You are considering an authentic set of three arc-shaped pendants from the Neolithic or Shang period, circa 2000-1500 BCE. Similar published examples can be found in Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Ching at pages 158-159 (the latter illustration showing a similar item from the collection of the British Museum). As with the other examples, these three pieces join together to form a ring...
Bronze vase with reddish-brown patina, oblong shape with small hemmed neck and rust-colored marks.
Unidentified signature under the vase.
Japan – Meiji era (1868-1912)
Height: 8.1 in. (20.5 cm) – diameter: 6 in. (15 cm)
Pair of amusing maki-e lacquered wooden spoons with an insect motif on the spoon, a cicada and a butterfly. Handle with braided rope pattern.
Label on the back : 坧耒 ? (uncertain transcription).
Japan – 20th century
Width: 1.38 in. (3.5 cm) – length: 6.57 in. (16.7 cm)
Wooden suzuribako decorated with two hares with red eyes in gold and silver lacquer surrounded by grass.
The interior is made of negoro-nuri lacquer. This is an ancient technique, developed in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at the Negoro temple in the ancient province of Kii (now Wakayama prefecture). It is characterized by vermilion color, made from cinnabar and showing natural brush marks...
Bamboo toad on a bluebell flower. The node of the wood is used as the base of the statuette.
The toad and the frog, referred to under the same term in Japanese (kaeru) are associated with good luck and wealth. Kaeru means both "toad/frog" and "coming home" in Japanese. This extension of meaning is due to the ability of the toad to return to the pond of its birth every year...
Bamboo sitting toad. The node of the wood is used as the base of the statuette.
The toad and the frog, referred to by the same term in Japanese (kaeru) are associated with good luck and wealth. Kaeru means both "toad" and "coming home" in Japanese. This extension of meaning is due to the ability of the toad to return to the pond of its birth every year...
Three-legged toad in bronze.
The three-legged toad, originating from Chinese mythology, is a Feng Shui symbol of prosperity and wealth.
Chan Chu, the three-legged toad, is mentioned by the poet Qu Yuan in The Songs of Chu...
Tibetan thogchag figuring Chanadordje, 3,5 x 3,5 cms
Strap made of a piece of thick leather, and cast silver and brass ornaments with turquoise.
Beautiful typical Sino-Tibetan craftsmanship including the face and hands of Kirtimukha ("face of glory").
This kind of strap was mainly used to attach a big knife.
This belt strap has obviously been repaired and remade (see pix). The turquoise have been replaced by an other old one; the silver and brass pieces are at least 19th C...
A very attractive and scarce Tabloid seal, Northern Mesopotamia, c. later 4th. millenium BC.
The serpentine seal engraved with cruciform and stylized scorpio pattern. Fine thick drill.
Size: 20 x 17 mm...
A larger hemispheric stone seal with a dome and elaborate line below the drilling on the top, Mesopotamian, Uruk period c. 4000-3000 BC.
The seal is carved with a later version of the archaic 'grit' pattern, where it looks like horisontical script-lines.
Very nicely made in an attractive and very hard green-black stone.
Size: 28 mm. in diameter, 14-15 mm...
A larger serpentine stone stamp seal of the gable type, Ubaid period of Anatolia and Syria, c. 4th. millenium BC.
Recent research clearly indicates that highly advanced city cultures allready existed in the Ubaid period of Anatolia and Syria in the early 4th. millenium BC and perhaps even before that. This predates the Mesopotamian Uruk period, so it's a question who inspired who?.
Nice seal in hand engraved with a horned animal.
Size: 35 mm. long and 23 mm...
Width of Bowl: 10 cm (4 in)
Height of Bowl: 5.9 cm (2.4 in)
Width of Lid: 9.2 cm (3.7 in)
Height of Lid: 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
Overall Height: 8.1 cm (3.2 in)
Quality Chinese porcelain famille rose lidded bowl; decorated with polychrome florals on the bowl and lid; Tongzhi marks on both bases; probably Guangxu Period; good condition
Impressive red stone Jasper Gable seal, Greater Mesopotamia,, probably a Levantine workshop, 4th. millenium BC.
A nice depiction of either a hering pattern or a stylized scorpio?
Size: 33 mm. long.
Condition: Near Very Fine, some minor losses to edges...
Late Meiji/Taisho (1890s-1910s) Japanese wooden nyoi - a Buddhist scepter made out of a branch with a natural knobby formation at its head. Nyoi, or Ruyi scepter is a traditional symbol of scholarship and transmission of knowledge. Wonderfully simple piece in Japanese taste, on a short side (usually nyoi are 12 inches or slightly longer), beautiful wear and patina. Comes with a box and wrapping cloth, paper label with inscription on the cover of the box, red seal and ink inscription on the insid...
Cloisonne enamel vase on hammered copper base. The meticulously positioned wires are in silver, as are the borders. The decor is simple, showing a bridge between two hills but exceptional because of its historical interest. Indeed it is a vase commemorating the bold construction of an aqueduct by a Japanese electricity company in the 1900s. The Chinese characters written below must relate the event, date it and also probably give the name of the creative artist or that of the enameling workshop....
An unusual Tibeto-Chinese cloisonne gau box having a domed and hinged cover with a multi-colored scroll pattern surrounding a central cartouche. The cartouche features the Tibetan character “hum” which translates as “the spirit of enlightenment” or “the enlightened mind”. This gau would have been worn by a high ranking lama. An almost identical gau, which most likely came from the same workshop, comprised lot 428 of Christie’s New York, ‘The Scholar’s Vision: The Pal Famil...