Catalog (321)

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, and in honor of the Chinese New Year / Year of the Dragon, we are pleased to offer this large and unusual, five-clawed dragon decorated Shu-family memorial censer, inscribed and dated to the twenty-third year of the Republic (1934), with the "min guo er shi san nian" date appearing on the right side of the ancestral temple, and a family dedication from Shu family descendants appearing to the left. Flanking the ancestral temple on each side are two well...

DUE TO RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CHANGES, AND FURTHER PROPOSED CHANGES THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED OR PROMULGATED BY THE US GOVERNMENT, IT IS NOT CLEAR TO US AND MOST ANTIQUE IVORY DEALERS, EXACTLY WHERE (WHAT JURISDICTIONS), TO WHOM, UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND WHAT TYPE OF NEW PERMITS MIGHT BE REQUIRED FOR US TO CONTINUE MARKETING ANY OF OUR ANTIQUE IVORY PIECES FOR SALE. PLEASE CHECK BACK WITH US IN JULY OR AUGUST AFTER THE NEW RULES AND GUIDELINES ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN MORE FUL...

From our Chinese Monochrome Collection, a very fine late 18th century / early 19th century carved cinnabar lacquer vase of compressed baluster form. The vase sits upon a splayed foot with a trumpet form neck containing reserves of floral springs atop a collar of wave motifs. Below this there are two separate scenes contained within trapezoidal shaped cartouches framed by ruyi head motifs:

In the main scene, we see the famous Jin Dynasty calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303 AD - 361 AD) sittin...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a good Kangxi Period (1662-1722) flower basket plate executed in soft famille verte enamels. The flower basket motif is generally associated with symbolizing longevity and abundance, but sometimes its association with one of the most enigmatic and eccentric of the Eight Immortals, Lan Caihe, is overlooked. Lan Caihe was actually the patron saint of florists whose distinguishing attribute is the flower basket. But since so many of the legends and fables ...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine Yongzheng (1723 -1735) Mark and Period Dragon Dish of shallow saucer form, depicting an animated dragon clutching a flaming pearl in its right claw while its winding body wraps around the dish and extends onto the reverse, all set against a backdrop of cloud motifs. The entire composition is extremely well-executed in a rich deep blue. The Yongzheng six character mark is contained within double circles and is of the period. The mark is slig...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and complete Burmese Kammavaca Manuscript, late 19th - early 20th century, containing all 16 leaves and the original teak wood covers.

Kammavaca manuscripts are a quintessentially Burmese artifact that reflect the general reverence afforded to the monastic system in that country. To Western eyes, they are usually just highly decorative ethnic handicrafts from an isolated and exotic culture. But to the Burmese, they are a rather important and quit...

PLEASE NOTE: WE HAVE RECENTLY RE-ACQUIRED THIS VERY FINE KO KAW TEE FROM A CLIENT WHO IS LIQUIDATING HIS ANTIQUE HOLDINGS DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES AND MEDICAL EXPENSES: WHILE WE ARE VERY SADDENED TO LEARN OF THIS CLIENT'S CONDITION AND CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, WE ARE GRATIFIED AT LEAST TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST THIS WONDERFUL GENTLEMAN IN THIS MANNER, AND TO RE-OFFER THIS FINE ITEM ONCE AGAIN: From our Southeast Asia Collection, a truly exceptional lacquered and gilded woven-bamboo basket known as a Ko Ka...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a stunningly beautiful 19th century Khavakend-influenced Kashmiri silver teapot of bulbous teardrop form, finely chased in the rosette pattern with paisley and chinar motifs. This extremely fine teapot sits atop a flat rounded base with an avian-form handle, beak-form spout, and a dome-shaped hinged lid. Though the workmanship of this piece is clearly Kashmiri, the overall aesthetic is heavily influenced by the architectural motifs and artistic iconograp...

An elegant and highly stylized zun-shaped lacquered bronze vase, either Chinese Late Ming Period (1600's) or Japanese Early Edo Period (1600's). This very interesting and attractive piece with its splayed footed base, angular shoulder, and trumpet-shaped mouth that resembles opened floral petals when viewed from the interior, was most likely intended as a flower vase itself, but its intended purpose is no more certain than its actual country of origin. Indeed, despite its presentation of a figur...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine, large, and rare late Shunzhi / early Kangxi porcelain charger circa 1645-1665. This charger is well-painted in a rich blue featuring symmetrically arranged peony sprays within a six-pointed star-shaped central medallion, surrounded on the cavetto with a continuous ring of ruyi head motifs. The reverse features an uncommon double footrim along with Buddhist symbols on the outer border. Interestingly, "chatter marks," (radial lines around t...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine gilt bronze Thai Reliquary, 19th century Rattanakosin Period (Thailand), consisting of a two-tiered bronze structure that houses a hollowed compartment for storing relics, with each tier elegantly cast with Buddha images in various poses and mudras. On the bottom tier, these include four Reclining Buddhas, four Standing Buddhas, and four Cambodian-influenced Cobra-Hooded Buddhas. On the top tier, four Sitting Buddhas are situated within open windows f...

