Catalog (603)

This elaborate beaded breastplate would have been worn for festivals by a wealthy Tibetan woman. The main section has 3 ornate silver and turquoise ornaments surrounded by a raised beaded coil which is bordered with cowrie shells. The neckline rolled and padded.

It is 13 inches across at the widest point and can be tied around the neck using the attached fabric ties. As is obvious in the pictures, there are a couple areas of lose on the turquoise ornaments.

This traditional Dayak medicine container is made in 2 pieces. The upright piece is carved from wood representing ancestor spirits at the prow of a boat. The horizontal piece is a carved animal horn, presumably goat. The original wooden hinge pin has been replaced with a new piece of wood as the old one was broken and unusable. Dayak is the general name used for the various indigenous tribal groups living in Borneo, which is now called Kalimantan.

Large by Western standards, this is actually the "childs" size version of this foo dog necklace worn by the Chinese Miao minority 70-90 years ago. Made of low grade silver, typical of Chinese jewelry of the time period, the intricate pendant is 5.5 inches across, 6.5 inches long and suspended from a long hand-made chain. The heads of the foo dogs are in a pin which allows them to turn freely and the central "flower" is also suspended on a wire which allows it to spin.

This piece is a c...

This Chinese doll was made with a wire body covered with fabric padding and then silk clothing. His heads, lower arms and feet are made from some kind of composition material and then painted. Because of his wire construction, his arms, legs, and body etc can be carefully repositioned. The feet are wired together to provide a more stable base...it is a theory which frankly does not always work well.

This doll is approx 10 inches tall in standing position and is wearing a "raincoat" ...

This set of Chinese dolls were made with wire bodies covered with fabric padding and then silk clothing. Their heads, lower arms and feet are made from some kind of composition material and then painted. Because of their wire construction, their arms, legs, and bodies etc can be carefully repositioned. The feet are wired together to provide a more stable base...it is a theory which frankly does not always work well.

The mother and father are each approx 7 inches tall in standing pos...

This small Chinese traditional oil lamp is complete with the original hand-blown globe and cover. The base has several rows of ornate grillwork. The cover is engraved on one side with a couple. The other side has a poem. The chinese is old in both character and language and difficult to translate.

The lamp is only 5 inches tall and of higher silver content than usual for China at that time, which indicates an owner of wealth. I have cleaned off some of the tarnish in order to be able to s...

This matched set of Japanese lacquer consists of a 10 inch diameter shallow serving bowl and 5 plates, 5.75 inches in diameter. Each piece has a silver rim and nashiji finish with a decorative motif of bamboo leaves with abalone shell inlay flowers.

The only differences between this matching pair of Japanese woman's hair combs are the very slight details in the hand-painted design and the size and spacing of the tines. The finely detailed lacquer design was painted in 3 shades of gold. Unfortunately the minute details, flower petals and tree knots are hard to see in the photos.

This antique Korean serving tray would have been used for serving tea or individual meals. The signature characters on the bottom are followed by the symbol for "student", presumably the tray was carved by an apprentice. The bottom also has rough darken areas for a more secure gripping surface and shallow attached feet which also have rough bottoms.

The tray has a delicately upturned lip, a deep rich red brown color. It is approx 13" x 9.5 inches. No cracks or chips but the surface does h...

This old set of pygmy quiver and arrows have seen a lot of use. When hunting, the leather quiver would have been worn high on the back. The cap comes off easily and the upper portion of the quiver is bent to allow easy access to the arrows. The metal tips of the 5 arrows are worn and broken with only 1 showing its original shape and barbs. Each arrow has a plant binding around the end with a notch for the bow string. This rare set is a true ethnographic artifact of the African pygmy hunting ...

A bride of the Yi Chinese Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province, would have worn the "cock" hat for her wedding day. The hat is made using layers of cotton fabric with a stiffiner between the layers to maintain the shape. Using colorful cotton thread, hat was extravagantly hand embroidered. A few traditional silver ornaments including the bubble, flower and butterfly were added.

Now, it is the very lucky Yi girl who can use her great grandmother's bridal hat for her own wedding. These hats a...

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.

The Chinese ethnic minority Miao are very fond of silver and would use any festival to display their ornate silver jewelry. This dragon necklace was used by a young girl child from one of the many Miao villages around the hills of Kali. The pendent is 6.5 inches wide, childs' size, but the decorative chain is long enough for an adult to wear. Because the pendent is hollow, it is comfortable to wear. As one moves, the necklace makes a soft tinkling sound.

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.

