Catalog: Antiques (368)

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...

Woman's Blanket from the Chin, Mizo people of Assam or Western Burma. This type of “prestige cloth” would be worn only by women on ceremonial occasions. Some stains, splits at the ends but exceptionally rare and very fine weaving incorporating several techniques. Silk warp cotton weft. Approximately circa 50- 80 years old. W: 101cm/40in and L: 236cm/93in

54 old coconut disc shaped beads, mala. I acquired these beads in 1991 in the Barkhor Market in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. These have been restrung on elastic chord so it may be worn around the wrist. These are old hand made beads with beautiful natural patina. Each bead is Diameter: 14mm the entire strand is L: 225cm/8.8cm. free shipping.

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.

Very rare man’s ceremonial tunic from the Chin ethnic group, probably Falam Township, Chin State Myanmar. I would consider this an antique heirloom blanket between 1910-1940 finely woven from hand spun cotton thread and natural dyes. This incorporates the classic Chin diamond twill weft pattern as well as double side embroidery. W: 128cm/50.5in and L; 189cm/74.5in. This only one from this Chin group I have ever managed to collect...

Nice old antique black lacquered bamboo and wood box from Cambodia circa 1950 or earlier. This part of a collection I acquired almost 20 years ago. Khmer lacquer is quite rare, not many crafts survived the Khmer Rouge era, and is a lost art. Some wear and restoration as to be expected but no major damage. D: 5cm/7.8in and H: 10.5cm/4.1in.

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

Heirloom wedding blanket cover from the tiny Maonan ethnic minority of Guangxi, China. First half of the 20th century-made with natural undyed local cotton with the pattern with made from floss silk supplementary brocade weft symbols of phoenix, flowers and butterflies, and is in perfect condition with no holes or tears. Some of the more brightly colored purple aniline dyed silk threads have been rewoven into the patterns probably within the last 40 years but are certainly not new...

Old hand carved wooden ink pad box circa first half 20th century. I think this is probably a Yao item, but as I purchased it in a Bai ethnic minority market in Yunnan, over 20 years ago, we’ll assume it is Bai. This has a floral pattern carved on the lid. The ink has long ago dried up. Nice natural patina. L: 7.2cm/2.9in x W: 5.8cm/2.3in x H: 3.2cm/1.3in.

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.

Good Bhutan hand spun blanket. I bought this from a Bhutanese woman sitting at the bottom of the trail to original Tiger Nest, in 1995. Simple but stunning wool embroidered floral and foliate medallions. Made with soft wool (very warm), comprised of two panels, perfect condition. Width: 93cm/37.5in and Length: 158cm/62in.

Cambodian semi antique Khmer basket circa pre 1950. Excellent condition, with natural lacquer and some painted design. Woven with split bamboo it is still quite serviceable, please view enlargements to appreciate the detail of this weave- you will not find any genuinely old baskets in Cambodia anymore (or anywhere else for that matter). Dimensions: 27cm/11.8in diameter and 15cm/6in height. There is some damage to the footrim noted in last enlargement.

Fine old Burma lacquerware box. This piece is quite rare in that it is a complete set with three compartments on top and one shallow “hidden” compartment in the base. There is an old repair on the cracquelure on the lid as well as some traditional restoration on the undecorated portions. This is an early 20th century piece (possibly 19th century) from the Gadu-Ganan region, Shan State. D: 16.cm/6.2in and W: 16cm/6.2in.

Delightful Qing Dynasty café au lait glazed water dropper in the shape of a fish in a basket, it is quite heavy for its size and the brown glaze has a strong metallic patina possibly emulating bronze. Most likely from a Southern Kiln, in perfect condition! D: 5.7cm/2.2in and H: 7.2cm/2.8in.

Fine three paneled wedding blanket from the Zhuang ethnic group, Southern China. W: 90cm/35.5in and L: 148cm/58in (with border W: 134cm/52in and L: 190cm/74in. Woven from all hand spun cotton and silk embroidery threads. Classic diamond and star pattern with “wanzi” swastika meander patterns on the border, also incorporated into this pattern are a few “Wang” characters (Chinese for king), which may be seen in the lower left side of the cover image...

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.

Two antique Indian charms from Tamil Nadu. The larger one is an Araimudi, in the shape of fig leaf and was by worn by young village girls to protect their “modesty”, the smaller one was probably worn as an amulet with a granulated image of a feminine deity. Free shipping via Hong Registered Airmail. Large is H: 6.3cm/ 2.4in x W: 5.3 cm/2in, the smaller one is H: 4.4cm/ 1.7in x W: 3.2 cm/1.2in. Big one is 31 grams and small one 15 grams

Nice old Thai sticky rice “lunch box”, from the Karen ethnic group Northern Thailand. This is about 40 or 50 tears old with typical double wall construction. There are areas that have been lovingly repaired with some nylon cord. To the purist this may be seen as a distraction but I see time and an ethic where nothing was ever wasted- this was a valued very personal object. Next to it I have placed a contemporary one...