Asian ethnic minority artifacts textiles, tribal arts, primitive Asian Ethnic Artifacts
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1900 item #647888 (stock #ZTC166)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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The is a rare, old, long Chinese lock necklace with coral beads and matching amber drops. The handmade upper chain leads to a lower strand of very small silver beads, with 4 pumpkin shaped coral beads alternating with 5 silver balls on each side. From each side of the beaded chain is a short chain ending with male and female ducks which represent a long and happy marriage. The medallion is 4" wide and 3.5" long with numerous beautifully articulated images...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Chinese : Pre 1940 item #509989 (stock #ZM110)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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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...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Indian Subcontinent : Himalayas : Pre 1920 item #1371702 (stock #ZT202)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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Until the mid 1900's, transporting goods along the silk road was accomplished by camel caravans ...and it was important not to lose the camels in sand storms along the way... Each camel from Tibet was "adorned" with 3 bells...one large bell hang from a strap around the camel's belly, a 2nd bell was strapped around the neck, and the 3rd bell was hung from the camels tail. This old camel's bell was used on the caravans travailing between Tibet, across China and into Mongolia...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1920 item #1190783 (stock #ZT184)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This antique gau would have been worn around the neck of a Tibetan woman during festivals. The gau front and side surfaces are decorated with ornate wire work and the front has small beads of turquoise, coral and Lapis. Originally, the gau box would have contained Buddhist religious relics which were removed long ago... and there is some obvious lose to the enamal work on the inside of the gau. The back fits tightly but can easily be removed. It has the sign of the double dorjie...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Americas : American Indian : Pre 1960 item #852792 (stock #ZMisc136)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This charming doll is wonderfully detailed. She is all cloth with embroidered face features, beaded necklace and matching headband and thread hair. She is wearing a long under slip. Her dress is has multiple layers of gathered bands of fabric, and is topped with a full length apron which ties in the back.

Held in a private collection for the past 20+ years, she is in excellent condition and stands over 15" high.

All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1900 item #939249 (stock #ZT150)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This wonderfully detailed Antique pendant is from Tibet. It has silver dragons surrounding a large veined turquoise stone with a smaller coral stone. Additional small bits of turquoise form the background for the dragons tail. The entire scene is backed and bordered with scalloped bronze. The rear of the pendant another oval shaped turquoise stone in a ribbed bezel. The pendent can be easily suspended from a simple black cord using the 2 attached bronze loops...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Japanese : Pre 1920 item #1163102 (stock #ZJ178)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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The fabric of this Japanese kimono is made from the very finely spun bast fibers processed from the banana like tree common on Okinawa. The delicate kasuri pattern which was woven into the fabric is typical of garments from the region. Bashofu cloth of varying quality was used for many garments which were worn by all classes in Okinawa since the sixteenth century.
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Chinese : Pre 1900 item #514259 (stock #ZTC113)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This traditional style handwarmer has split handle with copper fittings. All around the body is a subtle etched design which is now difficult to see because of the heavy patina. Makers mark is on the bottom. It shows signs of heavy use. Approx 5" across and 4" high with handles extended
All Items : Archives : Pre 1900 item #825016 (stock #ZT134)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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A tiny silver flower tops the large turquoise beads on each of these Tibetan silver covers on this pair of weighted calligraphy seals. The silver is fully covered with repousse decorations of animals. Each piece has a small coral bead on one side and a small turquoise bead on the other. The seal bottom symbols are well worn: one is a conch shell and the other is hard to decipher. Sourced out of Tibetan, now part of China, these antique seals are a rare ethnic artifact of a past time...
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Japanese : Pre 1900 item #779213 (stock #ZJ122)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This pair of Japanese handmade long square cut nails are 5" long and appear to have never been used. The nail heads are solid and shaped into a hemisphere. The silver colored decorative metal escutcheons have scalloped edges and markings to represent a flower. The escutcheons are just under 1" in diameter and have a squared center hole which exactly fits the nail shank.
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1920 item #812370 (stock #ZSEA122)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This hand made beater board was used with an old backstrap loop by one of the hill tribes of northern Thailand. Now, as a folk art tool from another culture, it is an authentic ethnographic artifact and is also an interesting piece of sculpture.

The beater board is 4 inches wide and 27+ inches long, and has lost a few "teeth" with age.

All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Chinese : Pre 1900 item #1235806 (stock #ZTC519)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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Traditional Han Chinese water pipe used for smoking opium. Lovely cloisonne base with fretwork background. The pipe brush/tweezers tool is missing. There is a makers/factory symbol on the inside of the container lid. Tiny area of damage to the cloisonne on the lower right side see pic
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1900 item #713502 (stock #ZTC189)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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For over 1000 years the Chinese have used Bamboo Shoots for the art of divination, forecasting the future. The shoot are tossed on a table or to the ground. The landing position of the shoots is the determining factor. This pair of divination shoots is over 200 years old.
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Japanese : Pre 1900 item #710393 (stock #ZJ114)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This old Japanese hook would have been suspended over the hearth and used to hang cooking pots over the fire. Obviously carved by the original owner/user, this pothook or jizai kagi is heavily grooved from many years of use. The attached rope is probably a replacement to the original rope. It has been knotted into place for some years and I decided not to attempt to remove it.
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Southeast Asian : Pre 1950 item #1090871 (stock #ZSEA138)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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A wonderful ethnographic folk art object, this style of farm animal bell has been used in Thailand for centuries. Hand carved from wood by the herder and tied around the animals neck this traditional bell is hinged (or pegged) in 2 places to allow for a gentle knocking sound. This one was used for a goat and has remnants of the original hand made rope.

All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1930 item #1236286 (stock #ZM169)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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Vintage traditional Miao Woman's hairpin used for festival. 7 inches long
All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Asian : Southeast Asian : Pre 1920 item #755308 (stock #ZSEA112)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This is a set of traditional lacquer bowls from Thailand. There is a single gold mythical animal, balu-gwin, at the bottom of the inside and a three balu-gwin spaced around the outside. The gold rim with key design surrounds the rim of each of the 5 bowls.

In wonderful condition, each bowl is approx 5 inches wide at the rim and 2.5 inches high.

All Items : Archives : Regional Art : Pre 1910 item #832152 (stock #ZM129)
Asian Ethnic Artifacts
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This elaborate silver Miao headband would be worn by a woman for festival. First a piece of fabric would be tied around the womans head to protect her from the sharp edges of the metal. The headband would make a soft pleasing sound as the woman moved her head. The man on horseback and flowers are a reference to the Miao myth of bringing light into the world. The headband is approx 20 inches long.