Catalog (490)

Nice strand of antique Indo Pacific glass beads from Thailand. L: 69cm/27in- see last enlargement for scale. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail.

Rare early 20th century Yi minority lacquered box constructed from leather. I purchased this piece in a Bai minority, weekly market in Yunnan near Dali around 2002. I assume this is now an extinct craft no longer being done because of the availability of cheap plastic items as well as the migration of artisans to better paying jobs in the city. Very minor lacquer losses on the edge. Excellent condition. H: 5cm/2in

Old embroidered jacket panel from the Miao/Dong ethnic group Southwest China, with abstract floral pattern. Avery lovely piece- the pattern seems to shimmer as if floating on a pond of water. See image for condition and size. Free Shipping

Old embroidered jacket panel from the Miao/Dong ethnic group Southwest China, with abstract phoenix and floral pattern. See image for condition and size, floral scroll. Free Shipping

Old embroidered jacket panel from the Miao/Dong ethnic group Southwest China. See image for condition and size, floral scroll. Free Shipping

Old embroidered jacket panel from the Miao/Dong ethnic group Southwest China. See image for condition and size, with abstract phoenix and floral scroll. Free Shipping

Old embroidered jacket panel from the Miao/Dong ethnic group Southwest China. See image for condition and size. Free Shipping

Nice old red and black lacquered Cambodian “siri” box, with lovely incised scrolling fern pattern This piece predates the Khmer Rouge regime and circa 60 or 70 years old. In good condition, there is no significant damage other expected signs of use and wear and the lid is a bit warped. In recent years Khmer lacquerware is making a comeback, however most of this is used for “home décor” export items, as far as I know no one is currently resurrected items for common household ...

Rare black Lanna lacquer box circa 70 to 90 years old in excellent condition given its age, no repairs or big chunk missing, from Chiang Mai. Genuine old examples of Thai lacquer are quite rare these days as most have been bought up by Thai collectors. H: 8.7cm/3.4in and D: 11cm/4.2in.

Semi antique, large woman’s sarong from the Stieng/Xtiêng ethic group Vietnam. Over 60 years old, this is woven from all handspun cotton threads. There is a patch, 7cm x 2cm fray on one edge and small 1cm hole. L: 203cm/79on39.8in and W: 94cm/37in.

Woman’s breast cloth from the Chin or Rakhine States, Myanmar- from the Khumi, Khami or Mro- Chin subgroup. Good condition- there is one tiny pin hole and a couple of stains. Circa 1950. L: 70cm/27.5in and W: 34cm/13.2in.

Women’s skirt from the Bahnar (Ba Na) ethnic group from the Central Highlands of Vietnam, woven from fine handspun cotton using all natural dyes. The weaving is very intricate and refined, note the use of narrow warp ikat bands throughout this piece. This is one single panel which would have used to make three other skirts. See last enlargement for a complete example. L: 2.9meter/9.5feet and W: 66cm/26in. I have two complete skirts- please contact if interested.

Ensemble of 3 old Chinese furniture maker’s planes. See text in last three enlargements for details,

Rare woman’s skirt (pukhang) from the Kachin/Jingpo ethnic group, Northeast Burma. This is two panels with supplementary weft trim on the ends made of dog hair. Mostly natural dye and indigo. It is quite a durable weave with denim like feel. There is some staining, one small hole as well as a bit of dye bleeding. I could only find examples this in “Textiles of the Hill Tribes of Burma”: Michael C. Howard (plate 107) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Accession Number: 2002.312...

Antique women’s shoulder cloth (hti paun) from the Mro or Khami subgroup of the Chin ethnic group. A very old piece circa 1920 to 1940. There are two small repaired holes, minor fraying edge along the selvedge and loss to fringe. L: 174cm/64.5in and W: 92cm/32in.

Large vintage “bush knife” from Lanna Thailand, this is an all purpose tool with a thick spine and very sharp edge- quite heavy as well. The blade is fixed with a steel collar and woven rattan and comes with a bamboo basket type sheath. Total L: 54cm/22.2in (blade L: 29cm/11.5in and handle L: 25cm/10.5in). This is an artisanal village made piece and not mass produced.

Song Dynasty Jun ware brush shaper or brushwasher. This was originally the base of flower vase which was later reworked into a scholar’s object. The brown clay indicates this was fired in Henan and in my opinion is representative of the kind that was acquired for the Imperial Qing collection rather then the more typical bowls and saucers. The top surface has more discoloration and minor scratches which indicates, that the repurposing was done some time ago. The book “Chun Ware�...

Beautiful black ovoid jar with some small russet speckles and streaks. This piece is in perfect condition with a near black glaze, from a Northern Kiln (most like Shanxi 山西 or Henan 河南), and dating to the Northern Song/Jin Dynasties. D: 14cm/5.5in and H: 10.5cm/4.1in.

Fine Cizhou image of boy carrying a lotus, this symbolizes the continued succession of sons. This piece is in pristine original condtion. High fired stoneware with very stable heavy glaze. H: 17.5cm/6.9in and W: 9cm/3.5in. Guaranteed to be at least Qing Dynasty but possibly Ming.

Pair of matched naturally stressed wooden plaques with “couplet”, encouraging harmony and peace. Traditionally Chinese write to right to left so the meaning of the board on the right encourages one to “admit your mistakes to avoid trouble in the world” while the one on the left, encourages one to “be tolerant, to live in peace”. It has been suggested to me that these may be have been hung in an old Kung Fu studio as this would express the spirit of martial arts. The calligr...

