Catalog (491)

Strand of Yuan to Ming Dynasty white “milk” glass trade beads excavated from the Tak Hilltop burial site along the Thai Burmese border. These can be dated to the14th to 16th CE because they were found the same strata as easily datable Chinese and Vietnamese ceramics. Please examine enlargements for condition. There are 82 beads with large holes and average diameter of 1.1cm per bead with total length of 48cm/18.8in. Free shipping via Hong Kong registered airmail included.

Unusual example of a Ming glass flower, emulating Nephrite jade, this would have sewn onto a piece of clothing or a hat as a kind of jewelry. This appears to have been cast from a mold, the edges are surrounding by tiny chips- most likely these were cast in groups and cut off from the single sheet. There was lot of dirt on this piece when I acquired it indicating this is an excavated piece, I have cleaned it up the best I could. Really old Chinese glass is quite rare due to its fragili...

Ensemble of four Ming sancai glazed chickens used as ancestral offerings. The large green one has had its head broken and glued back on, otherwise all are in good condition. Heights are between 11cm and 6cm.

Lovely ceramic amber and green sancai glaze fish offering from the Ming Dynasty. These were put on small pottery altar tables and interred with ancestor to provide for them in the afterlife. Good condition , no damage. L: 10cm/4.9in.

Lovely ceramic amber and green sancai glaze fish offering from the Ming Dynasty. These were put on small pottery altar tables and interred with ancestor to provide for them in the afterlife. Good condition , no damage. L: 10cm/4.9in.

Lovely ceramic amber and green sancai glaze fish offering from the Ming Dynasty. These were put on small pottery altar tables and interred with ancestor to provide for them in the afterlife. Good condition. This one is quite small D: 3.8cm/1.7in. A clever bunny good glue a pin on the bottom and use it as a brooch.

Special Offer- reduced from $350 to $250. Good Ming sancai (three colored glaze) horse, in excellent condition- some loss to black pigment on mane and tail but glaze is 100% intact and no fritting and no chips or cracks to the body. H: 26cm/10.2in and W: 30cm/11.8in.

Ming Dynasty Tudigong 土地公 Rare Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE) pottery image of the Taoist “folk” God, Tudi Gong. He is a very popular God and is considered a community guardian, which is why you will see his small shrines in rural villages and urban neighborhoods, venerated by common people. Literally he is an erath God (God of the soil). Most of the original pigments are intact, with excellent detail and garments and face- there is one shallow chip on under the base noted in enla...

Fine and rare Longquan classic celadon bottle with an unusual shape- like a truncated meiping. The depth of the glaze achieves the ideal “jade like” quality that is much sought after by celadon collectors. The Ming attribution is conservative based on the inward beveling on the footrim and reddish slip visible on the glazed edge, but Yuan or Song cannot be completely ruled out. Excellent original condition, there are chips on the footrim edge that were caused when this was pulled from k...

Special Offer: Two Ming porcelains- 1# Simple Ming bowl with impressionist depiction of a cobalt blue underglaze vase with flowers. Perfect original condition, with a classic Ming Period “Bi” shaped footrim. There is one small unglazed spot on the edge of the bottom of the rim, this not a chip. D: 9.1cm/3.6in and H: 3cm/1.2in. 2# Lovely small Ming, blue and white jar, very thinly potted with simple floral scroll pattern. Perfect condition, H: 7.4cm/2.9in and D: 6.2cm/2.5in.

Fine Ming Dynasty “sancai” pottery bed, in pristine condition, with subtle but discernable paraffin patina, consistent with an “of the period” piece. This has simple classic lines emblematic of Ming furniture. There are 4 holes in the floor of the bed originally intended to support a cloth canopy. Widths: 32cm/12.5in x 19.8cm/7.9in and height: 17cm/6.9in.

Special Offer: Reduced from $1200. now $700. Impressive Ming Dynasty pottery “sancai” green and amber glazed wedding bed. There are two repairs: appears to have been cut in half and then glued back together and there is one on repair at the top of the roof façade- all noted in last enlargements. H: 47cm18.5in and W: 35.5/13.9in x 20cm/8in.

