The full catalogue of Esteemed Antiques in one view: every object held across eight specialist collecting fields, from Georgian English brass and Venetian glass trade beads to Akan lost-wax cast gold weights, original etchings, antique scientific instruments, and the documented Egon and Thomas Guenther Collection.
Each piece is researched and described with the best available information on type, maker, marks, material, period, condition and provenance. Where an attribution is uncertain, that uncertainty is stated rather than overclaimed. Several pieces carry direct provenance from the Guenther family collection - assembled by Egon Guenther in Johannesburg from 1957 onward, and continued by his son Thomas Guenther.
The catalogue is best browsed by specialist field rather than scrolled in full. The eight collecting silos are linked below the grid. Worldwide shipping from the Netherlands. Private viewings by appointment.
This is the universal catalogue page. It contains every product currently held by Esteemed Antiques across all collecting fields, in one continuous grid. It is the right page to land on if you want to see the full breadth of the gallery in a single view, or to scroll the catalogue without committing to a category yet. For focused browsing, the eight specialist collections below are the working surface of the gallery.
About this catalogueWhat this page is and how to use it
Esteemed Antiques is a specialist online gallery based in the Netherlands. The gallery works in eight focused collecting fields rather than as a general antique shop. Each field is a discrete area of expertise, not a marketing category, and each is built and researched independently against the published references for its category.
The catalogue you are looking at here is a flat view across all eight fields for breadth. The working surface of the gallery is the eight specialist collections below - each one a curated field with its own depth of stock, its own selection discipline, and its own supporting research.
Eight collecting fieldsThe specialist collections at a glance
Field
What sits here
Browse
Antique & Collectible Corkscrews
Named English mechanical patents, Eyebrow corkscrews, French Pérille, Continental, pocket and folding, silver, champagne taps, mid-century novelty
Plus the prestige cabinet of pre-1925 European decorative and functional antiques: Rare Antiques & Curated Collectibles - Georgian and Regency English brass, Victorian office equipment with original engraved dies, early 20th-century Chinese export silver from the Shanghai and Hong Kong trade.
Antique & Collectible Corkscrews
A documented selection of antique and collectible corkscrews spanning Georgian England, 19th-century France, Continental Europe and the mid-20th-century novelty era. The line includes named English mechanical patents (Lund 1855, Heeley & Sons A1 under Burton Baker's 1880 patent, Wier's Patent concertina, Thomason, McBride's), English Eyebrow finger-pull corkscrews by Birmingham makers Willetts, Hipkins and Willetts & Coneys, French Pérille frame and figural pieces, Continental and German registered designs (DRGM), pocket and folding pieces including an 18th-century double-folder traveller, sterling silver vanity corkscrews, a French dragon-head champagne tap with valve and original case, and a curated group of mid-20th-century figural and promotional novelties.
African Tribal Art
Antique and historical African art and ethnographic objects, with depth in West and Central African material. The collection covers ritual and ceremonial objects, figurative carving, ethnographic adornment, and personal use objects from documented field-collected and dealer-collected sources. Sub-silos within this field include the dedicated African tribal bracelets page (cast brass cuffs, manillas, prestige adornment) and the antique wooden tribal objects and African drums page (headrests and carved domestic objects).
Akan Gold Weights
Lost-wax (cire perdue) cast brass gold weights - mrammuo, also abrammuo - from the Akan peoples of present-day Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Originally cast in matched sets and used to weigh gold dust during the centuries-long Akan gold trade, the weights carry a vocabulary of figurative and geometric motifs linked to proverbs, animals and abstract symbols that reads as a portable cultural language. Each piece is catalogued individually with weight unit, motif and casting characteristics noted.
African Trade Bead Necklaces
Antique Venetian glass trade beads from the export peak of Venetian and Murano production into West Africa, principally 19th to early 20th century. The collection includes lampworked millefiori beads ("a thousand flowers" mosaic glass), wound monochrome and overlaid beads, often combined with Akan lost-wax cast brass focal elements (goldweight pendants, hand-cast bells, brass bracelet companion pieces). Some strands incorporate early-to-mid 20th-century phenolic resin (Bakelite / Catalin) beads of the type known on the West African market as "African amber". Composed strands are restrung for safe wear; the bead components themselves are antique.
