Sterling Silver Sheffield Salver with raised Chippendale border accented with scrolls complementing the three scroll feet. The hallmarks show the salver to be by William Hutton & Sons, Sheffield, England. This piece is 8 1/2" diameter and 1" high. Circa 1909. It is in excellent condition.
The basic fabric is a very fine plain weave, probably cotton with some silk, embroidered with pastel colored silk yarn and metal threads. Worked identically on both surfaces. Condition: few losses of metal thread, six small holes, little patina. Dimension: 214 cm x 36.5 cm.
Gorham Round Sterling Silver Tray with beaded border and center 16 petal raised flower corolla, the name for all of the petals of a flower. Circa 1900. Size: 10.25" Dia. x 1.5" H.
These four points were found in the Arkansas River area of southeast Colorado and are from the old-time collection of Arley Hudson. The longest one is 1 1/8". All are very thin and expertly chipped. They are from the Mississippian Period C1000AD.
Chinese painted pottery warrior wearing a "wind" hat with side and back flaps, with red, black and white pigments remaining.
Age: China, Northern Wei Dynasty, circa A.D. 386 - 535
Measurement: Height 22.8 C.M. / Width 7.5 C.M.
Condition: Well-preserved old burial condition overall with some amount of soil adherings (some abrasions and wearings on the piece due to the long burial time underground). Please refer to the enlargement photos for more details...
Tang dynasty bowl covered with green glaze color with five spur mark at the center.flat based.18,5 cm diameter , 5cm high.bowl in good conditions with just minor degradation glaze at the rim.
This porcelain ewer was produced in Germany by Royal Vienna in the 1870s. It is signed by the artist Dressel. There is a title written in German for each painted scene. It is 15 inches tall, 7 3/4 inches wide and 4 inches deep. The porcelain is quite substantial and heavy. There is a large twisted handle with which to pour wine. The ground color is royal blue. There are two reserves enclosed in ornately gilded cartouches. The scenes on each side are superbly hand painted...
Decorated with a fish biscuit in the center. W=12 cm. Early Ming 1368-1398. Condition : excellent, no chips, cracks, hairline or restoration
Decorated with a plantain leaves in the center and floral spray on the outside. W=12 cm. Early Ming 1368-1398. Condition : excellent, no chips, cracks, hairline or restoration.
Decorated with a lion playing with a ribbon and balls in the center and floral scroll on the outside. W=12 cm. Early Ming 1368-1398. Condition : good condition with minor frit on the rim.
This small Chinese hand made purse would have been made by a woman for her personal use or possibly as a gift to a female friend. It was made using cotton background fabric and hand embroidered with silk thread on each side. The butterfly and floral motifs were made with silk thread using a combination of satin stitches, chain stitches and couching embroidery techniques.
It is a charming example of a Chinese woman's needlework and is in excellent condition...
Chinese pottery court lady with nice facial expression, her hair raised up, wearing tunic, with red, black and white pigments remaining.
Age: China, Tang Dynasty, A.D. 618 - 907
Size: Height 24.3 C.M. / Width 5.8 C.M.
Condition: Well-preserved old burial condition overall with some amount of soil adhering (some abrasions and wearings on the piece due to the long burial time underground). Please refer to the enlargement photos for more details...
A beautiful Tang dynasty changsa stoneware bowl with and abstract flower motive. The flowers look like crocus with it long thin leaves embedded beside a rock, all painted in green and iron brown colour. A very artistic, creative and free hand drawing in an abstarct form. The changsa bowl stand on a short footrim with a recess base. The glaze stop about three quarter way down, exposing the light buff clay. A must have piece for the discerning collector...
This is a Renaissance Pattern Dominick & Haff Sterling Berry Spoon dating 1894. From a Virginia, USA Estate. An 1894 pattern, now obsolete
A beautiful Japanese golden brocade plate dating to the early 18th century, a powerful rendering of a Kylin is majestically displayed front and center. This unusual ko-imari plate is without flaw and has a slight creme color tone to the porcelain, it is very unique in terms of beauty and presentation. It measures 9.5" x 2" (24.1 cm x 5.1 cm).
A very rare and early imari that more closely resembles the kakiemon palette, but with the heavy use of gold and some under glaze blue, it would fall under the imari family group. This is a very rare dish as it displays the pomegranate fruit in the center well, its seeds being exposed as to suggest the hope of many sons. 5 cranes are symmetrically arranged, 3 on the garden rock, 2 in flight. Condition is excellent, save a very tiny glaze flake to the rim...
