Antique collectors, may we have your attention please? We just came across this bit of news which might just add some excitement to your lives that forever wait for some gorgeous piece to add to your collection. Hyde Park Antiques in New York is selling a pair of exquisite Regency rosewood and Parcel Gilt game tables. And when we say ‘exquisite’ we totally mean ‘exquisite’!

Each of these tables have a rectangular top that has been lined with leather to make for a real classy gaming surface. We are quite taken up by the boldly craved acanthus edges that yell royal luxury in your face, and tell you very frankly, no one seems to mind it. And then there is a peneled frieze set between the foliate-carved corbels.

The square structure has quite a strong support from its base that has foliate scrolls applied with rosettes all over the quadripatite plinth base on gilt foliate-scroll that form the feet. The price tag is huge at $80,000. Even if you are not much into games, this one will be a great addition to your home deor. The dimensions are 28.5″ h x 18″ d x 36″ l.

Via 1stdibs

It is not as small as those heavyweight suitcases you drag through air travel though! Furniture maker and antiques dealer Timothy Oulton of London came up with this oversized steamer trunk armoire. Some of its great features are that while it is handmade of distressed vintage cigar leather over a solid wood frame, its Aniline-dyed leather has a vintage look giving an antique feel. As many as over 3,000 hand-hammered brass nailheads have gone into putting it together.

Open it and you get a pull-down desktop and multiple drawers, cubbies, wire management and bookshelves. It stands on wheels for purpose of mobility. And you can shut it away for that hard earned privacy and storage too. Its leather is resistant to scratches and only improves in looks with use. Even its corner brackets, handles, oak slats with tobacco finish and cast-metal antiqued hardware add up to its real classic look.Its price is $3995.

Via: Boingboing, Restoration Hardware

U.S collector Richard Baron Cohen has scheduled ‘Raffinesse & Eleganz’, an exhibition in Berlin, displaying more than 150 pieces hand painted from 303 photographs. What made this exhibition special is the fact that those photographs were captured by the cameraman on his year-long tour to picture hippos in 101 zoos in 33 countries.

The exhibition shows ceramic of the early 19th century collected by Cohen and is open for the public from July 28 until November 4 in the German capital.

The pot above is the porcelain of the so-called ‘Hippopotamus Service’, one of the products to be displayed at the exhibition with Cohen standing next to it.