Catalog (14)

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...

Deep brushwasher basin with two children on either side. Excellent condition, with light blue glaze and a porcelain body. The bodies of the figures are hand sculpted rather than molded, circa late Republic to early 60s. W: 17cm/6.8in and H:14.8cm/6.2in

Charming traditionally well mounted scroll painting depicting birds on silk and paper signed Huang Huanwu黃幻吾. Excellent condition and well mounted. L: 82cm/32.2in and W: 35cm/13.8in. Mounted dimensions L: 193cm/75in and W: 53cm/20.8.

Pair of Tiele (Chinese Ironwood) Weiqi boxes, carved from solid wood. Weiqi was the forerunner of the Japanese board game of Go, and one of the Four Arts, that someone from the "gentleman class" were supposed to know. These boxes are used to put the stone pieces in. There is cyclical date which probably doesn’t go further back than 1972 therefore they could be 1984, 1996, 2008, 2000, 2012. This has an artistic calligraphic style sometimes referred as “wild cursive”, which is considered ...

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.

Nice old inkstone, circa Republic Era or earlier, with “bat in the” clouds motif, denoting good fortune. There is an owner’s name incised in traditional cursive script Xuehong Zhang Yu, on the bottom probablyadded later. A lovely little piece that embraces the natural shape of the stone into its design. This is an unusually thick piece, which in contemporary times would have been cut in two to better utilize the value of the material. The grinding surface is worn smooth from years of us...

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.

Lovely scholar’s brush pot with a classic poem, by the Tang Poet, Li Bai, incised in traditional characters. Circa 1970/1980. H: 15cm/6in and D: 6.5cm/2.5in. One small surface “check”, on the bottom. Translation: To Wang Lun Li Bai （Tang Dynasty） A boat I have boarded, Li Bai am I, and I’m all set to go, When suddenly from on shore a din I hear ,of stomping and singing I know. The water in the Pool of Peach Blossoms is as deep as a thousand feet, Deep not as the...

Nice uncarved tall bamboo bitong. Good condition with a smooth finish. H: 28cm/11in and D: 9.5cm/3.8in.

Ensemble of three vintage carved horn seals in Kaishu script. The larger ones are made from buffalo horn while the smaller one is made from antelope horn and quite rare. See enlargements for scale. Free shipping.

Attractive carved stone reproduction of a nephrite cong emulating a Neolithic artifact. W: 9.2cm/3.6in x W: 9.2cm/3.6in. H: 7.7cm/3.1in

Attractive reproduction cong emulating a calcified nephrite Liangzhu culture Neolithic artifact. This has been lightly carved with abstract faces and segments. W: 8.2cm/3.3in x 8.2cm/3.3in and H: 3.4cm/1.3in.

Attractive copy of a calcified nephrite cong emulating a Neolithic artifact. There a are couple of minor chips on the edges, the stone is quite hard, cannot be scratched with steel. H: 15.7cm/5.8in and W: 10.3cm/4.1in. A simple wood stand is provided.

Rare Western Han ink carved gray sandstone inkstone. During the Han ink was made of pellets or granules rather the sticks and this would have been used to grind these directly on the stone to make ink. Worn smooth on the bottom from use with a shallow chip on top. W: 3cm x 3cm sand H: 1.6cm. Free shipping via Hong Kong Registered Airmail.