A gray transfer covered sauce dish. This early unsigned English covered footed sauce dish dates to circa 1830-50. It has classical scenes and an oak leaf border as well as sculpted handles and feet, all with gray or grey transfer decoration. It is marked only with an impressed P underneath...
A golden brocaded basket suspended in air and filled with flowers. A bird resting on a branch while another flutters about surrounded by the joy of spring. This cup and saucer is one of my personal favorites, delicate and translucent and without flaw; the gold accentuates the weaving of the basket, the flowers well arranged, and every detail seems to spring to life. Our treasure is perfect in every way, except for very minor wear along the raised spines of the foliated saucer...
The most unusual and unique Japanese soba (noodle) cup that we have encountered, with very beautiful contrasting colors and a garden scene that is breathtaking, a plethora of flowers and a bird swooping down from heaven will delight the senses of the discriminating collector. The footed feature of this soba cup along with the color combination is almost rarely never encountered, as I have never seen another in years...
Japanese Edo period woodblock depicting the poetess Gon Chunagon Atsutada (906-943) gathering sea shells from the series "Lessons for the Young from Thirty-six Poetic Immortals" by Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) dated circa 1842. Vertical oban size (14"V x 9 3/4"H). Very good overall condition. A few tiny wormholes and a few slightly thinned areas in the paper. This series is illustrated in plate 106 of "Utagawa Kuniyoshi," an exhibition catalogue based upon the Raymond A. Bidwell collection of Japanese ...
A very well painted and delightful Kutani tea caddy, perfect condition and has its original inner cap lid still intact also in perfect condition. It measures 11 cm (4.3 inches) high and dates pre-1920, circa 1912-15.
This set of 6 porcelain demitasse cups and saucers was produced in France by M. Redon Limoges between 1882 and 1896. The saucers have a diameter of 4 1/2 inches and the cups are 2 1/8 inches high. They are decorated with a factory transfer of bright pink roses and garlands of foliage. The handles and rims are trimmed with gold.
Condition: There is barely visible wear to the gilded rims of a couple of the cups. Considering their age, it is very slight.
This is an extremely interesting artifact. It has quadruple imagery. The figures almost resemble a northwest totem. There is a different image when you turn the face upside down. There is also double imagery to the faces on the side. The same face is repeated at both ends of the stick. A lot of thought and work went into this beauty. The paint is very bold and strong. It is extremely well patinated. Carved from wood, it is 14 1/2" long. It has some stress cracking of the wood and both tips are b...
This is a very unusual artifact. It is bone that has been covered with 22K hammered gold. It is 8" long. It is either a pectoral or perhaps a nose ornament. The bone is broken near the center, but is completely covered by the gold. It is from La Tolita, Ecuador C500BC-500AD. This piece was found with a gold death mask in a tomb. It was found lying next to the mask and was part of the mask. The two were separated. The mask sold for $75,000. It is from the Ken Klassen collection, Bogota.
Sterling Enamel Box with gold wreath on a guilloche cobalt blue enamel ground with gilt interior. Marked .925 on cover and on base. Circa 1890.
This set of 4 matching Chinese toggles were hand carved from animal bone, probably the vertebra. Each side is carved with an identical design which continues around the side. They are well aged and show both wear and usage. As artifacts from the folk art culture, they were probably carved by the person who intended to use them to secure his personal items. Each piece is approx 1 inch in diameter and .5 inches thick.
One of the finest examples of Kamakurabori carving techniques we have seen. The chrysanthemum in raised relief on the tray is fabulous and the many layers of lacquer have created a Meiji Period c.1900 masterpiece. Excellent condition. (14" x 9") (36cm x 23cm). EMS Shipping/Insurance to USA or Western Europe $55.
A beautiful Tang dynasty changsa stoneware bowl with ruyi motive along the cavetto of the bowl and in the center with a dot with radiating lines towards the ruyi, all painted in green and iron brown colour. The 5 ruyi motives is design in such a way that no matter which angle you focus on, it is designed in a star formation. The changsa bowl stand on a short footrim with a recess base. The glaze stop about three quarter way down, exposing the light pinkish clay. A must have piece for the discer...
This whopping point is 4 7/8" long and 2 1/4" wide. Lar Hothem calls it a very scarce 1st stage St. Charles Dovetail. Tom Davis authenticated it as a Lost Lake, G-9. It is made from semi-translucent high quality burlington chert. It has excellent mineralization and patina. It has a very clear imprint of a fossilized shell on the upper left about a 1/4" from the tip, making this a no-brainer for authenticity. It was found near St. Louis, Missouri. It is pictured in Who's Who, John A. Atkins, Vol...
