Parchment or Vellum

Today the therm "parchment" is often used in non-technical contexts to refer to any animal skin, particularely goat, sheep or cow that has been scraped or dried under tension. The term originally referred only to the skin of sheep and occasionally goats. The equivalent material made from calfskin, which was of the finer quality was known as vellum(from the Old French velin or vellin and untimately from the Latin vitulus, meaning a calf) while the finest of all was "uterine vellum", taken from a calf foetus or stillborn calf.

An Oak Communion or Record Chest Dated 1640 with a dogtooth inlaid mouldingframe. The central front panel is carved with Presentation of the Infant Christ to the Lord. Flanked with arched panels with Ecclesiastical devices. The sides with crosses with INRI scrolls to the tops, the four panel top centered with two panels with the same Johannis Lloyd. The top rail carved with "Saynt Peter, 16 Salopia, 40 Saynt Paul", the lower rail carved with "Let Everie Thing Yt Hath Breath Praise Ye Lord". The stiles with Carytids and Dated 1640.

Additional Information:

https://bygoneliverpool.wordpress.com/2022/10/21/mystery-of-the-ladykirk-oak-chest-dated-1651-liverpool/

"Grandchildren fill a place in your heart that you didn't know was empty"

French Black Leather Sofa Tagged as "Appolo" and Designed by Parisian High Society Designer Jacques Charpentier. Leather Cushions and Body with Chrome Frame.

A Bible box is a small container that is used to store a bible. About the size of a bible, this box could be used to transport in safety what was a very costly book. Many varieties had a slanted or angled top with a lower lip, meant to hold the Bible for reading, when the box was placed on a table. In a sense it then served as a portable lectern. Over the years the typical Bible box was also used or specifically built to contain writing implements such as a quill, ink pot, blotting paper and writing paper. The level or slanted surface of the box then served as a desktop, for writing as well as reading.

In much of Europe this kind of box was produced in many different materials, such as wood, metal or ceramics, in simple or extremely ornate styles. Bible boxes were popular in the 17th century. Many of the more refined examples can be found in museums.

In the Catholic religion, the Christmas crib is a staging in various three-dimensional arts (essentially sculpture and theater) of the Nativity, that is to say, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, in the form of Immutable characters, with the Holy Family and especially the Infant Jesus in the crib (which designates a manger) in a stable or a cave. This original iconography is gradually enriched with different scenic formulas, characters (shepherds, angels, Magi) and animals (beef, donkey, sheep, camels) surrounding the naked Child Jesus in his trough, his cradle or on the straw. The Christmas crib can be static, mechanical or living. Occasional or occasional construction or representation, traditionally associated with the Christmas holidays, it is more rarely a permanent and irremovable reproduction.

According to the Franciscan hagiographic tradition, living Christmas cribs developed in Europe from the thirteenth century onwards as part of one of the salient aspects of the theology of the Friars Minor, Christocentrism, following the realization of a living crib By Francis of Assisi in Greccio, Italy, on Christmas night 1223. At the end of the 16th century, the Jesuits, conscious of the power of the celebration of the Nativity, multiplied in all Christendom the crèches in model reduced as we know them today, using catechesis within the framework of the Counter-Reformation.

It allows people's piety to express themselves during liturgical or paraliturgical ceremonies. Given the secularization of the Christmas holiday, the crib is no longer exposed only in churches but also in houses and public buildings. Owing to their desire to ostentatize and outbid, shopping centers add local elements derived from legends or folklore, which vary according to the degree of inculturation or de-christianisation, even comic characters.

Italian wrought iron four poster campaign bed. The hexagonal knopped uprights with budding foliate finials joined by curtain rails. The head panel has elaborately wrought foliate and floral scrolling branches rising to a foliate scroll crest above conforming hexagonal spindle supports on out swept legs and pad feet.

Provenance: Luchino Visconti up until 1950. This bed appeared in the film "Queen Christina" starring Greta Garbo and was given to film star Fabrizio Mioni who went to Hollywood in 1954. Bought by Vincente Minnelli in 1960, Then "The Fellini Collection". A similar example is in the Henry Rene D'Allemagne Les Secq Des Tournelles, Museum of Rouen.

A Pawnbrokers logo features the traditional symbol of the pawnbroker, which is three spheres suspended from a bar. As legend has it, this symbol traces back to the Medici family – a prominent family in Florence, Italy in the 15th century that was known for loaning and banking. The Medici family crest features the symbol of the three balls, because a member of the Medici family was supposedly working for Emperor Charles the Great and killed a giant with three bags of rocks. The Medicis were so well known as a finance family that other lenders and people in the finance business adopted similar coats of arms featuring the three golden balls. Gradually, the three balls came to signify the financial profession. Another story goes this way - Saint Nicolas, the patron saint of pawnbrokers, gave three bags of coins to the three daughters of a poor man so that they could marry. The three balls in the symbol represent the three bags of coins. Another lesser known possible origin is a coin dating to A.D. 68 during the Roman Empire. The coin, called the Silver Shekel or Shekel of Israel, was issued after a Jewish revolt against the Romans. The coin had an illustration of three pomegranates sharing one stalk. Whatever the exact origin, the symbol has staying power. It is a trademark of the industry, featured in numerous logos, including the logo of the National Pawnbrokers Association--the industry’s premier trade association. Also, the symbol is featured in pawn shops all over the world.

Venetian Gondola Chair with Storage Area Under Seat and Nail Head trim.

Gondola:Italian: is a traditional, flat bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is similar to a canoe except it is narrower. The rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, is used in a sculling manner, also acting as the rudder.For centuries the gondola was the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. It is propelled by a gondolier. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in the city, serving as traghetti over the Grand Canal. They are also used in special regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their primary role today, however, is to carry tourists on rides at fixed rates.