2cm diam. Estimate AU$ 11,000 - 13,000 (€7,600 - 9,000)

Note: The fine carving on both sides, and the coating within the double cut to the base both indicate that this plate was probably made for the high court during the Northern Song dynasty.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

A Chinese cizhou black-glazed tea bowl, 12th-13th century. Photo Bonhams.

with russet-splashed pattern to the interior, rim fixed with metal band, the black glaze stopping at the incised spiral pattern, 13.6cm diam. Estimate AU$ 1,000 - 2,000 (€690 - 1,400)

Provenance: Private collection NSW, purchased in London in the 1960s

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

A Chinese qingbai octagonal vase, 12th-13th century. Photo Bonhams.

20.3cm high. Estimate AU$ 4,500 - 5,500 (€3,100 - 3,800)

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

A Chinese cizhou purple-glaze tea bowl, 12th-13th century. Photo Bonhams.

16cm diam. Estimate AU$ 800 - 1,200 (€550 - 830)

Provenance: Private collection NSW, purchased in London in the 1960s

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, after 1782. Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 70.5 cm. Photo: The National Gallery, London. 

LONDON.- 'Making Colour', the first exhibition of its kind in the UK, offers visitors an exceptional opportunity to discover the wide-ranging materials used to create colour in paintings and other works of art. Using the National Gallery’s own paintings and loans from major UK cultural institutions, the exhibition traces the history of making colour in Western paintings, from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century. 

The exhibition brings together the worlds of art and science to explain how artists overcame the technical challenges involved in creating colour. Work on this subject has long been a specialism of the Gallery's internationally recognised Scientific Department. 'Making Colour' shows the material problems faced by artists in achieving their painterly aims, the breakthroughs they struggled for, and the difficulties they faced in creating works of art that were both beautiful and enduring. 'Making Colour ' looks at its subject from multiple perspectives. It examines the origins of paint sources – be it the natural world or human invention – and their supply, manufacture and application, as well as their permanence and colour effect. 

The rich and diverse display with National Gallery paintings at its core is part of the 'National Gallery Inspires' programme of exhibitions. Drawn from the National Gallery collection, the exhibitions take a fresh view of National Gallery paintings alongside special loans and featuring world-leading research by Gallery experts. 'Making Colour' shows the central importance of colour to painting, but also incorporates minerals along with textiles, ceramics and glass, demonstrating the material connections in these sister arts.

The exhibition begins by examining how theories of colour – such as an awareness of primary colour, or of the colour spectrum – have influenced painters' use of pigments, and their quest for new materials. Visitors then journey from lapis lazuli to cobalt blue, ancient vermilion to bright cadmium red, through yellow, orange, purple and verdigris to deep green viridian in a series of colour-themed rooms. Finally, they enter a dazzling central room devoted to gold and silver. These metals were of fundamental importance to the colour effects of European painting through many centuries, although they do not appear on the traditional colour wheel. 

'Making Colour' is illustrated at every stage by National Gallery paintings, complemented by selected objects on loan, such as Joseph Mallord William Turner's paintbox. The exhibition includes Claude Monet's 'Lavacourt under Snow' (about 1878–81) on display with lapis lazuli figurines from the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Anthony van Dyck's 'Lady Elizabeth Thimbelby and her Sister' (1637) and elaborate majolica plates from the British Museum help to illustrate the story of yellow. In the red room Degas's 'Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')' (about 1896) and Masaccio's 'Saints Jerome and John the Baptist' (about 1428–9) are displayed alongside fragments of beautiful crimson velvet brocade on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  

The exhibition is complemented by a scientific experiment that introduces a new world of contemporary and scientific thought on colour. It deals with human colour perception, and the degree to which it is individually variable. It will also consider the ways in which the brain processes different visual information – for example in lighting paintings – and the impact that this has on our perception of colour. 

The computer-controlled experiment in lighting and perception will be presented beside the Sainsbury Wing exhibition galleries, designed to demonstrate how we perceive and register colour, and to show that the eye and brain respond to colour in unexpected ways. The experiment has been developed with the advice of Professor Anya Hurlbert, Professor of Visual Neuroscience and Director of the Institute of Neuroscience, University of Newcastle and the support of the Wellcome Trust. 

Ashok Roy, Director of Collections at the National Gallery, said: “Art and science really do come together in Making Colour. By exploring the materials that make up the array of artists’ pigments, we can begin to comprehend some of the historic circumstances and difficulties in creating colours that we now take for granted. The inclusion of objects such as early textiles, mineral samples and ceramics ensures an enticing display that provides a new angle from which to approach familiar works in the collection.” 

Caroline Campbell, Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500 at the National Gallery, said: “Artists from the Middle Ages to the present day have sought to find suitable pigments and colours. This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this quest for colour. Thanks to the work of our Scientific Department, we can add another layer to our understanding of how artists created such beautiful images.” 

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Self Portrait’, about 1799, Tate Gallery, London © The Art Archive / Tate Gallery, London / Eileen Tweedy 

Pierre Auguste Renoir, ‘Portrait of Claude Monet’, Musée d’Orsay, Paris © RMN (Musée d'Orsay) / Jean-Gilles Berizzi 

Anthony van Dyck, ‘Lady Elizabeth Thimbelby and Dorothy, Viscountess Andover’, about 1637. Oil on canvas. 132.1 x 149 cm © The National Gallery, London. 

 Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, ‘Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure’)’, about 1896. Oil on canvas. 114.3 x 146.7 cm © The National Gallery, London. Photo: The National Gallery, London. 

Masaccio, Saints Jerome and John the Baptist, about 1428-9. Photo: The National Gallery, London. 