Only one Circa 1914 antique cigarette holder:
(A) Carved and gold signed: A.ORLIK 14K. That is a Russian name, did the maker hail from Russia? Simply carved @ 1 9/16". Gents? For cigarillo? Smoke mellow;
According to Google books a page of the United States Tobacco Journal dated Saturday Feb 7, 1914; there is a Registration of Trademarks noted as: "Registered at 8 AM Feb 2, 1914 by/to L. & A. Orlik of London England and New York United States..."
(B)Not Available
$12 USPS Pr...
This is a very rare Iroquois female effigy bone carving adopting the "September Morn" pose (one hand on the chest and the other hand over the genitals or the abdomen). It is from West Bloomfield, New York, Seneca. "1600 to 1620" carefully printed in black ink on the reverse. She shows a pronounced band at the forehead, as if wearing some head gear or maybe some hair style. Cheeks are shown as broad and flat. Prominent breasts. This piece came from the Robert N. Converse collection. Robert wro...
Viennese bronze of chamois or goat. Circa 1890. Size: 3.625" H x 3.375" L x 1" W.
These extremely rare bone dice, from Kentucky, are 7/8" square. I purchased them directly from Tom Davis many years ago.
A nice and finely potted famille rose covered teacup dated to the Tongzhi period. It has a scene of a garden with flowers, grass and butterlies flying. A red Tonzhi reign mark to the top of the cover and base of the teacup.
Generally in very good condition. Minor pinholes. No hairline, glaze fritting,crack, repair or restoration.
The dimension of the teacup is: the height with cover on is 8.1cm and the diameter is 10cm.
This petrified wood tang knife is from the four-corners area of the southwest. It is 3 1/4" long. It is from the Wallis-Thomas collection. The base of the tang has been snapped off anciently, but does not detract.
This bone pendant is 1 3/4". It has been drilled and modified. It may be an atlatl finger rest. It is C1000AD. I purchased it from Tom Davis many years ago. It is from Kentucky.
Japanese scroll painting with a figure of Manjusri in the center of a circular chart below which sits a fu-dog; the very bottom of the scroll has numerous signatures and seal marks. The waves along the border of the circle indicate that this is a Sea-Crossing Manjusri (Tokai Monju). The text within the circle indicates that the painting comes from the Matsumoto castle in the Shinano province (the Nagano prefecture in central Japan). The document that comes with the scroll is signed Bankyu (can...
Japanese Edo Period Peddlar's Box, gyoshobako, kiri wood throughout with mixed metal for original hardware of brass and iron on locks, side carrying rings, double safe compartments, with the lower inside containing a removable safe box with 3 drawers, worn condition with original finish, 11"W 19"D 26"H.
Pair of Indian Miniature Botanical Prints with Lily Bulbs on border margins, lily in central panel of one, tomato in other, gold leaf in background, newly painted images on manuscript paper 18th-19th century, waterstained and patched areas. Print Size: 6" Width 9.75" Height, framed.
This ceramic warrior is in the process of throwing a rock with another in his hand and a basket full on his back. It is from the estate of the late Lynn Langdon. The figure was acquired in Mexico in the mid-20th century and is attributed to the Colima horizon, c.300BC-300AD. It is 4" tall. It retains some red pigment. It has a small chip off the back which I have and can be glued back on. Please view my youtube video of this item at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kkt0z56QMvE.
This is one of my favorites from the Heflin ceramic collection. It has been broken and glued back together and is missing parts. Dr. Allen Heflin found this piece in Xico, Mexico in 1960 according to his journal. He must have hung it on his wall since he glued a wire to the back. This is a clear representation of a man either emerging or being swallowed by Quetzalcoatl. It is 6" long by 5" wide. The imagery scrams pre-Columbian. It is attributed to the Aztec culture C1300AD.
This ceramic Colima warrior is 6" long. It is in perfect condition with no dings, restoration or repair. It is from the estate of the late Lynn Langdon. The figure was acquired in Mexico in the mid-20th century and is attributed to the Colima horizon, c.300BC-300AD. Please view my youtube video of this item at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5mdTRv36FY.
Chinese Scholar's Hat Chair, Jumu, elmwood with translucent red lacquer, late 18th century early 19th century. Size: 21.5W 17D 38H, surface wear to finish and exposed wood.
Pair of massive Chinese Buddha scrolls, Buddha dressed in flowing red robe with blue hair and usnisa, displaying different hand mudras for each. Partial chop on lower left margin,18th-19th century, worn and old repairs, new mounting for tops reinforced bottom, wood scroll ends. Size 12' L 5' W each
Japanese Edo Period Boxwood Netsuke of Grazing Horse on base, lovely patination and soft wear. Two character signature on bottom (illegible), Edo Period. 1.75 inches long
Kuba Caucasian Wool Handknotted Carpet, good design and coloration, running dog border, 44"W 74"L, old restoration, age wear, pre 1920s.