Antique African Headrests & Wooden Items
Antique African wooden headrests used historically as personal sleeping supports across Akan (Ghana), Somali (Horn of Africa), Gurage (southern Ethiopia), Oromo / Borana (Ethiopia–Kenya borderlands) and Turkana (northern Kenya) cultures. Each piece is hand-carved from a single block of hardwood. The wider category also covers other carved wooden ethnographic objects from the Guenther holdings.
Antique Etchings & Prints
Original works on paper from the 17th to early 20th century: etchings, engravings, drypoints, aquatints, mezzotints, lithographs and woodblock prints. Originals are clearly separated from reproductive prints and later impressions; restrikes and photomechanical reproductions are disclosed as such. Includes Cecil Skotnes graphics printed at the Egon Guenther Gallery Studio in Johannesburg.
Antique scientific instruments and watchmaker's and clockmaker's tools at the optical-horological intersection: compound microscopes by named British optical makers (R. & J. Beck of London is a representative reference piece in the current stock), watchmaker's measuring microscopes with sliding stages, Swiss spherometers, coverslip micrometers, horological bench equipment. Each piece is catalogued by maker (where signed), period, mechanism, completeness of fittings and condition.
The Egon Guenther Collection
A standing collection of objects from the documented private holdings of the Guenther family - assembled in South Africa over the second half of the 20th century by Egon Guenther (1921–2015), Mannheim-born goldsmith, founder of the Egon Guenther Gallery in Johannesburg in 1957 and founding curator of the Amadlozi Group in 1963, and continued by his son Thomas Guenther. The collection runs across African and ethnographic art (some acquired in the field by the ethnologist Hans Himmelheber), European antiques, antique scientific instruments, fine art prints and trade beadwork. Pieces with documented Guenther provenance carry a chain of ownership that pre-dates most of the provenance disputes shaping the African-art market today.
Rare Antiques & Curated Collectibles
A curated cabinet of pre-1925 European decorative and functional antiques: late Georgian and Regency English brass (turned baluster candlesticks, candle reflector lamps), Victorian office equipment (Spencer & Co. cast-iron and brass embossing presses with their original engraved dies), and early 20th-century Chinese export silver from the Shanghai and Hong Kong trade (Hung Chong, Wang Hing, Luen Wo type production).
ProvenanceThe Guenther line - two generations across the catalogue
A consistent thread runs through several of the eight collections: the Guenther family provenance line, traced from the Egon Guenther Gallery in Johannesburg through the family-descent collection of his son Thomas Guenther.
This line is unusually well-documented for a body of African and ethnographic material. Egon Guenther's collecting work in Johannesburg from 1957 onward, his championing of historical African art under apartheid, his founding of the Amadlozi Group in 1963, and his five-decade private collection - which included objects acquired in the field by Hans Himmelheber - produced a chain of ownership that pre-dates most of the contemporary provenance disputes shaping the African-art market today. Thomas Guenther continues the practice as the present holder. Pieces with this line are flagged on their listings; the supporting documentation is available on request. The full story is told on the Egon Guenther Collection page, with biographical context in the Egon Guenther story.
Esteemed Antiques is a specialist gallery, not a generalist antique shop.
SelectionHow the gallery curates
Selection across all eight fields runs against a small set of standards. Each piece is researched against the published references for its category. Maker, marks, period, construction and condition are read from the object itself, not from a wishful provenance.
BrowsingHow to use this catalogue
This page is the right surface if you want to see everything in one view. For focused browsing, the eight specialist collections above are the working entry points. Each product page carries detailed condition photography, mark close-ups where present, dimensions, weight, and the supporting research notes. Additional photographs, video of moving parts and provenance documentation are available on request before purchase or before a viewing is scheduled.
BuyingDocumentation, shipping and viewings
Esteemed Antiques is an online specialist gallery based in the Netherlands, with private viewings available by appointment. Worldwide shipping is arranged on request, with insured packing appropriate to each object class - anti-tarnish film for silver, purpose-cut foam cases for small cabinet objects, and crating for larger antiques. Pieces containing restricted materials such as ivory or tortoiseshell are identified in the listing and handled in accordance with international trade rules.
