Catalog (55)

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very striking contemporary Burmese writing box done in the "shwei-zawa" technique, with gold leaf floral designs known as "chupan" set against a shiny black lacquer ground, all done to very striking and dramatic effect. For those unfamiliar with this ancient Southeast Asian craft that began with the Thai in the seventeenth century, and is still practiced today mainly by the Burmese, Sylvia Fraser -Lu gives a simplified but useful explanation in Burmese Craft...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very attractive 5 piece Pagan-style lacquer hsun-ok (offering vessel) from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the yun st...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, an extremely fine and very attractive dome-shaped, two-piece lacquerware box from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the y...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a contemporary but very beautiful Burmese shwei-zawa wall hanging from Pagan, Burma, executed in brilliant gold leaf against a shiny black lacquer ground. The scene depicted is most likely something from the Jataka Tales (the stories of the previous lives of the Buddha), though we are not positive which exact scene is being portrayed. Nevertheless, this is a very fine and strikingly attractive example, and for those who understand how shwei-zawa work is crea...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine original Burmese watercolor of a solitary young monk at prayer. From memory we think the scene depicts one of the many alcoves at the massive Ananda Temple complex in Pagan, though in all candor we cannot be entirely certain. In any event, it is a stirring and highly evocative portrayal which in its simplicity, captures a deep and genuine sense of reverence and serenity. Much of this comes from something as subtle yet masterful as the artist's depictio...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, an inscribed lacquerware covered vessel from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the yun style, an extremely labor intensiv...

A very interesting reference book that is more a specialist's reference on a compilation of certain individual topics than a general survey book on Burmese wares in general. There are 15 different essays here dealing with a broad range of topics such as Burmese Buddhist Sculpture in the British Museum; Court Dress of the Shan States; Burmese Votive Tablets; Problems and Issues Concerning the Preservation of Wooden Monasteries in Burma; Burmese Arts and Crafts in the Scherman Collection (German...

A contemporary but very attractive Tibetan ewer, crafted of thin, hand-worked sheets of white metal that appear to be some type of nickel/aluminum amalgam, decorated with deep repousse and chasing techniques forming the decorative bands along the shoulder, neck, lid, and upper base of vessel, with well-formed makara shaped spout and handle, all atop a splayed footed base. This is a contemporary piece exactly 15 years old, but a very attractive ethnic handicraft.

Size and Condition: 12 1/2...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a large and very attractive Indonesian tribal mask, crafted from a dark hardwood we think is either teak or some other rosewood variant, inlaid with mother of pearl or shell. They craft a lot of masks in different versions in Bali, but the more frequently encountered version you see there is a much smaller but heavily painted multicolor style, that we tend to find a bit gaudy. We selected this style from Central Java for its austere but artful presence, achiev...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a vibrant and highly decorative Indonesian batik in the form of a village scene with figures, from Yogyjakarta (Indonesia), executed in rich turquoise, black, brown, straw color, and other earth tones, and signed by the artist.

Batik is one of many methodologies of fabric decoration employed in Indonesia's long and rich textile tradition. Those unfamiliar with the process will not immediately recognize how the designs are rendered, but it is essentially ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a superb original and signed acrylic painting on canvas depicting an Indonesian Barong Dance, deaccessioned from the Agung Rai Museum in Ubud, Bali in 1997.

The Barong Dance is one of those wonderful and almost magical expressions of Indonesian mythology, where themes of good and evil are pitted against one another through a cultural tale played out as a dance. According to the tale, an evil sorceress named Rangda summons her army to go after Erlangga, ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a good contemporary nephrite jade carving of a mother elephant with her infant. Sourced directly from the Chiang Mai region of Thailand in the early 1990's, the jade is a very deep emerald green color, somewhat darker than the website photos which seem to have lightened the jade color due to the flash. A small but charming piece with an endearing subject matter, nicely carved with good weight and heft, and overall an attractive genuine example of Northern Thai...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very large and finely detailed Indonesian acrylic on canvas original by artist I Made Rajia of Penestanan Village, Ubud Bali, painted in 1999. This magnificent piece is composed in what is known as their "Traditional Style" genre, depicting a snapshot of typical village life. The artist here has used a somewhat unusual but very effective palette of earth tones combined with heavy emphasis of yellow and orange coloration to achieve a sophisticated but still...

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 Southeast Asia Collection, a good Thai repousse silver box with burlwood lining, depicting the Thai and Burmese kings in battle during the sixteenth century. Sourced directly from Chiang Mai Thailand in 1990, this is a substantial box of good quality silver. The exterior has been allowed to patinate for 20 years and has taken on the usual dark grey patina typical for sterling silver, but the interior is completely pristine as it has never actually been used. A new owner may prefer to ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a lovely handmade silk on cotton vintage table runner from Laos, using tan colored silk woven into geometric designs with magenta and blue/green colored accents. The runner is shown only half size as we have folded it to fit within the confines of our display boards, but it is actually quite long and very well-suited for long dinner tables or sideboards. It can also be displayed either framed or unframed as a wall hanging. Acquired in the late 1980's, we can b...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a good and large vintage Indonesian batik executed in three different shades of blue, along with rust, peach, olive, black, brown, white, and signed by the artist.

