Catalog (344)

this is a large antique hand-made pair of earrings of low grade silver, lots of filigree work...Though obviously not wearable for most Westerners, the make a wonderful ethnographic, tribal arts display.

This pair of sleeve bands is made of black cotton satin weave fabric with very delicately stitched floral motif embroidery. Each panel measures 6" x 26" with embroidered area measuring 3" x 9"

During is height of popularity in the Qing Dynasty, when one went to the opera, souvenir dolls were often purchased. This pair of Chinese opera dolls is probably the oldest that I have seen. Both dolls are in fragile condition. They are mounted on separate stands which may be of the same age as the dolls. They have been together for over 100 years and I am not willing to separate them

Made from ox horn, and shaped into a perfectly balanced shoehorn, this antique Chinese folk art artifact serves in both form and function. There is a delicately carved design on the back. The handle part of the horn has eyes carved so that the piece takes the shape of an animal and there is a hole carved so that the shoehorn can be hung from a cord. I vaguely remember hearing that the Chinese inventing the shoehorn, but have not been able to verify this as historic fact.

This is a charming traditional Chinese child's "wind hat" so called because of the protection the hat gives to the back of the neck. The silk threads of the satin stitched embroidery depict lots of flowers and butterflies. Hat is in good condition

The doodoo was an element of Chinese woman's costume which was worn covering the chest. This one has a money pocket ant is in pristine condition. With silk embroidered flower decoration on a satin weave cotton background fabric. The back is a simple piece of somspun indigo dyed fabric

This is an antique Chinese set of carved bone dominoes, complete with dice and original wooden box. Carved by hand sometime in the Qing dynasty, the 32 dominos vary abit in shape, size and thickness and the bone dice are a bit off cube.

The box is just under 5 inches x 2.5 inches x 1.5 inches.

Traditional Chinese rural style pillow of bamboo. This pillow would be stored with legs folded under during the day. Good condition 16"x4" by 5" high with legs extended.

I was thrilled to acquire this rare Mongolian textile. Utilizing all couching embroidery technique on red wool fabric, it depicts 2 golden dragons chasing the sun. The condition of this piece is remarkably good condition for its age, showing 2 small areas of repair on the top corners. It measures 40" long by 18" from the top to the bottom tip of the tasseles

By the latter part of the 19th century the ruling Qings were obsessed with every last detail of dress. This antique top grain leather fan case could only have been owned by very wealthy Chinese woman.

This antique Chinese circular lidded container was made from a single valuable horn. It is a tribute to both the horn and the skill of the craftsman. Horn can be cut, and carved, but it is not a flexible material. According to my Chinese friends, the thinner and more translucent the horn, the more it is valued. The cross-section of an ox (buffalo)horn is oval, but a Yak horn is circular. This is a prized horn. Approx 4" high and 2.5" diameter.

This unusual hat stand is made of 2 very thin interlocking pieces which were black lacquered and painted with a floral and peach motif.

A properly dressed Chinese woman would wear a pair of leggings to cover her lower legs from the bottom of her skirt to the top of her lotus shoes. The leggings would be tied into place with a hand woven sash made specifically for that purpose. These lotus shoe accessories are now rare and very hard to find. See my listing TC236 and ZTC233. This pair of leggings are purple satin weave fabric with ribbon and silk embroidered trim at the cuffs. There is some ares of fade on the basic fabric.

This Chinese Double handled Cloisonné cup has its original blown cobalt blue glass insert... Old red wax seal on bottom from the 70's by Chinese gov official as being between 100 and 200 years old and therefore allowed to be taken out of China... see pic at bottom pic...1.75 inches x high 3 inches diameter of cup and 5 inches across includes both handles

This unusual small triangular shaped snuff bottle 2 of the 3 sides of the piece have carefully repouse Tibetan symbols..no makers marks...a few tiny dents ...no loss. It was brought back from Tibet by a man who went on a long walkabout from Istanbul to Tibet back in the late 60's...China was not open at the time...and Tibet ..he traveled with a backpack,limited space,few small momentoes and he was picky...old pieces only... bottle is approx 1.75 inches high

These 3 small oil lamps were brought back to the US by a Baptist missionary who lived and traveled extensively throughout China. Oil lamps like these were used for light source extensively throughout rural China by poor peasants. Simply made, presumed cut from scraps of tin and soldered into shape.. the lids come off for filling with oil and some original home made wicks remain in place. The tallest is 5 inches high...

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.

Set of 5 matching Qing Dynasty ivory rings carved with dragons circling oval shaped pearl. one ring has stain...