This homemade Japanese tool was used in rural areas for cutting the groove in the tree to release and collect the sap which was harvested for the lacquerware. The wood handle is smooth to touch and has years of patina. The cutting blade is heavily aged but is in good condition.
The tool is about 9" long and at least 150 years old.
This Ethnic Minority festival necklace is from one of the Miao villages in the mountains outside the city of Tia Jiang. The neckpiece is formed from a hollow silver tube aprox. .5 inches in diameter. The hollow medallion is .5 inches thick. The necklace can be worn comfortably. The silver medallion has elaborate reposse work with an array of symbols of Miao culture and legend. There is a pair of Phoenix birds flying above a pair of dragons who are chasing a fiery pearl enclosing a frog. The ...click for details
This old Japanese Noh theater mask has the expressive face of an old man. The mask is carved from paulownia wood and dates to middle Edo period, around 1750. The patina is wonderful.
Mask measures approx 8 inches high and 6 inches wide
This antique Japanese tea caddy is called a "Cha-ire" and dates from the late Edo period. It was used for storing thick tea which is called "Koicha". The more common tea caddy form or "natsume" was used for powdered or thin tea. The chai-ire forms vary somewhat and were most typically made from clay.
Both the octagonal shape and lacquer finish make this chaire very rare. It is also lo ...click for details
By the latter part of the 19th century the ruling Qings were obsessed with every last detail of dress. This antique top grain leather fan case could only have been owned by very wealthy Chinese woman.
A must have for any lotus shoe collector. This iron was used for pressing lotus shoes. The thin curved end was useful for getting into the toe area.
Made of iron, it is somewhat rusty-i.e. pleasantly aged.
Length tip to tip is 13"
This horn was sold to me as being used for giving animals medicine but I suspect from the carved shape of the open end that it was used for a scoop, possibly for tea or other herbs. The carving is of the front of a horse with his feet on top of a dragons head. The horn has a translucent quality which makes it more valuable in Chinese Ethnic Minority societies. The closed carved end is darkened from years of being handled. Being 6.5" long and in excellant condition, it is a fine ethnogr ...click for details
These Chinese eyeglasses have lightly tinted lenses in a tortoise shell frames. Eye ware was favored by the Chinese because it was felt that they enhanced ones age appearance i.e. made the wearer appear older than their chronological age. The spectacles are detailed with a carved design at the nose bridge and have hinged side pieces which end in a circular stop which was very typical of the Chinese eye ware of the period.
This rare pair of antique Japanese Samurai stirrups date to the mid Edo Period. The are inlaid with bits of abalone shell. The cut-out below the buckle appears to be the a representation of the trifold Asarum leaves, which was the mon of the Tokugawa shoguns.
There is some loss of abalone shell and there is a crack in one of the foot pads. But they are a gorgeous example even with these condition issues.
From the CongJiang in Gui Zhou province, this drinking horn is carved from water buffalo. It is a thick (and heavier weighted horn) which, according to my Miao friends is considered an inferior horn. So, this piece would have been owned by a "Poorer" family. It is wonderful primitive art object with carvings that are full of symbols reflecting Miao culture and legends. The hole in the tip would have held a string or metal ring to facilitate hanging the horn. This horn would have be ...click for details