The Zhuang are one of the larger of the Chinese Ethnic Minority groups. This is a rare old baby carrier from Yunnan Province. Because silk was not readily available in the rural areas, the use of silk as the background fabric indicates that this carrier came from a wealthy family. The central panel uses several colors of fabric appliqued into a large stylized lotus flower. Silk thread is used for the delicate satin stitched embroidery of butterflies and flowers. The upper border uses multip...

This adult female puppet is clothed in traditional Thai costume with a open shirt. All parts are hand-carved, tied and strung together, which gives the puppeteer lots of choices of movement. The face has eyes which can open and close independent of each other and the mouth can also be opened and closed. Head to toe, she measures is 21 inches tall and with the strings the total lenght is 34 inches. She is absolutely charming, and can hang quietly on a wall as an symbol of Thailand ethnographi...

This baby carrier is from the Miao ethnic minority of Qui Yang. Characteristic of the antique Miao baby carriers from this area, the surface decoration is composed of very tiny cross stitches which form geometric embroidery pattern which, to Western eyes, resemble snowflakes. Because of the time required to produce and the attractive appearance of this style baby carrier, they were used mostly for festivals and are now highly prized by both Westerners and Chinese.

This baby carriers is in ...

This matching Japanese 5 piece set consists of 2 deeply footed shallow serving bowls and 3 small shallow bowls. The deep rich red/orange lacquer background serves to highlight the gold, black and gray landscape scene which graces the inside of each piece. Flying high overhead a gold crane surveys the pine tree and series of sacred mountains. The largest piece is 7 inches diameter, next piece is 6 inches diameter and the 3 pieces each have a 3.5 inch diameter.

These antique Razors were brought back from China by the Baptist Missionary Rebecca Cloud Stewart. The blades are rusty but they are still sharp. One has a wood handle and the other has a horn handle.

This rare ceremonial Chinese "lock" necklace is Hmong ethnic minority. Made from pure bouillon silver, it over weighs 4.5 lbs. The Hmong Ethnic Minority group range from southern China into Northern Thailand. This piece was sourced out of China to a dealer sometime between 1920-1930. In both Chinese and ethnic minority cultures, the lock necklace acts as a talisman and symbolically "protects" the wearer from ill fortune, much as a lock on a piece of furniture will protect the contents inside...

This small Chinese hand made purse would have been made by a woman for her personal use or possibly as a gift to a female friend. It was made using cotton background fabric and hand embroidered with silk thread on each side. The butterfly and floral motifs were made with silk thread using a combination of satin stitches, chain stitches and couching embroidery techniques.

It is a charming example of a Chinese woman's needlework and is in excellent condition. Each side opens separately and me...

For festivals including her wedding, a Yao girl of marriageable age would wear the traditional "celestial crown" clipped to her hair on the top of her head. This traditional ornament was common among the Yao of Laos, Thailand and China's Yunnan Province. Upon reaching puberty, the Yao girl would be expected to make her own crown following traditional patterns and methods of her local region. For some, the celestial crown would be worn as daily ornament, while other Yao groups would reserve the ...

This Indonesian container would have been carried by a man using the handmade string as a shoulder strap. The "purse" was hand carved out of a local hardwood and both the top and bottom have decorative details.

The container sits stably on it base but can also be hung on the wall as an interesting sculpture artifact.

Approximately 9 inches high, 7.5 inches across and 4 inches deep.

This wide cuff Chinese bracelet has deeply repousse design composed of detailed symbols related to Miao Ethic Minority myths and legends. Such bracelets would have been worn in matched pairs, one on each wrist, by the women of the "short skirt" Miao of Dan Zhai, and the bracelets would have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations.

The cuff is almost 3 inches at the widest point in the front because of its large size and rolled edge it easily slips onto most wrists.

This shell necklace is an ornament from one of the indigenous tribal groups from West Papua New Guinea. Shells were often used as both adornment and currency with these groups. The string/rope is handmade from a plant fiber. As with many items from the tribal groups of New Guinea, it is difficult to put an age on this piece. It is an interesting ethnographic artifact and can be used for display and can also be worn as a necklace. The diameter of the opening is just over 8 inches. The neckl...

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...

By the early 1900's, foot binding fell somewhat out of fashion with the upper social classes of Han Chinese women, especially in the north. With various degrees of success and a lot of pain, a few brave women chose to have their feet re-broken and reset into a more natural size and shape. This pair of boots belonged to one such woman.

Hand made using black silk fabric, and the old traditional methods, these boots are detail with embroidery on each side of the vamp with butterflies toward the...

This short sword and matching scabbard from Bhutan is elaborately decorated. The knife handle or sword hilt has a leather cover which is detail with silver reposse and a coral bead. The wooden scabbard is covered with leather and is decorated with an elaborate silver reposse dragon. The knife blade is has a series of added symbols. The belt loop is also decorated with a series of silver objects.