Basket from Northern Burma probaby from the Rawang or other Kachin related group. . Approximately 50 or 60 years old. Increasingly difficult to source, this is a fine example of Burmese tribal basketry. Condition: good natural polished feel to the surface, a couple of “breaks” on upper rim of basket. The hole in the handle lid seems to intentional, as it has the same wear as the rest of the piece. Dimensions: 20cm/8in height 15.5cm/6.2in diameter.

Special Offer- Reduced from $1400 to $800. Stunning Northern Song black glazed jar with russet streaks in perfect original condition, from a Henan kiln. D: 10.3cm/4in and W: 6.8cm/2.7in. Stunning Northern Song black glazed jar with russet streaks in perfect original condition, from a Henan kiln. D: 10.3cm/4in and W: 6.8cm/2.7in.

Beautiful Miao woman’s apron with black calendered cotton cloth, and green commercial border, and fine silk embroidered center panel with hand woven silk embellished apron ties, from Guizhou. The colors in center panel are particularly luscious and I would date this piece 40 to 60 years of age. W: 40cm/15.8in and L: 43cm/17in. Free shipping Hong Kong Registered Airmail

Rare semi antique supplementary warp silk embroidery on handspun indigo cotton, blanket from the diverse Tai ethnic group Vietnam/Laos. I collected this in Chiang Mai around 15 years ago and would date it around 50 to 90 years old. Nowadays you just can’t find this sort of textile anymore. Some minor embroidery losses but overall in very good condition. Dimensions: 80cm/31.5in x 137cm/53in.

Good woman’s skirt panel or apron from a Yunnan ethnic minority, approximately 50 to 70 years old. All the elements in this piece are hand made, even the ribbon along the border which is often machine made (even in old pieces). The beads along the edge are made of seeds. This piece has some old repairs which I have noted in enlargements. The overall embroidered pattern is a combination of white cotton while the greens and reds are either silk or a cotton and silk blend. This was origin...

Billon jital coin from the last Shah of Kwarezm Kingdom 12o0CE -1220CE. Muhammad II of Khwarezm, having arrested/executed emissaries on two occasions from the Mongols, he brought the full force of Genghis Khan’s wrath on his realm and every city was razed to the ground“arguably the bloodiest massacre the world saw until the 20th century”. There is one split. Free shipping via Hong Registered Airmail. D: 14mm

Copper jital coin from the last Shah of Kwarezm Kingdom 12o0CE -1220CE. Muhammad II of Khwarezm, having arrested/executed emissaries on two occasions from the Mongols, he brought the full force of Genghis Khan’s wrath on his realm and every city was razed to the ground“arguably the bloodiest massacre the world saw until the 20th century”. Free shipping via Hong Registered Airmail. D: 19.8mm

Exceptionally rare early 20th century small, complete betel box with za-yun pattern, emulating English embroidery stitching. There are some cracks on the lacquer surface as well minor losses on the edge (especially on the inner box) all visible in enlargements. This is a specialist’s collector piece, for real lovers of Burmese lacquer. H: 8.4cm/3.3in and D:11.6cm/4.4in

Unusually large lacquered betel container with two inner trays, from Karen ethnic group. Circa first half 20th century, some loss to the bottom. H:11.5cm/4.5in and D: 12.6cm/5in.

Women’s jacket from the Dong minority in Longsheng Terraces, Guangxi Zhuang, China. The black outer cloth is commercial denim, the lining is handmade indigo cotton with a beautiful purple hand embroidered panels on the back and upper sleeves. Some damage (please examine enlargements) but repairable or very wearable as is. Chest width 50cm/19.5in, total end to end arm length 153cm/61in and shoulder to bottom height 72cm/28.3in. Held to together by a hand woven ribbon it is a bit �...

Good Karen basket waterproofed with natural tree lacquer, good condition- i.e. no damage. Circa 40 to 50 years- purchased in the 1990s in Mae Hong Song, along the Thai/Burmese border. I was back there recently and old baskets have all sold out. See last enlargement for reference.

Nice old Cambodian lacquered basket. Very few things survived the reign of the Khmer Rouge which makes old baskets quite rare. Circa 70 years old, there are some old repairs noted in the enlargements. D: 30cm/11.8in and H: 11cm/4.2in.

Two rare Burmese/Shan small betel containers, 60 to 100 years old with “ku-nan kan byat” patterns and original inner trays. Genuine antique Burmese lacquer is almost impossible to find these days; I picked the larger one up in a small shop Luang Prabang, Laos in 1998. H: 8.7cm/3.4in and W: 10.2cm/4in, and the smaller one, H: 6.7cm/2.7in and D: 7.7cm/3in, in Chiang Mai this year. These have some old repairs, as well as a pleasing craclature typical of antique Burmese lacquer.

Nice old Karen woven bamboo lacquered box from the Thai/Burma border region, this has a few old repairs but overall good condtion. Circa 40 to 60 years old. D: 13.25cm/.2in and H: 8.53cm/33in.

Nice old black and red lacquered cylindrical woven bamboo box from Northern Thailand No holes or broken bits. L: 19.5cm/7.2in and D: 4.5cm/1.8in.

Nice old red and black lacquered Cambodian Siri (betel) box container with foliate scroll pattern incised on the surface. Minor lacquer losses and restoration consistent with an antique piece. The art of Cambodian lacquer production has had a minor renaissance in recent years but this mainly done for the decorative art export market, items made for local village use this has pretty much died out after Khmer Rouge Era and advent of cheap Chinese plastic boxes. D: 23.5cm/9.2in and H: 10...