Camille Pissarro, The Avenue, Sydenham, 1871. Oil on canvas, 48 x 73 cm. Photo: The National Gallery, London.

Moses Harris,‘The Natural System of Colours’, 1769/1776. Hand-coloured etching. 37 × 27.7 × 1.5 cm © Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: John Hammond

Gherardo di Jacopo Starnina, ‘The Beheading of Saint Margaret (?)’, probably about 1409. Egg tempera on poplar. 42.3 x 65.2 cm © The National Gallery, London

Replica of a section of Florentine late fourteenth century painting. Gold leaf and egg tempera on panel. 30 x 20 cm © Hamilton Kerr Institute

Sassoferrato, ‘The Virgin in Prayer’, 1640-50. Oil on canvas. 73 x 57.7 cm © The National Gallery, London

Francesco Xanto Avelli, Shallow saucer bowl, with vulcan at his forge with Venus (on the front), 1539. Maiolica. Diameter 17.1 cm. The British Museum, London© The Trustees of The British Museum

Philippe Rousseau, ‘A Valley’, about 1860. Oil on canvas. 81 x 99.7 cm © The National Gallery, London

Della Robbia family, Kneeling Angel holding a Candlestick, c.1500-50. Terracotta painted in coloured tin glazes. 76 × 49 cm © The Fitzwilliam Museum

Sandro Botticelli, ‘Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels’, about 1475-80. Tempera and oil on wood. 49.5 x 31.8 cm © The National Gallery, London

A Chinese carved white-glaze 'kui-dragon' beehive water pot, Kangxi six-character underglaze blue mark. Photo Bonhams.

A Chinese yellow-glaze jar, Kangxi six-character underglaze blue mark. Photo Bonhams.

21cm high. Estimate AU$ 1,500 - 2,000 (€1,000 - 1,400)

Provenance: Private collection Victoria.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

A small Chinese celadon-glaze square vase, Yongzheng six-character under-glaze blue seal mark. Photo Bonhams.

14cm high. Estimate AU$ 800 - 1,200 (€550 - 830)

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, Sydney, Paddington, 22 Jun 2014 -www.bonhams.com

Tête de mort en cristal de roche, Italie, 2ème moitié du XVIème siècle (?). Entrée dans la collection royale avant 1791. Musée du Louvre.

Léonhardt Kern (Forchtenberg, 1588 - Schwäbisch Hall, 1662), Enfant endormi couronné de laurier, Vanité. Ivoire. Collection, duc de Brunswick, butin de la campagne d'Allemagne, 1806. Musée du Louvre.

Attribuéà Léonard Limosin. Plaque: Le Dauphin, futur Francois II. Limoges, vers 1553. Email peint sur cuivre. Musée du Louvre.

Pierre Redon (connu entre 1530 et 1562), Morion de Charles IX. Fer repoussé, plaqué d'or et émaillé, soie brodée de fils d'or. Vers 1555-1560 (?). Musée du Louvre.

Pierre Redon (connu entre 1530 et 1562), Ecu de Charles IX. Fer repoussé, plaqué d'or et émaillé, soie brodée de fils d'or. Vers 1555-1560 (?). Musée du Louvre.

Jacob & Co. Yellow Sapphire Necklace. 

An Exquisite One Of A Kind Yellow Sapphire Necklace, Featuring: GemTechLab 250.47 Ct. Natural Yellow Sapphire (1 Center Stone) Mounted in 18K Yellow Gold, Surrounded By Pave' Set 5.30 Ct. Yellow Round Cut Diamonds (750 Stones), 629.03 Ct. White Crystal Beads (18 Stones), 8.84 Ct. White Rose Cut Diamonds (18 Stones) On Center of Crystal Beads, Surrounded By Pave' Set 11.49 Ct White Round Cut Diamonds (2,088 Stones), Mounted in 18K White Gold.

Jacob & Co. Sapphire Diamond Ring.

Sapphire Diamond Ring with GRS Certified 10.03cts Oval Cut No Oil Sri Lanka Natural Padparadscha Sapphire Center to 3.60cts Round Cut Diamonds.

Jacob & Co. Ceylon Sapphire Cocktail Ring. 

Ceylon Sapphire Cocktail Ring, Featuring: A Breathtaking AGL Certified 46.64 Ct Oval Cut Natural Orange Sapphire (Untreated) Highlighted With 2.17 Ct Natural Fancy Intense Pink Diamonds & 0.72 Ct White Diamonds Delicately Set in a Pave' Setting, Mounted in Platinum & 18K Rose Gold.

Photos and text by courtesy of Jacob & Co

Détail du tissu mural

Commode, Paris, vers 1750. J/P. Carel, ébéniste. Bâti de chêne, placage de bois verni noir, d'amarante, de bois fruitier et de chêne, laque de Coromandel, bronze doré, marbre de Sarrancolin. 

Bureau plat, Paris, vers 1750. J. Dubois, ébéniste. Bâti de chêne, sapin et bois fruitier, placage de bois, vernis Martin, laque, cuir, bronze doré.

Plafond de la salle Chinoiserie

Three Stone Pink Sapphire Ring. Jacob & Co.

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Spinel Cocktail Ring. Jacob & Co.

Spinel Cocktail Ring, Featuring: GRS Certified 16.72 Ct Natural Pink Spinel (Center Stone) Surrounded By 12.72 Ct. Rose Cut Diamonds, Mounted In Platinum.

Cocktail Ring. Jacob & Co.

This Extraordinary Cocktail Ring, Composed 26.62 Ct. Ceylon Ruby ( Not Heat Treated), Highlighted With 1.00 Ct. Pave' Set White Diamonds, Mounted In Platinum.

Photos and text by courtesy of Jacob & Co