Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art (482)

the woman of many Chinese Ethnic Minority groups did not cut their hair. It was often worn on the top of the head in a bun,and sometimes intertwined with lengths of an ancestors hair for added protection from evil spirits.

The hair was often (especially for festivals) decorated with added silver ornaments and/or hairpins.

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.

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.

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.

The body of this antique Miao Chinese powder horn is carved with large spider web, small foo dogs, and clouds. The stopper is carved into a lotus blossom. The Miao believe that passed relatives take the form of spiders to visit and watch family members, so spider webs are left undisturbed in the home. This horn is from Kali area and is in excellent condition. It is 80-90 years old and approx 9" 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.

This old Japanese hand made sack (basket,bag) was made by a rural farmer or fisherman out of cotton cording. Handle holes were worked into the upper band which would have allowed for the changing of worn out handles. There is obvious wear and fading from use and age. The bag measures almost 11 x 15 inches It is Wonderful old ethnographic example of rural Japanese textile folk art

This traditional embroidered vest was made and worn by the woman of the Miao minority culture living in the Ge Jia region of China generations ago. The textile fabric was hand woven with a specific thread count to allow for the geometric embroidery pattern which was added later.

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.

The outside of this antique perfume bottle, from Afghanistan, is covered with silver metal which has a detailed, etched and fire polished design. The bottom of the bottle reveals it lapis lazuli interior liner...bottle is approximately 4 inches tall

Cocks and dragons are the predominate design elements of this colorful antique Japanese obi... Family crest of golden thread on the end. Heavy silk brocade, in beautiful condition

This Miao woman's jacket has hand embroiled detail collar, front lapel, and sleeve bands...background fabric of the body of the jacket feels like rayon but maybe silk...sleeves are heavy cotton... there is small hole 1/2 inch (looks like cigarette) on the back left side roughly 2-3 inches from hem... this jacket will fit a small woman... this style of woman's jacket is from the shidong area of Tia jiang...

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.

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...

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

Personal care items with long handles to reach the back...the brush is carved from wood and the back scratcher is carved from bamboo...roughly 22 23 inches long...

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...

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)