Catalog (603)

Originally part of a full sized Tibetan adult costume, this piece was cut down to complete a childs festival costume. Decorated with turquoise, coins, tassels and silver ornaments, this type of textile accessory would often be attached to the elaborate headdress or hat and drape down the back to complete the wearers costume. The Tibetan people are not wastefull and items of festival garments in any condition are hard to acquire. I have had it hanging on my wall for a number of years. Today, ...

This old Chinese Ethnic Minority inro is carved from animal horn and has 2 compartments. Each side is carved with a floral motif that is bordered with a key design. These symbols are especially meaningful to the Miao ethnic culture. The inro was worn suspended from the belt by a braided cord. It is a attractive ethnographic relic for the tribal arts collector. Condition is very good and the piece measures approximately 3.5" X 2

This old Chinese silk hat would have been owned and worn by a gentleman of some financial means. The gold fretted trim was expensive and used on both mens and woman's clothing of the during late Qing dynasty. There is some blue trim fabric lost as shown in the pictures. The hat is lined with red cotton fabric and has writing in 2 of the 6 sections.

This is a traditional Antique Coptic Christian scroll from the Oromo people of Ethiopia. Painted on Vellum (processed animal skin) and using a special black and red ink, the text is in the now extinct language of Ge'ez, which was originally used for religious purposes. Kitabe scrolls were often placed in a leather case and were carried as amulet. Unfortunately, this one does not have the carrying case...and some ink loss presumably from water exposure. It is full length...roughly 4 i...

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.

There are a total of eight signs, each with a different "saying" having to do with well wishes. Due to the age of the calligraphy, and the vagueres of the old Chinese language, accurate translations have not been possible for each sign. Each sign is carved out of wood with raised wooden characters and inlayed with MOP flakes. Each is 21 inches tall and roughly 4.5 inches wide. I have listed them separately, to allow for pictures of each

Made by a women of the Miao minority often referred to as the "tiny Miao" ...not because of their stature but because they were recongnize for their "tiny" embroidery stitches... This jacket was worn for festivals ...and shows some use...wonderful display piece and also could be worn by a small person....

This antique pair of wooden spoons were hand carved and delicately shaped. The handles are deeply arched and the ends are painted with a gilded paint. They were heavily covered with a clear lacquer finish.

These were made by a doting Chinese grandmother in the early 1900's...Absolutely charming set of matching hat and shoes for young child with lots of intricate embroidery details. I will not break up this set....

This lovely old vest of damask silk is lightly padded for winter wearing. There is some sun fading on both front and back silk but overall condition is very good...original frog closures..hand stitched...cotton lining...

This Miao woman's jacket has hand embroiled detail collar, front lapel, and sleeve bands...background fabric of the body of the jacket feels like rayon but maybe silk...sleeves are heavy cotton... there is small hole 1/2 inch (looks like cigarette) on the back left side roughly 2-3 inches from hem... this jacket will fit a small woman... this style of woman's jacket is from the shidong area of Tia jiang. see drawing on page 55 According to the book "Clothing and Ornaments of China's Miao...

He is charming...well detailed leaning on a pillows ...a few nicks and bruises to the finish as to be expected at this age...roughly 4 inches tall and 6 inches wide...

These antique Razors were brought back from China by the Baptist Missionary Rebecca Cloud Stewart. The blades are rusty but they are still sharp. One has a wood handle and the other has a horn handle.

beautiful old hand mirror... small amount of deteriation to mirror silver back....typical for mirror of this age.. total length 9.5 inches width 3.5 inches at widest point and .5 inches thick at the handle...

Carved from animal horn this eyeglass case dates to the Qing Dynasty. What appears to be the original cord allows the case to be hung on a belt...The original toggle was replaced sometime (probably in the 50's) with current blue toggle...

This Japanese Meiji period 6 sided porcelain chocolate pot was made for export to the Western markets. The chocolate pot has a lovely traditional Japanese scene which was hand painted, with bits of moriage detail. Excellent condition, no chips, no cracks, pot is 9.5 inches tall. There are 3 matching cups and saucers will be listed separately.

Dated by McKinley Tariff Act requiring name of country of origin to be permanently engraved (stamped) or imprinted into a piece.

Common to South Arabia and Yemen, the mesh "labbeh" or "Kirdam" were worn wrapped around the neck or attached to the sides of the headgear hanging down as a frame to women’s chin. This particular libbeh is from the late 1800’s–early 1900. This very finely made tribal labbeh has elaborate lengths of filigree and numerous dangling beads. This type of jewelry would have been part of a woman’s dowry given to the bride by her father. the labbeh section measures 7.5 inches across and 4 inc...

This matched set of Japanese lacquer consists of a 10 inch diameter shallow serving bowl and 5 plates, 5.75 inches in diameter. Each piece has a silver rim and nashiji finish with a decorative motif of bamboo leaves with abalone shell inlay flowers.