Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian (459)

This plain pot metal vessel was used to contain hair oil during the reign of Chinese Emperor Daoquang about 1850. Standing about 6 inches high and 3.5 inches diameter at the widest point, a woman would dip her comb into the oil before combing her hair. I do have an identical matched pair of these but am selling them separately.

Set of 3 Meiji Kanzashi, Japanese hair pin sticks, have deep black lacquer background with ornate swirls of red and black lacquer and inlays of abalone shells. 1 stick is 9 inches long 2 sticks are 7.75 inches long

This is a wonderfully detailed silver needle case which was worn hanging from the belt. It has it's original long leather thong and silk tassel. Each side of the silver case has a central stone bead...one coral, one turquoise. The sides of the case (not pictured) have incised cloud/wave pattern. When opened, the case has copper with fabric arm to hold the needles. For indigenous and nomadic people, needles were an essential and valuable tool for survival of daily life...

This antique Chinese glass bead was used as a toggle during the 1800's. I measures 1.25 inches in diameter.

This small embroidered wallet style purse would have been used by a traditional Han Chinese woman to carry coins during the Qing dynasty. There are pockets on each side of the purse. And the all satin stitched embroidery is also on each side of the wallet.

Charming eggshell thin hand-painted scenic porcelain in excellent condition..makers mark on bottom of both cup and saucer

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.

An unidentified hard wood was used to carve this set of 4 matching wooden saucers. They would have been used for tea bowls and have traditional red/orange lacquer paint over a treebark carved pattern on the front surface. Each saucer was carved into a diamond shape with gently curved sides and are each was carved into a thin, shallow bowl shape. This is a rare and unusual set in very good condition.

Each piece measures 5 inches x 4 inches and 1 inch deep.

This textile wallet would have been used to keep sewing supplies Each page is made from heavy hand paper, hand painted decoration and folded in such a way that numerous pockets and flaps are available for storage of small bits of fabric, snipes of thread, needles, etc. the outside of the wallet is covered with homespun fabric which now attests to the age and use of the piece. This wallet is from the Dong ethnic minority of China, and would have been passed down from one generation to another...

Used for repeated printing of an image onto paper, this carved wooden ink block has the image of Fu Lu Shou, the Chinese God of Longevity. Almost 6.5 x 10 inches...this inkblock makes a nice wall hanging

Carved from a single block of hardwood, this Chinese drum has great patina aged surfaces. An old folk art instrument, it shows the wear of use during many musical performances at chinese operas and street festivals. When "beaten" with its accompanying drum stick, it has a deep attractive sound.

This adult female puppet is clothed in traditional Thai costume with a open shirt. All parts are hand-carved, tied and strung together, which gives the puppeteer lots of choices of movement. The face has eyes which can open and close independent of each other and the mouth can also be opened and closed. Head to toe, she measures is 21 inches tall and with the strings the total lenght is 34 inches...

This small Mongolian hunters flint strike pouch still has flint stone inside. Also know as strike-a-light in American Indian cultures, this hunters folk art implement has bronze tooled fittings. Well aged and in excellent condition...measures 4 inches across the widest part of the striker plate

Needles were a valued woman's sewing tool and were carefully secured in a special case hanging from the belt. This Chinese silver needle case has 6 sides, each with a delicate repousse floral design. The bottom is weighted with a small turquoise and larger amber bead.

This knife sheath would be hung from the woven shoulder strap by the hill tribe hunter. This one was brought back from the border region by a friend. Now heavily patinated with use and age, it was beautifully hand made many years ago and was both light weight and serviceable. It is a wonderful artifact of an age and culture that is rapidly disappearing.

This Japanese red lacquered wooden serving platter or tray is 13 inches in diameter. It is carved as a bream, which is the Japanese fish symbol for the "bounty of the sea". There are several layers of different colors of red lacquer which heighten the fluid appearence of the fish. The surface is slightly dulled with use and age, the charger is in wonderful condition.

These early Qing dynasty cups were carved from coconut shell, and lined with metal which was originally coated with silver. The Chinese believed that silver would tarnish when in contact with poison. Many wealthy Chinese liked to use silver lined cups and chopsticks tipped with silver fittings was an assurance against poisoning...

Lovely old pair of matching Tibetan tea bowls. Carved from burl wood with silver/metal decoration around the foot and silver liner inside the bowls. bowls are roughly 2 inches high and 3.75 inches diameter across the rimmed bowl