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 ...