Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian (21)

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...

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...

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 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 Indian Subcontinent Collection, a large and elegant hand-etched brass floor lamp from Southern India. The etched designs on this piece are really quite intricate, and it is clear that a tremendous amount of time and handiwork went into the layout and artistry of this piece.

Size and Condition: 71 inches tall (just shy of 6 feet), lampshade is 18 inches in diameter at widest point. The lamp has been fitted with American electrical hardware and is still in good working order...

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...

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...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a fine vintage wool and silk Pakistani Bokhara rug in classic Tekke Gul design, handwoven on a vertical loom with cotton base, using a combination of natural mineral pigments and synthetic dyes. The Tekke Gul motifs as well as various tiers of the border elements, are all outlined in off-white / cream colored silk, a rather elaborate and more complicated execution seen on the higher quality examples...

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...

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...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a fine and large tempura on silk original painting depicting figures in what seems like a celestial dance, almost a magical procession...

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...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a large and fine vintage Pakistani Bokhara rug using extra fine wool and silk in classic Tekke Gul design, handwoven on a vertical loom with cotton base, using a combination of natural mineral pigments and synthetic dyes in brown, black, taupe, cream, and pale green. Whilst Bokhara rugs are often perceived as utilitarian in nature and not seen as art objects by their makers, this particular rug is of such good quality that the maker decided to sign it...

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...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a large and fine vintage thangka, either Tibetan or Nepalese, executed in a subdued yet very elegant palette emphasizing substantial gold use, along with blue, coral, gray, brown, taupe, white, and light green, all painted in an unusually meticulous and finely detailed fashion that is almost more like satsuma workmanship than typical thangka painting...

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...

From our Japanese Collection, a fine and very attractive mid-century silk thread composition depicting a Shinto shrine nestled within a treed riverbank, with a foot-bridge and boats in the foreground. The composition uses rich but tasteful shades of burgundy, brown, cream, dark green, a touch of soft pink, and other subtle earth tones. The piece evokes a relaxed charm.

Size and Condition: Framed dimensions are 25 inches wide, 19 3/4 inches tall...

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...