The faces of comedy and tragedy are represented in this pair of masks carved of hibiscus wood by I. W. Mudano, a second generation master carver from Indonesia. Mr. Mudano, who has exhibited internationally for decades, works primarily in yellow hibiscus wood, and is recognized for his special talent in making delightful artistic use of the natural variations in the wood’s grain and shades...

A charming hand woven and decorated basket of split bamboo made in an Isan village in Northeastern Thailand is smoothed on the exterior with an application of brick red lacquer thickened with ash. Yellow and green flowers and dots on black grounds give the basket folk appeal. The Isan (also Isaan) people, though sometimes called Thai Isan, are a blend of Lao, Mon and and Khmer, and have their own language, which is Lao-like but written in the Thai alphabet...

The gaelae roof ornament of the Thai Lanna people is an exotic North Thailand sight when seen silhouetted against the sky. Gaelae (also galae) originally were extensions of roof beams crossed in V-shape at the ends of steep peaked roofs on Thai Lanna structures. More recently they are made as separate carvings and attached to the roof peaks...

A royal blue silk shawl handwoven on a bamboo loom in the workshop of Carol Cassidy in Vientiane, Laos, showcases the weaving techniques of interlocking tapestry, supplementary weft patterning and weft ikat. The shawl is an adaptation of designs used in Lao villages by the country’s many ethnic groups for whom textiles traditionally have been an important element of family life, identifying the group and locale and marking life’s events from birth to marriage to death...

Two splendid cranes with outstretched wings form the strong art deco-like design on this large Japanese blue indigo batik cotton panel. The white cranes stand in stark contrast to the deep indigo background. Indigo veining runs throughout the birds in this contemporary piece from the early 1990s. Important emblems in Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity and longevity. This large 40-inch (102 cm) square panel is in perfect condition.

This lustrous silk shawl, produced in the early 1990s in the Vientiane, Laos, studio of an American woman intent on preserving the weaving techniques of various Lao ethnic groups, is woven with interlocking tapestry, weft ikat, and discontinuous and supplementary patterning. It is wearable art, gorgeous as a shawl or a wall hanging...

This soaring form, called a gaelae (galae), is seen in Northern Thailand on the peaked rooftops of houses and other structures built by the Thai Lanna people. On old buildings gaelae are extensions of the ends of roof beams crossed to form a V-shape. On newer houses they usually are separate carvings such as this one and are attached to the peaks of the steep roofs after the basic structure is completed...

In vibrant shades of blue on a black background, this painting by Chinese folk artist Luo Zhi Jiang has a sophisticated, dream-like quality that seems worlds away from the painter’s rural home base in Huxian County, Shaanxi Province. Luo Zhi Jiang is one of the few Chinese so-called “peasant painters” to establish a reputation abroad. We first met the artist at the Huxian Painting Community in the early 1990s and were struck by his vision and talent...

The white goats in this colorful Chinese folk painting climb a blue/green hill tinged with red by the huge setting sun. Gouache on paper, this piece from Huxian County in Shaanxi Province is unsigned, as was generally the case for art from China’s peasant painting communities...

These strange bird scissors were made in a family's small metal forging shop in the old quarter of Bukhara. Located in Central Asia in the middle of the Kizyl-Kum Desert, Bukhara was perhaps the most colorful stop along the ancient Silk Road, filled with traders, camels, caravanserai and bazaars. The family of workers who produced these scissors (they also made other utilitarian items) are descended from several generations of metalsmiths who labored in the same shop using the same tools...

A carved teak jewelry box with secret compartments and deep carving on richly grained teakwood has the medieval aura of Bhaktapur, Nepal's old city of lavishly carved courtyards in the shadows of the Himalayas. The construction of the box is intriguing, with its 14 compartments, four of them hidden behind a sliding panel that is cleverly integrated with the carving pattern to disguise the entry to secret trays...

A Chinese folk painting from a remote village in the mountains of Yijun County, Shaanxi Province, shows a mythical beast with feathery fangs and a pinwheel on his rump. Paintings from this isolated community above the tree line, drawing on centuries-old embroidery and papercut patterns used by the women of the village, often featured extraordinary creatures in fantasy-like settings...