Ming Dynasty ceramic wedding booth. Traditionally in China, a woman was carried in a covered wedding sedan chair by bearers accompanied by musicians. This piece has a detachable roof, replicating a draped cloth and is in good condition- only a few minor glaze frits. Would make an excellent display stand for a small Buddha. H: 35cm/13.8in and 12.5cm/4.8in.

Special Offer: reduced from $400 to $230. Quirky ensemble of 4 Ming Dynasty (plus one from the Tang Dynasty) sancai courtiers holding Rats, which in the Chinese Zodiac are considered the first of the signs with the attributes of spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, flexibility and vitality. These all came from different sets and were intentionally aggregated by the original owner. See notes below enlargements for dimension and details.

Lovely pair of exquisite, miniature porcelain vases with Ge type glaze circa mid-20th century (possibly older). On the bottom there are two characters “ya wan”, meaning elegant entertainment. These might have been made for a private collection, this is a specialist craft that requires a high level of skill. Would make classic doll’s house furniture. H: 5cm/2in and D: 2.4cm/1in. Free shipping.

Lovely pair of exquisite, miniature porcelain vases with Ge type glaze circa mid-20th century (possibly older). On the bottom there are two characters “ya wan”, meaning elegant entertainment, possibly might made for a private collection. Please note how easily the light shines through the porcelain in the last enlargement- only a highly skilled artisan is capable of this. Would make classic doll’s house furniture. H: 5cm/2in and D: 2.4cm/1in. Free shipping.

Enigmatic and eclectic collection of 35 small repousse auspicious good luck tokens).These were collected in Dali, Yunnan, China in the late 1980s. No two are exactly alike and and are they seem to are classic Tantric Buddhism symbols such as endless knot, parasol, lotus throne, and temple banner motifs are represented in this lot as well as more traditional Chinese symbols such as bats and butterflies. These came from Yuxi Xingmeng, the last ethnic Mongolian village in Yunnan. It ...

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.

Clay “tsa tsa”, over 100 years old, with six tantric deities- there is one repair, noted in enlargements. H: 5.8cm/2.2in and W: 5.3cm/2.1in. Free shipping.

Very rare early 20th century textile from the Mulao ethnic group Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Province. Little is known about these textiles other than they show a close affinity with Maonan weavings and are no longer being woven by this people. This is a two paneled blanket with original border and supplementary weft silk and cotton embroidered pattern of birds, mythical animals and flowers on a cotton field “key fret” pattern. Good condition given its age- there are some patches on th...

Gorgeous old silk brocade supplementary weft embroidered on cotton backing from the Mulao ethnic group, circa first half 20th CE. The foundation is woven with handspun blue cotton threads and silk weft embroidered, phoenix, butterfly and floral images against a “key fret” background. L: 109cm/42in and W: 68cm/26in (with cotton border L: 128cm/50in and W: 83cm/32in). A couple of worn “threadbare” patches and small tear noted in last enlargement, but overall excellent condition an...

Mid 20th century textile from the Mulao ethnic group Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Province. This is a two paneled blanket with original border and supplementary weft silk embroidered pattern phoenix and flowers on a cotton field “key fret” pattern- all handspun threads. Good condition - no holes or missing embroidery threads. L: 110cm/43in and W: 66cm/cm/26in- with blue cotton border L: 153cm/59in and W: 110cm/43on.

Fine old wedding blanket from the Mulao ethnic group in Southern China. This has a classic floral, butterfly and phoenix weft embroidered pattern. Excellent condition with no damage- this is woven with all handspun cotton thread with some tiny bits of silk floss. The dyes are a combination of indigo and possibly aniline and organic mix in the red and orangeish colors. L: 100cm/39.5in and W: 72cm/28.2in - with border L:122cm/48in and W: 88cm/35in.

