Catalog (490)

Beautiful old Zhuang minority textile from Guangxi Zhuang/Guizhou province, China. Woven in two panels with silk embroidered “diamond and star” patterned border, "wanzi" swastika key fret and well symbols. There are small repairs noted in last enlargement minor fading on the left edge- all consistent with an old piece, some orange and brighter purple silk thread seem to be a later embellishment, indicating that this piece has been handed down several generations and highlights th...

Small wide mouth grey pottery jar with “soy” brown glaze from an unknown Southern Kiln. The glaze resembles Jizhou ware. Circa Song Dynasty or earlier, the body is quite thinly potted with delicate lugs near the mouth. There is fritting on the mouth and handle but no cracks or chips. H: 9cm/3.5in and D: 6cm/2.3in.

Complete set of five Shan esoteric Buddhist images. These consist of a Buddha, three monks and a chedi. These are covered with traditional gold and back lacquer and the bodies are made from compressed powdered herbs or temple incense ash. They have a quirky abstract quality to them, their facelessness represents that the individual is inconsequential but has the potential for becoming a Buddha, on the bottom are the eight Burmese zodiac symbols based on the days of the week. For some r...

Rare woman’s pictorial shoulder cloth from a Chin subgroup (Khami, Khumi or Mro) living in the Rakhine and Chin states, west Myanmar. Please note that the pattern is hand embroidered on one side only and not woven in, also most of the geometric woven patterns are unique with only a couple of repetitions. The dimensions are L: 123cm/63in x W: 34cm/13.5in. I have three books and Burmese textiles and there are no depicted examples of pictorial weaves. Circa 50 to 60 years old.

Clay “tsa tsa” of a Lama, with traces of red pigment. Over 100 years old. H: 5.5cm/2.2in and W: 5cm/2in. Free shipping.

The larger one is. L: 106cm/41.8in and W: 59cm/23in. All the elements in this piece are hand made, even the ribbon along the border which is often machine made (even in old pieces)this piece has some old repairs The smaller one is has ablack calendered cotton cloth, and green commercial border, and fine silk embroidered center panel with hand woven silk embellished apron ties. . W: 40cm/15.8in and L: 43cm/17in. Free shipping Hong Kong Registered Airmail. Please examine enlragements fo...

Rare jacket back panel from the remote Miao Jiupang group from Jiahe County, Guizhou province (see last enlargement), with purple embroidered pattern between the spaces in the tin decoration. This style of decoration is unique to this group and very difficult to make, as every tiny bit of tin has to be individually cut and crimped. Recently acquired from a private Hong Kong collector, these are the first examples I have send of these I have seen in the past 15 years. There ...

Two strands of colorful and quirky glass bangle fragments drilled and reworked into beads. These are Persia, circa 6th CE - 7th CE which would make them late Sassanian Empire or early Islamic Era. L: 54cm/21.2in and 59cm/23.2in. See last enlargement for scale. Please note the tiny beads at the end are a combination of ancient Indo Pacific and Pyu glass beads. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail.

Huge Pyu silver coin from Sri Ksetra, circa 6th/7th CE. There is some pitting on “bhadrapitha” side. Will clean up! D: 3.4cm/1.3in, approximately 11 grams. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail.

Early 19th century lacquer box from the Gadu-Gadan region with domed top and bottom (philone gaunglone). There are 16 separate panels decorated with mythical beasts, dancers and quirky symbols on the side and bird pattern on the top and bottom. Please note last photo for reference which is dated 1850 (possibly earlier) from Lacquerware Journeys—Than Htun. The piece I have is actually far more intricate. It is extremely rare to see a piece of Burmese lacquer of this age outside of...

Very rare, large lidded rattan basket from the Nung Rawang ethnic group of Northern Burma, Kachin State. The Rawang are a subgroup of the Kachin people and live in some of the last great wilderness forests left in Burma. Also it is interesting to note that the men do the weaving and with advent of plastic bags this pretty much an extinct craft. This is the oldest basket from this group I have ever found- conservatively at least 50 years plus. HL 42cm/16.5in and D: 27cm/10.6in. I hole...

Very rare late 19th century small lacquer box with a bird in concentric circles on both concave top and bottoms unusual simple geometric designs on the side. For a box of this age, it is in very good condition some loss to lacquer on the edges and bottom of lid. For the specialist collector of Burmese lacquer ware. D: 10.1cm/4in and H: 7.1cm/2.8in.

Strand of “drum” shaped white glass beads from the Nyishi ethnic group of Aranchal Pradesh, north east India, strung on hand made hemp cord. These are old beads and will date them conservatively pre 1950, please note the two round shaped beads are Chinese “Peking” glass beads 19th century. A few have chips but 90% are in excellent condition. Total length 68cm/27in, please note these are all the same size, individually: D: 8mm- L: 6mm ea

Fine old rattan/bamboo splitting knife used in basket making. This has a great natural patina on the handle with decorated “butt”, circa first half 20th century. The blade still carries a sharp edge and is still quite serviceable. L: 44cm/17.2in (blade is 11cm/4.2cm). Excellent condition.

Finely detailed woman’s full length three paneled tube sarong from Ende, Flores Island, Indonesia. I bought this in 1988, this was used when I bought in Ende and has remained in storage since then. All natural dyes and handspun, hand woven cotton. Pristine condition with soft and comfortable weave. W: 150cm/59in and L: 1400cm/55in.

Phallic charm from Lamphun Northern Thailand- serendipitously enough, where they have an annual sausage festival. Originally these were worn by men at the waist and were thought to protect the wearer from any harm to his penis and in a more general sense they also are believed to bring luck especially in terms of “wealth generating or protection”, so a woman might be kept in your cash box to increase your cash flow or a woman might keep one in her purse to prevent it being “snatc...

Unsigned acrylic/oil portrait of a woman worker acquired from a Hong Kong auction. I am assuming this was painted while China and Russia were still friends so would date this pre 1960. Good example of Socialist Realism (girl meets tractor) kitsch, W: 35cm/13.8in and H: 45.cm/17.8in.

Lovely Chinese basket most likely woven by the Zhuang or another of the many ethnic minorities in Guangxi Zhuang, China where I bought this over 20 years ago. This woven from split reed stalks and has a nice soft feel to it. This piece is quite old, 50 to 100 years (best guess). It has an unusual trapezoidal/oval shape and I like it for its sturdy simplicity. Minor unraveling of some of the weaves here and there but in very good condition given it age. H: 14cm/5.5in and L: 24cm/.5in...