This Bhutanese knife is unusually large, measuring 18 inches from the top of the handle to t...

Many pieces of turkmen "jewelry" were sewn to clothing as amulets. This rare teke turkomen pendant was originally worn as a necklace and still has the original leather neckstrap. This piece has 5 flat carnelians and gold wash or "fireguilded" detail. The pendant is 6 inches across and 10 inches long.

This charming adult female Door of Hope doll is 11 inches tall. Her face is somewhat darkened with age and the lower fronts of her trouser legs are faded from sunlight. She has all of her original clothing layers. Her top tunic is a bit dirty in the front and has a small tear at the rear of the right sleeve. Yet, even with these "condition problems" she retains the quiet beauty which has made the door of hope dolls such a collectors treasure.

This Chinese Door of Hope doll, along with several others, was brought back to the US during the 1920's by the American Baptist Missionary, Rebecca Cloud-Stewart. On one of her many trips back to the US to visit family and friends, she brought the collection of dolls as samples to sell and raise money for the Door of Hope orphanage. After many years in China, Miss Stewart returned permenently to her home in Georgia. During the 1940's and 50's, she would often go to the local schools, lecturing a...

In old China, a carpenter's tools were also considered as an symbol of the quality of his craftsmanship. This antique carpenter's tool has a hand carved dragon with some of the original paint remaining in the crevasses. The plumb bob is made from a section of animal antler. The old Chinese carpenter would fill the bowl with charcoal and it would be used to snap a straight line.

modern day items of this are still used by carpenters worldwide but they are made of metal or plastic and filled w...

Rare Chinese form, this Chinese chalice is from the late Qing Dynasty period. The dome shaped lid is topped with a gold finial. The surface of the piece is covered with cloisonne pattern. There is a floral design in black and brown which is offset against a background filled with a fretwork pattern. The chalice with its matching lid stands 9 inches tall.

The metal bottom of the chalice is stamped with the word China. This dates the piece between 1890 and 1914. It was the U.S. McKinley ...

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...

This antique molded gourd cricket case has a tight fitting rosewood lid. In China, during the Qing dynasty, crickets were considered household pets, and they were also used for fighting contests and, betting was a regular part of the fight scene.

The Manus Island is one of the Admiralty Islands. This traditional hair comb which the islanders would make from the mid ribs of coconut palm fronds. It is covered with a hard patinarium paste made from the crushed fruit of the Nilit tree, sometimes called Puttynut.

22 inches long and a century of hard use but the tip is clean and sharp. I suspect a skilled carpenter could still use this old Chinese drill to build a cabinet or post and beam house. Personally, I am so thankful for electrical tools.

This fine antique large betel nut container from Burma is painted with a traditional ornate "yun" incised lacquer design called “yok-thei”. There are tiny dancers swirling through an intricate background of vine vegetation. High sided cylindrical betel boxes called "kun-it" were used to store betel leaves and other ingredients. The deep lid fits snugly to keep the contents fresh.

Unfortunately, this container is missing the original tray insert. The few hair-line surface cracks and the so...

This is one of 2 hexagonal shaped tea cannisters which I have listed separately. This one has an incised scene of a mature bird on one side. The other side has 2 sentences from the famous Tang dynasty poem by Lu Tong. The bamboo has darkened considerably with age.

This cannister style caddy is from an estate in the US...Both the Chinese and Japanese used this shape tea cannister and Lu Tongs poems were also highly regarded in Japan, so it is possible the these tea caddies are Japanese in o...

This is one of 2 hexagonal shaped tea cannisters which I have listed separately. This one has an incised spring scene of two young birds and a butterfly on one side. The other side has 2 sentences from the famous Tang dynasty poem by Lu Tong. The bamboo has darkened considerably with age. This cannister is from an estate in the US...Both the Chinese and Japanese used this shape tea cannister and Lu Tongs poems were also highly regarded in Japan, so it is possible the these tea caddies are Ja...

This Japanese Meiji period 6 sided porcelain chocolate pot was made for export to the Western markets. The chocolate pot has a lovely traditional Japanese scene which was hand painted, with bits of moriage detail. Excellent condition, no chips, no cracks, pot is 9.5 inches tall. There are 3 matching cups and saucers will be listed separately.

Dated by McKinley Tariff Act requiring name of country of origin to be permanently engraved (stamped) or imprinted into a piece.

This is a traditional style full length silk robe, aka Chapan, from Uzbekistan/Tajikistan area. The pattern was made using an ikat dye technique, and the robe is padded and machine quilted. Excellent condition, shows very little wear...stunning

This antique childs toy was brought back from Chinese by an American Missionary during the early 19th century. The snake or possibly a dragon has jointed body which can easily be moved to assume different positions. Obviously hand carved in the Chinese folk art tradition, this toy is in excellant condition. It displays nicely on the custom made stand.

