Catalog (491)

Charming votive folk embroidery, from the Saurashtra area of Gujarat, made by the Kanbi farmers caste, circa 50/60 years old. The two ply field is woven from all hand spun rough cotton thread; hand dyed silk thread and small glass mirrors. Ganesh is flanked by two female consorts and his “vehicle” of mice beneath him. These are brought out during religious and auspicious festivals, he traditionally has been viewed as the remover obstacles. Excellent condition. W: 54cm/21.1in and H: 56cm/22in...

Heavy porcelain crackle glazed bitong with simple cobalt blue and copper red underglaze pattern. Usual rectangular shape. Excellent condition. Republic period or earlier. H: 11.8cm/4.6in and W: 5.5cm/2.2in.

Lovely vintage ge type glazed wine cup, circa mid 20th century (not new, but not too old), most likely from Fujian or Guangdong. D: 9.5cm/3.8in and H: 5cm/2in.

Eight mysterious skull beads, these came out of China, and have a powdery white coating (I assume to give them the look of excavated items). These are individually made of glass and were purchased in Hong Kong about 20 years ago. Each bead is 15mm x 11mm. Free shipping.

Thai gold and silver foil repousséd Buddha, circa 14th-16thCE late Sukhothai or early Ayutthaya. Some restoration- please view enlargements. H: 7cm/2.8in x W: (base) 4.3m/1.6in. Provenance: Bonham’s, Sidney Australia, Dec 7, 2022, lot 136, previously Soo Tze Orientique, Melbourne, Sept. 6, 1991. Free shipping.

Delicate small porcelain Buddha with gilt glaze and a beautiful expression on his face- produced in the 2nd half of the 20th century from Jingdezhen- there is an apocryphal Qianlong mark in seal script on the back, perfect condition! H: 9cm/3.5in and W: 5.5cm/2.in.

Late 20th century emulation of a Song Dynasty of Guan Yao glazed vase. If you don’t have $2000,000 for an original this the nest best thing. Excellent condition with fine celadon glaze and well potted. H: 21cm/8.2in and D: 14cm/5.5in.

Large Chinese traditional mounted silk scroll, temple stone wall rubbing of a “Thousand Armed Guanyin” Goddess of Mercy. Mounted H: 236cm/92in and W: 111cm/43in, actual painting. H: 178cm/70in x W: 96cm/38in.

Very rare pair of pottery bears. The meaning of bears of during Han Dynasty is somewhat enigmatic, as they are “everywhere” in their material culture i.e., bronze, jade and pottery, but what they signify remains unexplained. Usually they are depicted in a friendly almost cute Winnie the Pooh (ish) fashion, lacking in ferocity like dragons and tigers. Only during the Han did they reach such ubiquity. Both have an amber colored vitreous glaze and appeared to be mostly hand carved. Ther...

Rare pair of three legged, brown glazed pottery barbeque grills. The Han Dynasty was unique in making replicas for cooking in the afterlife. These two pieces are in excellent condition with very minor fritting and no damage; please note that there is still a bit of the original soil it was excavated in stuck to the surface, with a bit of patience this can be cleaned off. The food items on the grill are cicadas and fish. I don’t know if they actually cooked and ate cicadas, but they have al...

Elegantly simple burnished high fired pottery cup from Warring States to Early Han Dynasty. There is one crack and a couple of chips noted in last enlargements. Pretty much to be expected from an over 2000 year old pottery piece. D:9.9cm/3.9in and H: 7cm/2.7in.

Small bronze spoon from the Han Dynasty, these were usually found with miniature bronze cooking stoves, good study piece for fans of ancient Chinese bronze. There is crack that may be seen last enlargement. L: 9cm/3.5in. Free shipping.

Special Offer: “Fixer Upper”- Han ceramic well with dragon head roof, and classic lead green glaze and silver patina. This is broken into three pieces and would need to be repaired (I would recommend two part epoxy) please note that in the cover image it is just being held together with gravity. I would prefer to sell “as is” but can offer a repair but cannot guarantee it will arrive in one piece. H: 40cm/15.8in.

Classic green glazed Han Dynasty grain storage silo. This item has been repaired (by me), please examine enlargements for condition. This has an excellent lead glazed silver patina and well executed little bears for legs. H: 27cm/10.6in and D: 20cm/7.9in (at the roof).

Special Offer: Marked down from $250- now $200. Green mottled glazed censer with classic little bears as legs, some loss of glaze in the back noted in enlargements and a few chips on the mouth rim and legs. D: 21cm/8.2in and H: 13.2cm/5.2in.

Classic Han Hu shaped jar with beautiful lead spinach green glaze with much sought after silver patina. Excellent condition. Note: spur marks and supports on rim and foot. H:12.6cm/4.9in and D: 11.1cm/4.3in.

Pair of large Han Dynasty “ear cups”- er’bei. These are have an outstanding rich green lead glaze, with paraffin patina and high relief wave pattern on the sides. Please note last two enlargements- there are two professional quality repairs. L: 13cm/5.1in, W: 12cm.5/4.8in and H: 4cm/1.6in.

Rare early “si zhi” (four straight lines) style inkstone carved from an old fired brick. The characters on the brick are in an archaic style, no longer in use today. The square shaped flat bottomed inkstone with sloping grinding surface did not become popular until the Song Dynasty, so it is possible this was made into a inkstone long after it was a brick. Chinese are very fond of creating ink stones out of “found objects” such as roof tiles etc. Please examine enlargement for co...

