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...

Traditionally, Yorba authority figures were used for royal ceremonies and placed on altars of chief’s and important dignitaries, demonstrating prestige, wealth, and status. This pair dates from the mid 20th century. Both figures are fully beaded. The Male is 26-27 inches high and carries a rifle. The female is 24 inches high. She wears earrings of Coulrie shells and beads and a necklace of hardwood discs...

From the Abelam tribe of Sepik River Papua, New Guinea, this traditional Kara'wut (also spelled kara ut,karaout and karahut)is made from woven plant fiber and decorated with boar tusks and nasa shells. Usually worn around the neck by the men only, on the chest or back, when facing battle the kara'ut would be clenched in the teeth, dangling from the mouth to impress the enemy with one's fierceness...

This Tibetan gau (aka prayer box) is actually a small shrine. When not being worn as an ornament during festivals, it would be kept in the prayer niche of the family home. The back of the box slides open. Frequently, a special prayer i.e. sutra pages would be placed inside. The small glass window at the front displays a Tsa tsa, which is a clay statue of a Buddhist Diety. These statues were made only by the monks and considered to be a holy relic...

This lovely antique Indo Persian box is covered with silver and bronze elaborate damascene work on the top and 4 sides. The box lid is slightly domed and the inside is lined with wood. Made in what was Persia, now Bidar India, this box dates to the early part of the 19th century, and is an fine example of Damascene metal work. In excellent condition, the box is 6.5 inches x 3.5 inches x 2 inches high...

From the mid to late 1800's, each piece of this matched pair of antique Chinese Kingfisher Feather ornaments are 5 inches across. Some small bits of thread still cling to the original metal loops which would have been used to sew these ornaments to an article of clothing. The earliest of kingfisher ornaments were made of using a hollow papier mache form and covered with a cardboard/paper at the back. These pieces typically used large fully feathered spaces in the design...

This small Chinese traditional oil lamp is complete with the original hand-blown globe and cover. The base has several rows of ornate grillwork. The cover is engraved on one side with a couple. The other side has a poem. The chinese is old in both character and language and difficult to translate.

The lamp is only 5 inches tall and of higher silver content than usual for China at that time, which indicates an owner of wealth...

Hanging from the belt on a leather strap, the stylized milking hook was the essential item of ornamentation for any Tibetan woman properly dressed for a festival. Surrounding the hook surface is a heavy etched silver band...

This headdress would have been worn by a young Pashtun woman. It is heavily beaded and decorated with wonderful embroidery, and various buttons and coins. The Pashtun range across Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India. This hat was sourced in India but it may not have started there.

The head dress hat is 25 inches long and is in excellent condition....

This antique Chinese silver bracelet is hinged at the back and opens in the front. The silver work displays plant leaves and a bird. The bead work is both coral and turquoise. Bracelet is stamped "China" which according to trade laws makes it late Qing, about 1890. Its in very good condition...

This antique bracelet from Tibet is both thick and weighty, but it is very small for a Western wrist. The opening measures a scant 1 inch....

The only differences between this matching pair of Japanese woman's hair combs are the very slight details in the hand-painted design and the size and spacing of the tines. The finely detailed lacquer design was painted in 3 shades of gold. Unfortunately the minute details, flower petals and tree knots are hard to see in the photos. ...

This elaborate woman's dress bodice is from Afghanistan, formerly Baluchistan. The fabric was first elaborately embroidered with an applique of thin strands of braids. Then it was heavily decorated with coins and beads. ...

The front of this Tibetan snuff bottle is covered with leather and silver repousse ornamentation. The back is surface is also silver.

The bottle is 5 inches x 4 inches x 2.5 inches. ...

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. Because they were no...