Catalog (81)

Lovely hand silk embroidered alter “skirt” with the Eight Chinese Immortals and three double happiness roundels at the top. I recently acquired this with a group of other vintage textiles; this is in perfect condition with a lovely palate of colors. Late 20th century, this would have been hung in in front of a temple altar table’s legs. H: 100cm/40in x W: 94cm/37in. Appears never to have been used.

Rare Zo/Tedem "tawnok"- reference "The Art of the Zo: Philadelphia Museum of Art". The Tedum aka Tiddim are a subgroup of the Chin, who live mostly in Northern Burma, Chin State, as well India, and Bangladesh. This piece is circa 1950-1960, spun from commercial, hand dyed cotton thread with some single faced supplementary and diamond twill patterns. Please see enlargements to appreciate the complexity of this weave. There are a few pin holes but noting egregious (one small repair w...

Exceptional semi antique, over 70 years old, two paneled Tai Daeng (Red Tai) blanket from Northern Laos with supplementary weft silk Chinese Shou longevity character medallions and key fret design. The last time I was in Vientiane (13 years ago) textiles of this quality are no longer to be found. There are two repairs noted in enlargements 2 & 3 as well as some minor weft design loss. The Tai Daeng are generally acknowledged to be the best weavers in Laos and their contemporary piec...

Beautiful, unopened, three paneled, semi antique, woman’s sarong from Flores Island (probably Ende), Indonesia. Circa 1950 +/-. All hand spun and woven cotton and natural dyes. Very soft and in perfect condition. The incorporation of indigo dyes is quite subtle giving it the depth. L: 142cm/56in and W: 158cm/60in. Free Shipping

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...

Lovely traditional red silk satin child’s jacket with floral sprigs, circa first half 20th century, maybe even earlier. Excellent condition, except for the trim all hand embroidered and hand sewn. Old commercial trade cloth cotton lining. Would look good as a wall hanging. Width straight across shoulder 63cm/24.8in and H: 37cm/14.5in. Free shipping

Very rare, Gulong Miao children’s jacket from Guizhou. This is a side opening style, made from all hand woven cloth (except for the inner sleeve lining) with hand embroidered anthropomorphic figures, on a calendared greenish cotton ground. This pattern was only used on children’s clothing from this Miao subgroup. Excellent condition. Width: 75cm/29.5in (sleeve tip to sleeve tip) Length: 39cm/15.3in (collar to bottom). Free shipping.

Special offer- marked down from $600. Fine three panel wedding blanket from the Bouyi (Buyi) ethnic group Libo County, Guizhou, China. The Bouyi are a relatively small ethnic group- so embroideries from them have become quite scarce. The supplementary weft “well” patterned embroidery is silk except for the black medallions- the field is all handspun cotton. The black border is a later addition made from hand woven cotton. Circa mid 20th century very good condition. W: 83cm/33in and L...

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.

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

Rare woman’s pictorial shoulder cloth from a Chin subgroup (Khami, Khumi or Mro) living in the Rakhine and Chin states, west Myanmar. Please note that the pattern is hand embroidered on one side only and not woven in, also most of the geometric woven patterns are unique with only a couple of repetitions. The dimensions are L: 123cm/63in x W: 34cm/13.5in. I have three books and Burmese textiles and there are no depicted examples of pictorial weaves. Circa 50 to 60 years old.

Beautiful old Zhuang minority textile from Guangxi Zhuang/Guizhou province, China. Woven in two panels with silk embroidered “diamond and star” patterned border, "wanzi" swastika key fret and well symbols. There are small repairs noted in last enlargement minor fading on the left edge- all consistent with an old piece, some orange and brighter purple silk thread seem to be a later embellishment, indicating that this piece has been handed down several generations and highlights th...

Old Chin tube skirt, circa 1950, from the Khumi subgroup in Burma. although deceptively simple is really extremely complex; please note in enlargements that the reverse side of this textile does not show any of the pattern on the front. This is made on a backstrap loom of very fine homespun cotton with a beaded fringe along the selvedge. Some stains and a few small holes. L: 180cm/71in and W: 44cm/17.2in

Beautiful old classic Lao shoulder clothe, all natural dyes with hand spun silk threads. I picked this up on my first trip to Laos in the mid 1990s, at the Talat Sao Market, Vientiane and would date this to the 1970/80s. The fabric is incredibly soft and supple and may be worn (it is amazingly warm) as a scarf or hung as wall art. It has a few loose threads on the selvedge but otherwise in excellent condition with no holes or tears. W: 38cm/15in and L: 243cm/8ft. Free shipping via...