Catalog (603)

Sourced from an old estate, this pair of lotus shoes came with a hand written tag/label sewn to the back of one heel and a red paper the shape of the inner sole place inside on of the shoes. The paper is at the point flaking and disintegrating and the writing is in old Chinese and no longer readable. Because of the "tag and label, I suspect that these shoes were presented as a "gift" to a Western missionary, teacher or friend. The shoes are in wonderful condition with the exception of the front...

These old Chinese tinted eyeglasses date from the Qing Dynasty. There is a tiny bat on the nose bridge, and ornately detailed hinged temple and ear pieces.

This elaborate antique embroidery panel is from Gujrat India and would have been used as a dowery quilt. It is backed with soft aged (now muted) cotton fabric, leaving a 4 inch border surrounding the embroidery. The gold and silver metallic threads are also somewhat subdued and blended giving the panel a soft and somewhat muted appearance which is very pleasing. It is rare to find these old textiles from India intact as many of them where cut up into smaller sections and sold to textile colle...

This Meiji period Japanese vase has ginbari panels accenting the neck and wide goldstone band with gin-bari flowers.

Vase is 8 inches tall and is in pristine condition

Hand carved heavy old wooden Quran (aka Koran) Muslin book reader out of Middle East, Central Asia. Reader folds flat when not in use and has extra arm separator for storage of additional pages. Good patina, some wear marks as expected in an item of this age

This lovely set of 5 antique Japanese blue and white porcelain sake cups was made for export during the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890-1914 which required that the name of the country of origin appear in writing on each piece of pottery or porcelain imported into the country. Each cup has the makers name on the bottom as well as the country of origin. they are in excellant condition.

Made by a woman of somewhat limited means, this pair of lotus shoes date to the late Qing Dynasty. The vamp has a contrast of lavender and purple cotton fabric. Each toe is decorated with a delicate floral embroidery. There is a round heal attached to the sole... The shoes measure 5 inches. They show a minimal amount of wear...

Very old and very fine embroidered sleeve panels..satin and "forbidden stitch" (Peking knots) with antique trim border...some discoloration due to age... measures 11 x 22.5 inches

The Hmong women of Thailand would decorate their jackets with small rectangles of ornately embroidered collars. This collection of 6 such collars represents the tiny intricate stitches and range of techniques which use to be used. Collars such as these are rarely available on the market mow.

Collars range from 5.5 to 6 inches across and 3inches to 3.5 inches long.

Nicely aged patinated Japanese old ivory letter opener or possibly a page turner with carved and dyed lizard making its way up the handle. The piece is 9.5 inches long and .5 inches wide. It is slightly doomed across the width and the "blade" section is sharpened on one side... Really a lovely piece.

During the Qing Dynasty, the feathers of the kingfisher bird were used to create ornaments for woman to attach to clothing and/or wear in their hair... Through the 1800's These ornaments were made and formed with heavy paper (light weight cardboard...) They had large areas of feathers and the edges of the paper form were bordered with gold paint...and the ornaments were often domed By the early 1900's the bird were becoming rare almost extinct ...so intricate and smaller sections of fea...

From the Yi ethnic minority group, this antique Chinese container would have been used to store tobacco. The decorative cinnabar paint color draws attention to the gentle dome shapes of the lid and bottom sections, which fit together with a deep overlap. The worn areas of the cinnabar expose the black lacquer undercoat. As a folk art object, this tobacco container combines both the pleasing aesthetic craftsmanship and utilitarian need which shaped the daily lives of many indigenous ethnic gro...

This Tibetan talisman has a sealed leather herb bag hanging on each side of a small bronze sitting Buddha which is also displayed in a leather casing. The Buddha is depicted as holding a small bottle. All 3 pieces are hanging from a matching leather strap so that it could be worn around the neck of the individual.

This pair of Chinese lotus shoes were made by a woman of limited finances. She bought what materials were needed for the vamp and supplemented with the use of rough home spun fabric scraps to cover the shaped heals and soles. The limited amount of expensive gold couching threads outlining the floral embroidery pattern on each side of the shoes indicates that this pair of lotus shoes would have used only for special occasions. Cleverly hidden inside each shoe is a heel cushion which would have...

The groups of Yao minority live in in both China and Thailand. This necklace is of low grade silver which was typical of the Chinese jewelry around the late 1800's and early 1900's. The necklace is light weight and comfortable to wear.

This woven Tibetan container would have been used to hold a pair of wooden tea bowls...there is an interior separator (removable) which allows for the separation of tea bowls. Hand made using plant materials (hemp) and rattan with leather closures Bowls would have been packed into container such as this when traveling... and from the condition of this one...it has traveled many times. The container is 6 inches diameter at the top and 4 inches high...well aged fair condition...

Wonderful satin stitch embroidery of flowers and butterflies decorate this charming antique Chinese Miao baby hat. The front has 4 silver Buddha ornaments and the back sports the traditional Miao ornament of a butterfly with dangling bells to protect the child from evil spirits. The hat is softly padded to keep baby's head warm.

This Qing Dynasty scroll is a kossu woven silk tapestry (kesi is the Japanese term) meticuliously depicts the famous Chinese painting scroll by Ding Yunpeng called The White Horse Carrying Sutras. The original painting was done in 1625 and illustrates the story of the 2 monks who traveled through Western China with a white horse carrying the Buddhas Scriptures. The original hangs in the National Palace Museum (Forbiddon City in TaiPei).