From our European Collection, a very good 17th century copper plate engraving, most likely English circa 1650-1700, depicting a Chinese official accompanied by his entourage, with subjects kowtowing in the foreground and a crowd of spectators to the rear.

Size and Condition: 7 inches by 5 1/4 inches, very well preserved with only slight creasing.

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very fine Kangxi Period (1662-1722) porcelain plate with flower basket motif, the border executed with cash diaper design interspersed with four vignettes of floral sprigs. This piece is export ware but still arguably "Chinese taste" given the understated elegance and restraint from over-decoration. The genius of its appeal is in the wonderful balance between the painted areas and the areas of unpainted white reserve, which provide lovely contrast to...

From our European Collection, a good 19th century hand-carved hall chair with an armorial / heraldic shield, probably Spanish in origin. The wood used is a dense and heavy hardwood which appears to be either walnut or mahogany. The chair is armless and rests upon wooden casters.

Size and Condition: 50 inches tall, 18 inches wide, 18 inches deep. Overall very good condition with mostly minor surface wear to the wood commensurate with age and use. There is a scrolling architectural moti...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and massive vintage Burmese Kalaga, intricately and painstakingly constructed of literally thousands of small metallic disks, colored threads, beads, and fabric swatches, all woven and assembled into a massive tapestry illustrating scenes from the life of the Buddha. This piece is very similar in overall design, palette, size, and age as item 984258 and was acquired around the same time, except that this example has since been framed under plexiglass w...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very large and fine Burmese Standing Buddha, late 19th century, constructed of carved and gilded hardwood depicting Buddha in a classic Mandalay School rendering which features a broad oval face, downward gazing eyes, elongated earlobes that touch the shoulders, a glass inset fillet band around the forehead, a dome-shaped ushnisha on the top of Buddha's head, and perhaps most characteristic of this particular style, is an elaborately carved robe with ornamen...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a fine Rose-Verte porcelain dish, Yongzheng Period (1723-1735), well-painted in the center depicting an elegant lady, a young boy, and a deer carrying peaches on its back signifying longevity. Bordered on the cavetto with floral sprays, and dressed on the rim with iron oxide.

Rose-Verte is a less commonly encountered version of the Famille Rose and Famille Verte palettes. It is often loosely grouped into the Famille Rose category, but is actu...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a fine Famille Verte porcelain dish, Kangxi Period (1662-1722), well-painted with a figural scene of three people, two of which occupy an outdoor pavilion while a third looks on from the inside. Floral sprays, butterflies, and twin-fish are represented in the cavetto, while the border is executed in classic piecrust form.

While Kangxi era plates of this style and shape are by no means uncommon, this particular example was selected for the excell...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a very fine Qing Dynasty barber's bowl, Yongzheng Period (1723-1735), beautifully painted in soft famille rose enamels, depicting two elegant ladies in a fenced garden setting alongside a flowering tree with birds overhead. Floral sprays are on the outer rim and on the reverse. Batavia brown / iron oxide dressing to the rim edges.

Overall, this is an especially fine and decorative example, much better painted than most such pieces typically enco...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a superb original and signed acrylic painting on canvas depicting an Indonesian Barong Dance. Though this particular piece does not share the same museum provenance as our other Barong Dance offering (see item # 938720), we think it is at least of equal merit. Some may even think it is superior. In any case, both are superb examples.

The Barong Dance is one of those wonderful and almost magical expressions of Indonesian mythology, where themes of good...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a very good pair of contemporary Indian miniature paintings of caparisoned elephants, executed in a palette that contrasts rich red with a lavish use of gilt, along with grey, white, and black. Often painted with single-haired sable brushes or their equivalent, some of the details here are so fine they are difficult to appreciate without a jeweler's loop. Even our 6x magnification camera lens does not fully capture all the detail, we can only see it all...

From our World Handicrafts Collection (ex-Asia), a large and very fine Persian rug, hand-woven of wool and silk in a rich and elegant palette of deep red, dark and light blue, tan, mint green, pale orange, and cream.

Size and Condition: 10 feet and 4 inches long (124 inches), 7 feet and 8 inches wide (92 inches). There are some thread pulls and light general wear, but overall condition is excellent.

From our Fine Arts and Americana Collection, a nice set of vintage American nightstands dating from the 1950's, constructed of solid hardwood with Carpathian Elm burl veneers.

Not much is known about the Bethlehem Furniture Manufacturing Corp. of Red Lion Pennsylvania that crafted this set, but they were apparently a small niche manufacturer active from the late 19th century up until the mid 20th century. This particular set was acquired new in the 1950's, and we acquired it from the ori...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and complete Burmese Kammavaca Manuscript, late 19th - early 20th century, containing all 16 leaves and the original teak wood covers.