This cannel coal gorget is 2 3/4" wide and 1 3/4" long. It is very thin and well made. It is from the Jim D. Humphrey's collection. He collected from 1930-1970. It is from the Holliston Mills site, Hawkins County, Tennessee, Holston River. It dates to C1500BC. A rare piece.
This beautiful translucent honey quartz gorget is 3" wide by 2 1/2" long. It is from the famous late Jim D. Humphrey's collection of NE Tennessee. It was found in the early 1970's on the Holliston Mills site, Hawkins County, TN. It has lots of mineralization and fine patina. This is an archaic piece dating to C1500BC. To view my youtube video of this item please cut and paste this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgYCAJN2m2M
This rare ceremonial Chinese "lock" necklace is Hmong ethnic minority. Made from pure bouillon silver, it over weighs 4.5 lbs. The Hmong Ethnic Minority group range from southern China into Northern Thailand. This piece was sourced out of China to a dealer sometime between 1920-1930. In both Chinese and ethnic minority cultures, the lock necklace acts as a talisman and symbolically "protects" the wearer from ill fortune, much as a lock on a piece of furniture will protect the contents inside...
This glacial kame green banded slate gorget is 4" long. It was found near New Castle in Henry County, Indiana. It came out of the Chris Thompson collection. I purchased it from Gary Mumaw. Pictured in Prehistoric Antiquities, August 1995, page 44. This piece dates to late Archaic C2500BC. It is a beauty with fine concentric banding.
This hematite Colima miniature effigy axe is 3 1/2" long and was found by the late Dr. Allen Heflin on 12-31-47. It is so inscribed on the back in his distinctive black ink. This is a fabulous extremely rare piece. I have seen only two others and they were not nearly as nice as this one. If you are an axe collector, this is a must have. Please view my youtube video of this item at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQt-yXflSlE. Due
Burmese Bronze Buddha Cutting Hair Ceremony
Triangular base with open apron, After crossing the River Anoma, the future Buddha removes his precious princely dress, with his sword he cuts a lock of hair. It is received by the KIng of the Gods, Indra (Sakka), and his companion, thereafter it is to be honored as a relic, 3.5H x 3" D, found buried next to religious site, Pagan Dynasty, 18th-19th century
Literature: Burmese Buddhist Sculpture, 1991 by Otto Karow p.20
Chinese Black Stone Seated Quanyin on a rock promontory with bird perched on left side, holding scroll and beads, 10"H 8"W 5"D, MIng Dynasty, good patina to surface wear.
This copper awl with antler handle and perforated for suspension was found by Dr. Allen Heflin in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan in 1947. It is 8 1/2 long. Please view my youtube video of this item at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C30caNNItA.
This Hell Gap point is made from beautiful agatized petrified wood. Found in northern Colorado. It is 2 1/8" long. The very end of the base has been snapped off in ancient times, but it does not detract.
These C1650--1700 eating utensils were found in 1935 by James A. Hanson near Fort Ligonier, Westmoreland County, PA who donated them to the former Museum of the Fur trade, acquired by Dr. John F. Neil from Glenshaw, PA who sold them to the well-known Charles "Sonny" Atikinson from Mayville, KY who sold to Tom Davis. I purchased from Tom Davis on 7-25-92. The meat skewer with spiral twisted handle ending in complete circular ring was found near Gallegos Trading Post site, San Juan County, New Mex...
Leather Tibetan Trunk with Peach and Clouds, 18th/19th century
56"L 20.5D 29H, Colored with green, yellow, blue and reds, Central Lozenge with Peach and Scrolling Vine, Outside Clouds, borders by Scrolling Vines, Iron Strapping Bands, hand-sawn wood surfaces, pitted loss to front face by peach.
Japanese Bronze Running Bull
16"L4"W7.5"H, Signed on bottom with cartouche and signature, very detailed modeling, base remnants of paper label, Meiji Period
Cambodian Bronze Seated Bodhisatva
2.25H1W1D, 19th century, Holding medicine bowl, oxidized, hollow base
According to the writing on the back, this small embroidered pencil holder in was made in 1897 by a Mrs Lee for M.J. Thomas who was a member of the Chinese Chicago Mission group. The embroidery stitches are tiny and some of the threads are frayed but it is a warm memento of friendship and an artifact from another era in relations between China and the US.