The kossu textile is in excellant condition. It is sur...

Tibetan snuff bottle with wood body, with decorative silver base and shoulders. The silver work shows a bird with elaborate wing feathers and thin handles on either side of the bottle. The stopper lid is capped with coral and the spoon is also silver. The condition is very good. Bottle measures 3" x 2"

This Buddhist sutra book was from Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka. The front and rear wooden covers painted red with random gold paint spatters. The sutra book contains 16 handwritten pages made from palm leaves, which are held between the covers with cord. Measurements 25" x 2"

This is woodblock is carved on both sides so that it was used to print 2 different pages of a Tibetan Sutra book. ...Age and use are obvious and there are a few nicks and bruises but no serious loss... A true ethnographic relic measures 14 inches x 3 inches x 7/8th inch...

This man's beaded hat aka skullcap is typical of the Pashtun people in the region of Southern Afganistan. Because of the extensive beading pattern, it is rather stiff and heavy.

Presumably, the interior layer of fabric was from pieced of fabric from other garments.

This small hand carved wooden container would have been used to store smoking tobacco, and would have been worn hanging from a belt the same as a Japanese inro. Although similar types of containers would have used by both traditional Han Chinese and ethnic minority Chinese, this particular container is definately traditional Han Chinese. One side has a carved scene of a bird and branch, the other side has written characters. The top slides up the hand twisted string cord to reveal the hollowe...

Instead of shoes, sandals such as these were worn in villages throughout India. Hand carved from indigenous woods, frequently teak and fitted to the individual wearer. The knob on the toe prevented the sandals from falling off and no other attachment was used.

This antique Chinese rectangular serving tray is elaborately inlayed with Mother of Pearl. The ornate MOP design covers the surface of the tray and also goes about the exterior face of the narrow rim. Wood is most likely ebony and tray dates from mid 18th century.

Condition: All the MOP inlay is intact but there are numerous tiny nicks and chips in the surface finish on the inside and outside edges of the rim surround. Most of these nicks can only be seen when the edges are caught in a spe...

This antique Chinese lotus shaped serving tray is elaborately inlayed with Mother of Pearl. The MOP design covers the surface of the tray and also goes about the exterior face of the narrow rim. Wood is most likely ebony and tray dates from mid 18th century.

Condition: All the MOP inlay is intact but there are numerous tiny nicks and chips in the surface finish on the inside and outside edges of the rim surround. Most of these nicks can only be seen when the edges are caught in a specific ligh...

He is charming...well detailed leaning on a pillows ...a few nicks and bruises to the finish as to be expected at this age...roughly 4 inches tall and 6 inches wide...

A must have for any lotus shoe collector. This iron was used for pressing lotus shoes. The thin curved end was useful for getting into the toe area. Made of iron, it is somewhat rusty-i.e. pleasantly aged. Length tip to tip is 13"

Wonderful patina on this old tray from the Philippines. Woven from bamboo strips, this tray is approx 30 inches in diameter.

Designed for travel, this old Chinese wooden hat stand comes apart to fit flat. Ethnographic item from the Qing dynasty, it has a good sculptural quality and is also good way to display your antique Chinese hat.

This large traditional Suriname Maroon wood comb has identical carvings on both sides and would have been worn for ceremonies. The Suriname Maroons were originally sub Saharan African slaves that were brought to and escaped from the Caribbean plantations. They fled to the hills where they established their own villages far beyond the the Spanish "authorities"who then ruled the Caribbean Islands at the time. The comb is 14.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches at the widest. It dates from the ...

This hand carved wooden comb belonged to a Miao Chinese minority women with limited means. Comb would have been worn horizontally between the top of the woman's head and under the twisted bun of her hair. Comb is decorated with symbols which a burned into the wood. comb is 5 x 4 inches

This traditional summer weight Manchu style (side closing)vest is from late Qing Dynasty. The lush deep blue silk fabric has a jacquard weave with an all over fret design. The lining is of deep maroon silk..the vest is entirely hand sewn, and fits a small to medium size woman.

Only a wealthy Chinese woman would have been able to own this rare antique silk headband. Decorating each side of the headband are mirror images of an ornament depicting a bird and using the prized Kingfisher bird feathers. Intergrated with each kingfisher bird ornament is a finely embroidered bird on a branch.

Bamboo Vests were used as undershirts under silk garments. They served the duel purpose of allowing some air circulation and protected the silk garments from body oils. These vest were fragile and they have become very rare and hard to find. They were made with small pieces of bamboo which are literally strung together to form a garment. This bamboo vest is a particularly nice one. It was constructed of very small bamboo pieces, the edges of the garment are bound with a thin band of linen fab...

An unidentified hard wood was used to carve this set of 4 matching wooden saucers. They would have been used for tea bowls and have traditional red/orange lacquer paint over a treebark carved pattern on the front surface. Each saucer was carved into a diamond shape with gently curved sides and are each was carved into a thin, shallow bowl shape. This is a rare and unusual set in very good condition.

Each piece measures 5 inches x 4 inches and 1 inch deep.