The gallery is small, the catalogue is curated rather than exhaustive, and turnover is selective. New stock is added across the eight fields rather than concentrated in any one. If a specific piece, type, maker, period or attribution is on your wantlist, the gallery is happy to flag matches as they arrive - please note your interests when you make contact.
Buying from Esteemed Antiques
Request a private viewing or join the wantlist
Worldwide shipping from the Netherlands. Private viewings by appointment. Wantlist matches flagged as new stock arrives across the eight fields.
FAQFrequently asked questions about Esteemed Antiques
What kind of gallery is Esteemed Antiques?
A specialist online antiques and collectibles gallery based in the Netherlands. The gallery works in eight focused collecting fields rather than as a general antique shop: collectible corkscrews, African tribal art, Akan gold weights, African trade bead necklaces, antique African headrests and wooden items, fine art etchings and prints, scientific and watchmaking tools, and the Egon Guenther Collection - plus the prestige cabinet of pre-1925 rare antiques. Each field is curated and researched independently. Private viewings are available by appointment. Worldwide shipping.
What does this catalogue page show?
This page is the universal catalogue. It shows every object currently held across all collecting fields in a single grid, in the order Shopify presents them. For focused browsing, the eight specialist collections are the working entry points and each carries its own deep description, identification guidance, and supporting research.
Where is Esteemed Antiques based, and do you ship internationally?
The gallery is based in the Netherlands. Worldwide shipping is arranged on request, with insurance and customs paperwork handled in line with the value, fragility and material of each object. Silver is packed in anti-tarnish film, small cabinet objects are packed in purpose-cut foam cases, and larger pieces are crated. Restricted materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell are identified in the listing and handled in accordance with international trade rules.
Can I view pieces in person before buying?
Yes. Private viewings are available by appointment in the Netherlands. Additional photographs, close-ups of marks or dies, dimension confirmations, short video of moving parts, and copies of supporting provenance documentation are available on request before a viewing is scheduled.
What is the Guenther provenance line that appears across several collections?
Egon Guenther (1921–2015) was a Mannheim-born goldsmith who emigrated to South Africa in 1951 and opened the Egon Guenther Gallery in Johannesburg in 1957. He was a long-term champion of historical African art and the founding gallerist of the Amadlozi Group in 1963. His private collection ran in parallel with the gallery for more than half a century and included African and ethnographic art (some acquired in the field by the ethnologist Hans Himmelheber), European antiques, antique scientific instruments, fine art prints and trade beadwork. Pieces with documented Guenther provenance passed by family descent to his son Thomas Guenther and now appear across several of our collections.
How do you handle attribution on objects without a maker's mark?
Honestly. Where a piece is signed, the signature is stated and photographed. Where it is unsigned but consistent with a documented workshop, pattern or tradition, that is stated as an attribution band, for example English circa 1820 to 1840, in the manner of, or in the Hagenauer style. Where attribution is uncertain, the uncertainty is on the title and in the description, not buried elsewhere. The gallery does not push speculative attributions onto unsigned pieces.
How do you treat condition and restoration?
Antique objects show their working life. Honest age-related wear is expected and is not concealed. Where a piece has been cleaned, restored, restrung or stabilised, that work is stated explicitly in the listing. The gallery prefers original surface to over-cleaned surface; aggressive repolishing typically reduces value and is not done to incoming stock.
Why are the collections so specific rather than a general antiques mix?
Because depth in a small number of fields allows the gallery to research, attribute and price each piece against the published references for its category. A focused collection page lets a buyer compare pieces against a coherent body of stock; a generalist page does not. The catalogue here is a flat view across all eight fields for breadth, but the working surface of the gallery is the eight specialist collections.
Do you take wantlists or notify on new stock?
Yes. New stock is added across the eight fields rather than concentrated in any one. If a specific piece, type, maker, period or attribution is on your wantlist, please make contact and note your interests; the gallery flags matches as they arrive.
How do I get from this catalogue page to a specialist collection?
Use the eight collection links above. Each specialist collection page carries its own long-form identification and collecting guidance, with the full sub-silo network for that field. The Egon Guenther Collection silo gathers pieces by named provenance across multiple categories; the other seven are organised by object type or period.