Batik is one of many methodologies of fabric decoration employed in Indonesia's long and rich textile tradition. Those unfamiliar with the process will not immediately recognize how the designs are rendered, but it is essentially a wax-resist type of dyeing operation where certain sections o...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, an important and magnificently large, published, inscribed and dated Burmese temple Buddha, Mandalay School, constructed of fabulously carved hardwood coated in reddish-brown lacquer and gilt, depicting Buddha seated in padmasana position with his right hand in bhumisparsa mudra, elevated upon a single tier base with iron temple security rings, and bearing a raised-lacquer dedication inscription that essentially translates as follows: "Wish-fulfilling Kabalon ...

See description for item # 990732: a Large, Published, Inscribed, Dated, Burmese Buddha

A very good late 19th - early 20th century Tibetan ewer, crafted of thin, hand-worked sheets of what is probably some type of brass/bronze amalgam that has acquired a rich chocolate patina over time, with deep repousse and chasing techniques forming the decorative bands along the shoulder, neck, and lid of vessel, a well-formed makara shaped spout and handle, all atop a splayed footed base. Overall a very nice example with legitimate age, good presence, and very decorative.

Size and Condi...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a fine and large late 19th / early 20th century gold thread ceremonial shoulder cloth, or kain selendag songket, from the Minangkabau people of Sumatra, Indonesia, circa 1890-1920, executed using heavy gauge gold thread intricately woven into floral and geometric motifs on a red silk backing. The processes for creating and spinning the gold thread and weaving the design motifs are excruciatingly time consuming, thus this technique is generally reserved for pi...

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 late 19th / early 20th century silver thread ceremonial shoulder cloth, or kain selendag songket, from the Minangkabau people of Sumatra, Indonesia, circa 1890-1920, executed using heavy gauge silver thread intricately woven into floral and geometric motifs on a red silk backing. The processes for creating and spinning the silver thread and weaving the design motifs are excruciatingly time consuming, thus this technique is generally reserved f...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a large and classic 19th century Burmese Hsun-ok from Pagan, of well- known and documented form, constructed of wood that is first lacquered in black, and then covered in successive layers of cinnabar-colored lacquer called hinthabada. Over time, through use and handling, the cinnabar lacquer wears off to reveal the black lacquer base underneath as seen on this example, in an effect likened to the negoro effect seen in Japanese lacquerware.

These old,...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a large and classic 19th century Burmese Hsun-ok from Pagan, of well- known and documented form, constructed of wood that is first lacquered in black, and then covered in successive layers of cinnabar-colored lacquer called hinthabada. Over time, through use and handling, the cinnabar lacquer wears off to reveal the black lacquer base underneath. The negoro effect here is not as pronounced on this piece as it is on our other recently posted hsun-ok (see item ...

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 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 Southeast Asia Collection, a large and well-carved image of the Burmese monk Mogallana, 19th century. The carving is rendered in gilding and black lacquer over carved hardwood, with shell inserts for the eyes, typical for the better quality Mandalay era pieces. Overall, the piece is very nicely executed with good expressiveness and presence, making it very suitable for part of a shrine ensemble, or simply for display as a centerpiece on its own.

Size and Condition: Height is ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very good 18th century gilded bronze Thai buddha, seated in bhumisparsa mudra, gilded lacquer over bronze with interesting glass inserts to the base, and all the indicia of legitimate age and genuineness.

Size and Condition: 13 inches tall, 8 1/2 inches wide. There is obvious age-related wear to the gilding and some lacquer has flaked off in a few random places, but in small amounts. The finial has been broken off and re-stuck, and some glass inlay ha...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a stunning and large martaban-type lacquer jar from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the yun style, an extremely labor i...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a lacquerware masterpiece from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the yun style, an extremely labor intensive craft where ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, an original and signed oil painting from Inle Lake, Burma. The piece depicts two men boating along a marsh with a wonderful view of some communal structures fronting a stunning mountainside. For those who have been fortunate to travel to the Inle Lake area, this certainly brings back memories. And for those who have never been, this painting makes you want to go.

