A complete scallop shell extensively and delicately carved with a festival scene featuring a fine dragon boat carrying a Chinese orchestra, welcomed by a flotilla of smaller boats. On the shore revellers are running excitedly from some very fine buildings to greet the rowers. The shell sits on its original carved stand, depicting flowering prunus. All together it make ...click for details
A VERY FINE JAPANESE BRONZE KORO, SIGNED ‘ICHIJO KEN NYO-UN SEI’, MEIJI.
This koro is from a private house via the local auction. I am offering it just as it arrived, dusty and a little dirty. I left the dust in situ as I thought it would show off the exceptional casting and fine detailing. It does of course but it really shows up as dust in the pictures!!
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This diminutive gilt bronze figure is just a tad less than 3 inches high! It is of fine quality manufacture, dating from the 18th century, and shows signs of being used devotionally. The face shows signs of wear, as does the gilding. It is cast in bronze with a high copper content, the exposed copper colour darkening in the few weeks that I have owned the bronze. Please ...click for details
RARE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN MEISSEN-STYLE TEAPOT, YONGZHENG / QIANLONG, CIRCA 1730 –1750.
A Chinese Export Meissen style teapot and cover, the spherical body painted on either side in the manner of Johann Gregor Horoldt with a ‘Chinaman’ holding a teacup and saucer and seated before a tea table in a garden within a cartouche of iron-red and gilt foliate-scrolls and ‘perlmutter’ vignettes. ...click for details
CHINESE EXPORT FAMILLE-VERTE TEA CADDY, KANGXI, CIRCA 1720.
The caddy of bombe form, gently ribbed but with a most unusual design for a piece of export porcelain. The main design consists of groups of auspicious objects, seen more often on items of Chinese taste. The neck is fully glazed which suggests that a lid was fired separately or perhaps a porcelain lid was not intended.
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VERY FINE CHINESE GILT BRONZE BUDDHA, QIANLONG, 18TH CENTURY.
This fine gilt bronze Buddha belongs to a small number of identical sculptures, some with Qianlong dates, that are believed to have been made especially for the hundreds of altars within the Forbidden City. The figure is of very high quality and is complete with its original detachable flame mandorla, which in many examples is missing. There is some ob ...click for details
A RARE EARLY 18TH CENTURY FAMILLE ROSE BRUSHPOT, KANGXI ~ YONGZHENG, 1720 ~ 1735.
The porcelain brush pot of cylindrical form decorated boldly with thickly applied bright famille rose enamels, depicting a courtier promenading in a garden attended by his servant. I have always appraised these early famille rose wares as Yongzheng, the rose enamel was supposedly not introduced into China until 1723. The use of the ...click for details
A friend has asked me to offer this unusual Tibetan bowl case, made from iron in order to protect the owner's tea or food bowl whilst travelling. The bowl features four quatrefoil lobed pierced lotus panels and the lid has a recessed pierced roundel, also depicting lotus scroll. Other flower scrolls are chased into the iron and decorated with either gold or si ...click for details
The substantial sancai glazed tile depicts an unidentified immortal summoning an apparition of Guanyin.
8.1/4” x 6.3/4” x 1.1/2” (max). The tile is in wonderful condition with only some tiny glaze flakes to the hem of Guanyin’s robe and the immortal’s tunic. Midway down the lef ...click for details
The case is made from two gently curved pieces of bamboo that individually are very like wrist-rests used to support the hand when writing. It is a beautiful object with a very fine and original patina. The front panel has a long old split with has been supported by two silver rivets. Modern adhesives largely make rivets redundant and a restorer could make a good repair if t ...click for details