350.00 Wearable, rare Northern Chin, woman’s, ceremonial, embroidered skirt circa 50 to 80 years old, Chin State, Burma. All hand woven in two panels with a silk warp and cotton weft, and natural dye. There is some minor fading in a few places (doesn't look in real life as the photos indicate) but the condition and quality of the cloth is outstanding. Chin textiles are much under appreciated in the West due to the remoteness of their region as well as the subtle patterns which see...

Fine, old and rare Chang Naga, three paneled body “prestige” cloth with anthropomorphic cowry shell design. Made from very fine hand spun cotton weft and silk warp, the cowry shells have a fine toned aged patina. This is a genuinely old cloth circa 50 to 70 years old (not for the tourist market). This kind of cloth signifies the owner has given a series of feasts or in the past taken a head. There is one 3cm hole, and two frays on selvedge as well as what appears to be an ink s...

Eclectic strand of spherical wood, cylindrical bone and wild boar's incisor tooth beads, from the Naga or possibly Chin ethnic group in Myanmar. Some of the bone beads have been dyed to resemble pumtek heirloom beads, maybe using wax resist method. These were collected in the 1980s and had some age at the time so I will date around 1960. Total L: 71cm/28in. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail.

Old wooden stand acquired from a US expat estate in 1987, this was made between 1950 and 1980. The legs are inserted. Minor natural “check” in the top, and this piece is sort of shaped like Australia (no extra charge). 14cm/5.5in x 10cm/4cm and 4cm/1.6in.

Maginficent, antique basket from the Naxi/Nakhi ethnic group in Yunnan province. I purchased this in 2001 at local market in Lijiang (now a UNESCO heritage site). Constructed of bamboo with much of lacquer intact, this piece is circa 50 to 80 years old, most interesting is an auspicious coin symbol woven into the top. This kind of thing always reminds of the labor intensiveness that is put in to decorating such a humble object. I have traveled to Yunnan several times since and this is ...

Unusual pottery bowl with hand molded snake handle. I cannot find any pieces similar in style to this although the reddish clay and heavy potting are reminiscent of Hongshan pottery. This came out of China and has a good petrichor and water absorption on the base, very old- at least 2000 to 3000 years old but probably older. W: 14cm/5.5in and H: 12cm/4.7in.

Lovely Neolithic jar with a single lug from the Qijia or Siwa Cultures circa 1500BCE. Please view the enlargements as this piece has a lot more going for it than it appears at first- 1# please note the bottom where you can see the impression of the woven mat where it was coiled and hand molded using a paddle, 2# the handle has four “ribs”, 3# circling the neck of the jar are a series of indentations made by a human fingernail and 4# the lower half has subtle incised diagonal line...

Neolithic/Bronze Age reddish clay, pottery jar from an unknown culture. I acquired this in a group of Chinese Neolithic pottery pieces but I can’t find any references to this being Chinese. I tend to think this from Thailand or some other Southeast Asian culture. Low fired with very good near invisible restoration. If you know what this is, drop me a line and let me know. D: 12cm/4.7in and H: 8.5cm/3.6in.

Chinese burnished Neolithic bowl with side lugs, there is a repair on the edge noted in last enlargement and some of the black pigment in the design is not original. Majiayao culture circa 3000BCE. D: 12cm/4.8in and H: 6.8cm/2.6in.

Chinese Neolithic high fired, well potted jar with side lugs. Very good condition with original pigment and no repair- just some small chips on the mouthrim- please examine enlargements. Majiayao culture circa 3000BCE. D: 12cm/4.8in and H: 12cm/4.8in

Silver Nepal, Mohar Bhupatindra Malla, mohar circa 1696-1722CE. D: 28mm, 6grams. VG. Free shipping.

Silver Nepali mohar, from the reign of Prithvi Narayan Shah circa 1768-1775CE. VG. D: 29mm, 6 grams.

Lovely small meiping from Northern China, circa 1000CE- possibly Liao.. I have repaired it with epoxy and 23k gold leaf (wabi sabi kintsugi). This is a high fired gray stoneware dipped in a white slip and then fired with translucent overglaze. Condition as is, attractive wood stand included. :11.8cm/4.7cm and D: 7.2cm/2.9in.