Nice Han pottery jar with traces of original reddish pigment, lovely shape with wide flaring mouthrim, please note the mouthrim has been repaired-highlighted in enlargements. H: 28cm/11in x D: 26cm/10.2in

Green lead glazed oil lamp or candle stand from the Han Dynasty. In excellent condition with no damage, there are still traces of the classic silver patina as may be seen in enlargements. H: 13.5cm/5.3in and D: 10.5cm/4.2in.

Rare grey pottery recumbent dog, circa Han Dynasty. Traces of original white pigments- very friendly looking “doggo”. Excellent condition. L: 25cm/9.8in and W: (midpoint) 8cm/3.1in.

Lovely pottery small lead glazed stove from the Eastern Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). There is original flaw in one of the pots on top and a minor glaze chip on the upper edge but otherwise excellent condition with a lot of lead glazed silver paraffin patina on the whitish surface. See last enlargement for reference from He Li’s Chinese Ceramics. L: 25.cm/9.8in, W: 18.5m/7.2in and H: 9.5cm/3.8 in. Excellent example of how people cooked 2000 years ago in China.

Rubbing taken from a Han Dynasty tomb vault wall depicting an elegant royal mounted entourage being greeted by courtiers. Excellent detail, horizontally mounted as a scroll with textured silk border. The calligraphy translates “Outstanding old scene” signed Zhao Jianchang. L: 197cm/76in x H: 58cm/23in, with mounting-L: 243cm/95in and W: 68cm/27in.

Lovely pottery small lead glazed stove from the Eastern Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). Minor fritting and a couple of chips on the upper corners, but overall, in very good condition for a two thousand year old piece. There are still random traces of the silver patina on the surface. I scraped off a small section the surface layer and a beautiful silver patina is revealed (see enlargement #5), up to the buyer of they want to clean the whole piece. See last enlargement for reference from...

Medieval hammered silver penny, Henry the III, circa 1272-1272CE, “short cross” version. Diameter 19mm, weight 2 grams. Free shipping.

Medieval English silver hammered, 1/2 groat, coin Henry the the Seventh, Canterbury Mint, crowned facing bust. 1485-1509CE. Diameter 15mm. Free shipping.

Subtle nephrite “pebble” jade stone with original russet skin highlights, from Xinjiang. It has been polished on one side to achieve symmetry but other then that this is the original natural shape. This has a silver ring sp it may be hung on a chain. Untreated Hetian/Khotan jade is quite difficult to come across these days. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail. L: 4.6cm/1.8in, W: 2.5cm/1in and thickness: 1.3cm/0.5in.

Vintage brass “puja kalash” water or milk container used in ritual Hindu ceremonies from Southern India, H: 13cm/5.1in x D: 12cm/4.8in. Very finely turned in a simple but elegant shape and quite heavy, near 1kg- and signed (noted in enlargements), appears to be unused but with some patina- made circa mid 20th century.

This is a great “field guide” for East and Southeast Asia swords, probably the best (and possibly only one) ever written with text in Portuguese and English. Sell’s for $300 (if you can find one). Gang Tie Wen Ming: Dong Ya Gu Bing Qi = Historia Do Aco Na Asia Oriental : Uma Visao Do Desenvolvimento Da Armaria = History Of Steel In East Asia : A View On the Development Of Weaponry Macau: Macau Art Museum, 2007. An important monograph and catalogue of the use of steel in ea...

XF silver coin from Hungary under Ferdinand I - Holy Roman Emperor. 1537CE. Depicting Madonna and child and coat of arms. Diameter: 15mm and 0.6gram. Free shipping.

Original psychedelic painting by Bucklee Bell titled “Hung Up”- acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40cm. 2007. About the Artist: Bucklee Bell was born and raised in the state of Florida, USA. His first awareness of personally meaningful art was discovering the works of Surrealists, in particular Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Man Ray and Yves Tanguy. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco, California and from 1967-1970 was involved in the Underground Comix movement in San Francisco and Berkeley, Califo...

Finely woven Iban women’s kain skirt, circa 1940 with “eye of the green pigeon” and bamboo pattern, from the Kapit area, Sarawak, Malaysia. Fine and tight weaves like this, indicate that owner was from a high status. There is one repair noted in enlargements. This ikat is made from all handspun and natural dyes while the colored bands are commercial thread. L: 115cm/42.5in and W: 57cm/22.5in.

Collection of four hardwood “tun tun” pig trap markers made by the Iban people of Sarawak, East Malaysia, circa last half of 20th century. All in good condition. The longest one is L: 59cm/23.2in

Rare and unusual Iban pottery pattern paddle carved from durable Iron Wood (Belian wood), circa 19th century. The pattern on this would be pressed into unfired clay pots to give it this design by the Iban people of Sarawak. This technique has been used since Neolithic times predating the pottery wheel, where pots were made by coiling “ropes” of clay into a shape and then using the paddle to press the coils together to make a shape. The edge is rough at the bottom of the handle other than tha...

A pair of small “utility” knives made by Iban people of Sarawak, East Malaysia. These were frequently carried in the sheaths of their larger brothers, the Dayak mandau. The blades are hand forged, possibly scavenged steel from the leaf springs form an old car. Circa last half of the 20th century. The longer thinner knife has carved deer horn at one end (repaired see enlargement) . See enlargements to see details of the carvings. Both blades are sharp and serviceable. Lengths: 53c...

Fine and rare old rattan “tali” basket with a contracted mouth from the Idu Mishmi ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh, India. In India they are primarily animist but in China where they are known as the Lhoba they have a strong spiritual affiliations with Tibetan Buddhism. Google “Bamboo and Cane Culture of Arunchal Pradesh” and you will get a good description of this regional craft. As Sino/Arunachal Pradesh border is disputed with China (it should be noted this where the Dal...