Kammavaca manuscripts are a quintessentially Burmese artifact that reflect the general reverence afforded to the monastic system in that country. To Western eyes, they are usually just highly decorative ethnic handicrafts from an isolated and exotic culture. But to the Burmese, they are a rather important and quit...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and large pair of ornamental bronze Burmese gongsmen, early 20th century, crisply cast depicting two gongsmen carrying a large circular gong known as a "maung" suspended beneath a pole. During Burma's Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885), official announcements were made to the townspeople by a King's Representative accompanied by two gongsmen, who would customarily alert the town to their announcement by striking the maung. Later, in the subsequent era ...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a very large teakwood sideboard / buffet from Kerala in Southern India, crafted with old-growth teakwood using carved sunburst motifs for the compartment doors. A very understated yet elegant example featuring large compartments and a large top surface area, making it very functional besides its strong appeal as highly decorative ethnic furniture.

Size and Condition: A large piece at 74 inches wide, 34 inches tall, 23 inches deep. Overall condit...

From our Japanese Collection, a good Meiji Period (1868-1912) imari lobed dish, executed in traditional palette using iron red, orange, blue, green, and gilt on a white porcelain body, depicting a stylized chrysanthemum head motif in the center well, along with dragon, phoenix, and floral motifs in the border reserves. An unpretentious but well-made traditional example.

Size and Condition: 8 3/8 inches in diameter. Some light wear to gilding in the center, heavier wear to the gilding ...

From our Chinese Monochrome Collection, a beautiful white porcelain Guanyin, Goddess of Compassion and Mercy, executed in the style of early 20th century slip-cast blanc de chine from Dehua, but actually a later vintage-era white porcelain example from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. (Among other things, the difference here rests in the nature of the underlying porcelain paste, which to novice eyes may be difficult to discern, but to our eyes is clearly not true blanc de chine.) Nevertheless, s...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and very large Khmer (Cambodian) handmade silk textile now framed as a wall hanging, executed in traditional Khmer palette using a combination of natural vegetal dyes and synthetic colors, depicting various animal and geometric motifs. A very striking and dramatic piece not commonly encountered.

Size and Condition: 94 1/2 inches wide, 40 1/2 inches tall. Some minor thread pulls here and there but overall excellent condition.

From our World Handicrafts Collection (ex-Asia), a fine vintage Afghani tribal rug, wool on wool handmade construction, using exclusively natural pigments / mineral dyes. A modestly sized but very well-executed and elegant example that works well in either a rustic or formal decor.

Size and Condition: 57 inches long, 39 inches wide. There are some random expected thread pulls and light wear commensurate with age and use, but overall excellent condition.

From our Japanese Collection, a superb and large satsuma lidded jar / tea caddy by Ryozan, Meiji Period 1868-1912, stunningly executed with exceptional fineness depicting two cartouches of people gathering, alternating with two cartouches of ducks and birds in nature scenes, all separated and framed by intricate brocaded reserves of floral motifs using wonderful color variation and extensive gilt.

Size and Condition: A relatively large caddy at 7 1/4 inches tall, 6 1/8 inches wide.

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and large Thai Rattanakosin bronze Buddha, early-to-middle 19th century, depicting Buddha with both hands raised shoulder level with palms forward in Ham Samut mudra, also known as "Calming the Waters" or "Calming the Ocean" mudra. Buddha is wearing regal attire here with traditional tall crown and body jewelry that is elaborately inset with lacquer and glass adornments. Gilding retention is relatively high on this example. Buddha's crown is removable...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and rare Burmese dry lacquer Buddha, 19th century or earlier, exquisitely modeled with a beautifully serene meditative visage that is quintessentially Shan Burmese in form, featuring a broad sweeping forehead framed by a glass mosaic adorned fillet band, high-set eyebrows, a sharply linear nose with flared nostrils, a small mouth with thin lips gently curved upward into a half smile, three neck creases, and characteristically elongated earlobes that ext...

From our Japanese Collection, a good set of three large ceremonial lacquer sake shallow bowls in graduated sizes, Showa Period, very handsomely executed with raised gold and black designs of figures set against a red lacquer ground. It is quite possible this set is older than we give it credit for, perhaps dating from late Meiji through to the Taisho Period (1912-1926) as several very similar sets for sale on Trocadero are dated, but with these ceremonial lacquer pieces that are totally unused ...

From our Japanese Collection, a published and very fine satsuma charger, Meiji Period (1868-1912), most likely between 1870-1880, depicting Kannon the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion surrounded by deities and adorants, executed in typical satsuma palette but with an especially rich, heavy, and quite skilful gold application. Signed Hodada.

Published in "Imari, Satsuma, and other Japanese Export Ceramics" by Nancy Schiffer, page 151, copyright 1997.

Size and Condition: 12 3/8 inch...

From our Japanese Collection, a large and very regal pair of imari vases, Meiji Period 1868-1912, beautifully executed in traditional palette of iron red, orange, blue, and gilt on a white porcelain body, with kiln marks to the base.

Size and Condition: 12 1/4 inches tall, 6 1/2 inches wide. Some light rubbing to the gilt in places commensurate with age and handling, but essentially perfect condition.