From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a very rare and seldom seen Peranakan Chai Hup or ceremonial vegetable box, 19th century, used for food offerings to Tiangong, the God of Heaven, during traditional Baba Weddings.
The terms "Peranakan" or "Baba Nyonya" or "Straits Chinese" are often used interchangeably to describe the descendants of Ming Dynasty Chinese immigrants who settled al ...click for details
From our Chinese Monochrome Collection, a large carved ivory elephant bridge, late 19th century, depicting a procession of eight individual elephants of graduating size, nicely carved from a single tusk. The elephants are well-rendered and the ivory has a good buttery patina somewhat better than the photos reflect.
Interestingly, the artist's decision to carve eight elephants here is no accident: Those familiar ...click for details
From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine and elegant Kangxi Period (1662-1722) phoenix bowl, early Kangxi Period circa 1675-1690, decorated with two well-painted phoenixes and a treed outcropping, all well-executed in a strong blue against a delicately potted pure white body with everted rim. The interior features a single flower encircled within a medallion of double lines. The base is plain. The footrim is especially finely cut and very neatly glazed exposing just a narrow swath ...click for details
From our Shipwreck Porcelain Collection, a fine and large blue and white Ca Mau Shipwreck dish ex-Sotheby's, Yongzheng Period 1723-1735, datable more specifically to circa 1725. The scene depicts Europeans (most likely Dutch traders) on what was once mistakenly thought to be Deshima Island in Nagasaki Harbor Japan, but which recent scholarship now concludes is either a scene of Holland in the Netherlands, or Gothenborg in Sweden. We personally agree with the academic viewpoint that the scene ...click for details
From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, an unusually fine Qianlong Period (1736-1795) tureen base or shallow basin, depicting a river scene with a large fenced pagoda, a stone bridge, and several people on boats and pontoons, together with a meticulously intricate border of ruyi heads, cash diaper motifs, key frets, butterflies, and other marvelous details.
This piece is top quality in terms of "Nanking Wa ...click for details
From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine Kangxi (1662-1722) Mark and Period porcelain dish depicting two elegant ladies in a garden setting containing scholar’s rocks and banana leaf plants; one lady holds a fan while the other holds her hands clasped together. Cross-hatched motifs decorate the border along with four vignettes of peaches signifying longevity. The reverse is decorated with what appears to be a stylized “clouds and mountains” design on the outer rim, with the six c ...click for details
From our Shipwreck Porcelain Collection, a fine blue and white dish, ex-Christie’s, executed in the "Boatman Pattern" from the so-called "Nanking Cargo," which is the term applied to the porcelain recovered from the wreck of the Geldermalsen that sank on January 3rd, 1752. The Geldermalsen was a cargo ship belonging to the Dutch East India Company that struck a reef on its way back from Canton China, and sank off the coast of Indonesia in the Linnga archipelago. It took with ...click for details
From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine and unusual Kangxi Period (1662-1722) porcelain dish of European form, depicting two gentlemen discussing business alongside a boat dock while an attendant stands nearby with tea. This particular dish is extremely well-painted with a proficiency that rivals even some of our better mark and period pieces, and is executed in a very rich palette of four different shades of cobalt blue. On the reverse, there are stylized branch motifs along w ...click for details
From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a beautiful pair of pith paintings, circa 1840-1860, each representing a lady of high stature, possibly royalty, being attended to by her servant. One is reclining upon an opium bed with a large screen while her servant lights her pipe; the second sits upon a throne in a dragon embossed robe, also backed by a large and well-painted screen, and is being presented a ruyi scepter by her servant. Both pieces are extremely well-painted and represent very fine e ...click for details
From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine Kangxi (1662-1722) Mark and Period porcelain dish depicting a distinguished gentleman and an elegant lady exchanging glances under the willow tree of a fenced pavilion. Cross-hatched motifs decorate the border, along with four vignettes of peaches signifying longevity. The reverse is decorated with what appears to be stylized mountains on the outer rim, with the six character Kangxi mark of the period contained within double circles in th ...click for details