These 3 Japanese porcelain cups and saucers were hand painted with a delicate landscape scene. They are the matching set to the previously listed Japanese chocolate pot dealers number J157 or troc #1008113. Thought the set was made for chocolate, it can easily be used for tea.

This charming pair of old Chinese lotus shoes were made from a sturdy cotton fabric and embroidered with cotton thread. The lack of silk matterials would indicate that the maker/wearer was probably from a less afluent family. The soles indicate are well worn but the vamps are in very good condition.

This antique chinese hat would have been worn for festival by a Yi ethnic minority girl (woman) from the Honghe area. Worn for festival, the "cockssome cap" is elaborately decorated with faceted silver beads. Enlargement 5 shows cock hat as it would be worn. Hat comes with its own custom made stand.

The Tibetan leather flint pouch (aka strike a light) is properly known as a "mechag" (me = fire , chag = iron) or fire iron. This Tibetan flint pouch is decorated with ornate silver and bronze ornamentation with an inset red bead which appears to be a replacement for the original bead. The pouch would have been secured to the wears belt with the attached leather strap.

This is large strike a light ...the strike plate spans 6.5 inches and the purse including handle is 5 inches high...an wide...

This Japanese red lacquered wooden serving platter or tray is 13 inches in diameter. It is carved as a bream, which is the Japanese fish symbol for the "bounty of the sea". There are several layers of different colors of red lacquer which heighten the fluid appearence of the fish. The surface is slightly dulled with use and age, the charger is in wonderful condition.

This pair of antique Miao boots were made by a young woman from Song Tao to be worn for festivals. The thick sole has iron hob nails to make walking easier on the hills and terraces. The vamp is made from cotton fabric and is heavily embroidered with cottton thread using satin and chain stitch techniques. The upper part of the boot is also made of cotton fabric.

The charming old tribal womans purse is heavily embroidered on each side and is decorated with mirrors and cowrie shells. Condition is very good, no rips, no tears, just beautifully faded vegetable dyes.

This antique Chinese small wooden tobacco container would have been looped on a belt. It is probably ethnic minority, and hand carved by its intended user. Such folk art artifacts are now rare and hard to find on the market.

Measures 3 inches tall, and comes with original hand twisted cord, and is in very good condition

This mini snuff bottle is formed from copper and decorated with brass wire and turquoise. The writting is Mongolian (not Tibetan) and there is one stone missing on each side. The bottle is a scarce 1.25 inches high.

The face of this Japanese Boy's Day Doll, musha ningyo, would certainly scare away any demons...strands of his unkept hair tends to drift across the face, and his costume is elaborately detailed. Without the stand he is 11 inches tall...the stand adds another 2 inches to the height.

Condition excellant with the exception of a couple of small surface paint chips on face reveal white undercoat (clears shown in pictures)

This traditional small leather purse would have been used as an ornament and hung from a belt by a Tibetan woman during festival. It is heavily decorated with silver metal, turquoise and coral beads. This is an old one and is in excellent condition.

This old Chinese child's cloud collar was hand sewn by a proud Miao Ethnic Minority grandmother. The ornate embroidery stitching includes applique and daiz which is misnamed the forbidden stitch by Westerners. The collar is in excellant condition and is 9.5 inches in diameter

This is a heavy Chines necklace which was worn by the Dong ethnic minority women. It can be worn and also makes a very impressive display artifact.

The bib front and back are domed to a thickness of about 1 inch at the center and the piece spans over 10 inches side to side. The weight of the piece (approx 2 lbs)indicates that the piece is definately not hollow

This knife sheath would be hung from the woven shoulder strap by the hill tribe hunter. This one was brought back from the border region by a friend. Now heavily patinated with use and age, it was beautifully hand made many years ago and was both light weight and serviceable. It is a wonderful artifact of an age and culture that is rapidly disappearing.

Several of the Southeast Asian hilltribes from the "Golden Triangle" region would practice tattooing as body art and religious ritual. This Burmese tattoo tool with the figure head was used to scratch the skin surface and apply the dye.

Toward the late Qing and early Republic periods, footbinding in urban centers became less common. But women were still concerned with fashionable footwear. This pair of beaded strips are actually shoes parts which would have been sewn with other matching beaded fabric parts to form a pair of beaded shoes.

Toward the late Qing and early Republic periods, footbinding in urban centers became less common. But women were still concerned with fashionable footwear. This pair of beaded strips are actually shoes parts which would have been sewn with other matching beaded fabric parts to form a pair of beaded shoes