Executed in an unusual color palette of straw, yellow, green, brown, taupe, orange, and ...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, this is the first offering from our four-part series of Burmese Hyper-Realism Masterpieces executed in charcoal. From a technical perspective, these are some of the most extraordinarily realistic renditions in charcoal that we have ever seen, from any culture and from any time period. The artistic talent reflected in the creation of these works is really nothing short of amazing, especially when considering the inherent limitations of working in charcoal com...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, this is the second offering from our four-part series of Burmese Hyper-Realism Masterpieces executed in charcoal. From a technical perspective, these are some of the most extraordinarily realistic renditions in charcoal that we have ever seen, from any culture and from any time period. The artistic talent reflected in the creation of these works is really nothing short of amazing, especially when considering the inherent limitations of working in charcoal comp...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, this is the third offering from our four-part series of Burmese Hyper-Realism Masterpieces executed in charcoal. From a technical perspective, these are some of the most extraordinarily realistic renditions in charcoal that we have ever seen, from any culture and from any time period. The artistic talent reflected in the creation of these works is really nothing short of amazing, especially when considering the inherent limitations of working in charcoal compa...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, this is the fourth and last offering from our four-part series of Burmese Hyper-Realism Masterpieces executed in charcoal. From a technical perspective, these are some of the most extraordinarily realistic renditions in charcoal that we have ever seen, from any culture and from any time period. The artistic talent reflected in the creation of these works is really nothing short of amazing, especially when considering the inherent limitations of working in char...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very fine and intricate Indonesian original painting by N. Mandra of Ubud (Bali), depicting an offering scene executed in subdued earth tones. The painting is acrylic on canvas and is very well done.

Size and Condition: Framed dimensions are 32 inches tall, 24 1/2 inches wide. Perfect condition, no damages.

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.

Burmese kalagas are often misidentified as being Thai in origin since they are routinely acquired across the border in Thailand where tourist travel is far more common than in Burma i...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a massive Indonesian teak wood carved panel executed in high-relief, depicting a scene from the Ramayana.

Indonesia, like Burma, has a long standing and very accomplished woodcarving tradition where generations of craftsmen have been producing great woodwork for decades. This particular piece is especially large and animated with great depth to the carving, and makes for a very dramatic statement in any room where it is displayed.

Size and Con...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a small but fine Burmese ink on palm leaf sutra with thayo embossed wood covers, depicting Buddha under the Bodhi Tree of Enlightenment flanked by two adorants in the center medallion, then encircled by disciples and zoomorphic entities in the surrounding images. The reverse side contains sutra writings in Burmese script, not yet translated. Overall workmanship is quite fine with great attention to detail, reflecting the devotion, reverence, and skill of the c...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a superb Indonesian ebony wood carving of Ruana, expertly rendered with such animation and ferocity that the character looks almost demon-like, so much so that we actually find this particular piece a bit creepy.....But that is ultimately testimony to the tremendous skill of the carver.

For those unfamiliar with the differences between ebony wood and the other woods in the hardwood / rosewood family, ebony wood is especially dense and heavy and very d...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a superb Indonesian ebony wood carving of a Legong dancer, expertly rendered capturing the marvelous grace and elegance of this traditional Balinese dance.

As Wikipedia describes it, "Legong is a form of Balinese dance. It is a refined dance form characterized by intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and expressive gestures and facial expressions. Legong probably originated in the 19th century as royal entertainment. Legend has it that a pri...

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 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...

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 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 very fine gilded Burmese hsun-ok or offering vessel, late 19th to early 20th century. Gilded offering vessels such as this present example would have been owned by wealthy Burmese families, and used exclusively for bringing food gifts to the monastery. They are constructed of bamboo and turned wood bodies, and decorated with scrolling floral designs called "chupan." Crafting the chupan design is actually a deceptively meticulous and laborious process, one t...

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 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 very fine Burmese silver alms-style bowl, late 19th century, extremely well-executed in deep repousse technique with a continuous scene of thirteen figures depicting an episode from the Burmese Jataka Tales (previous lives of the Buddha), bordered on top by a row of maw-pan floral scrolls incorporating seven chin-thei (Burmese buddhist lions), and bordered on the bottom by a row of stylized acanthus leaves.

Despite the continued political and economic...

Additional photos for 19th Century Burmese Silver Alms-Style Bowl, Item # 941901.

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very fine 19th century Thai Rattanakosin bronze Buddha exhibiting the rarely seen Pang Ham Phra Kaen Chan mudra, also known as the "Stopping the Sandalwood Image" mudra. This Buddha is especially well-cast with sharp details. It has just the right balance of wear commensurate with age combined with a good amount of retained original gilding, ultimately giving the piece its undeniable air of age and authenticity.

As stated above, this particular mu...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a large and absolutely stunning masterpiece of Annamese mother of pearl inlay work, 19th Century, Nguyen Dynasty Vietnam, depicting exquisitely rendered butterflies, flowers, crustaceans, scrolls, and geometric designs in superb quality mother of pearl inlaid against a dark brown rosewood base.

This fantastic tray truly represents the pinnacle of this art form. We have been fortunate to see the pieces held in the National Museum of Vietnamese History in...

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 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...