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This small vibrant carpet square with fringed edges can be used for meditation to sit on, an accent piece or hung on a wall. Made from wool and natural dyes,…
Shiwan stoneware fruit offerings were especially popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties when they were placed on temple or home altars to communicate and venerate ancestors, augment fresh offerings and bring auspicious blessings of fu to families presenting them. The three peaches interwoven with lotuses are associated with springtime, fertility, and especially a long healthy life for many generations. They are considered propitious gifts for birthdays, especially for the elderly.
This delicate and vibrant Qing dynasty Shiwan stoneware glazed sculpture represents fresh fruit that symbolizes life and new beginnings would have been placed on a temple or home altar to represent and/or augment plates of stacked fresh fruit. Fresh fruit symbolizes life and new beginnings. These offerings are still made to honor the family’s ancestors, communicate with deities and bring prosperity, good luck and health to the home and would be an auspicious and decorative addition to any home settings where family members past and present are honored.
This late Song dynasty earthenware ceramic brick tile portrays a couple sitting behind a banquet table with foods placed in front of them. On the right are two figures, one of whom points to a stylized image of a bat flying in the sky.
Guandi, the God of War and Justice and Protector of China and its citizens was a Chinese model of loyalty, virtue and morality and was depicted in Temples and home shrines throughout China. This antique figurine was probably part of a larger carving. He wears military maille, black gloves with a carved taotie which is a warning against gluttony and is covered in gold as a sign of power. The open back confirms it was consecrated by a Taoist priest. Mounted on a frosted acrylic stand.
This charming 18th century provincial Guanyin of the Southern Seas sits in meditation on a lotus and smiling joyously. As a protector of the sea, she is seated on an open lotus above a fish with his head and tail emerging from the water. The lotus represents purity and the stem symbolizes Buddhist teachings which give rise to purity of mind and enlightenment.
This vintage Ibeji portrays a simple yet strong elegance with his characteristic large conical head, long curved neck and elaborately striated hairstyle. His extremely large round bulging eyes under heavy lids, flaring nose, full lips, and large flat ears reflect the Yoruba idealized form of beauty and exemplify being a correct and upstanding example of tribal values. His prominent genitalia and buttocks and his sturdy vertical stance on wide feet, thick legs and strong rounded shoulders and arms symbolize his strength and fertility. Scarification patterns appear on his cheeks and forehead, and he wears a necklace with traditional Yoruba blue and multi colored beadwork.
This Nigerian Ibeji carving reflects Yoruba artistic and cultural conventions with oversized elongated heads where one’s spirit, intelligence and seat of divine power lie and large coiffures. With high rates of twin births with a high mortality rate, the Yoruba have a “twin cult” that honors deceased twin(s) with carved images. Mothers wash and clothe them daily and provide prayers, sacrifices and spiritual care. This unusual Ibeji is short and stocky with a simple tall hat rather than a plaited coiffeur. His bulging eyes have round indentations and his prominent lips are in slight smile and scarification of the Pele clan.
This rare conch shell Naga ear cover worn by men only were attached to their pierced ears. It is decorated with a stippled (black dots) abstract design of a male with arms, hands and fingers up and a round head extending from a very long neck. This is a pair with 1639B-GKE and, in contrast to the other major design used for ear covers, the shell’s edge has a stippled outline near the edge framing the entire image. It is mounted on a modern frosted Acrylic base that blend well with any interior scheme.
Conch shell ear covers worn by Naga men only are attached to pierced ears using thin natural fiber strings with glass bead, wood or bamboo stoppers. They are made with one of two stippled (engraved, marked with black dots) designs on the shell that is a difficult process. This rare one portrays a standing frontal male in a wide stance with his arms and hands with fingers splayed and held up and an abstract round head atop a long neck and is a pair with 1639A-GKE.
This unique rare and fascinating vintage carved Naga tribe conch shell ear cover from India is decorated with a traditional abstract motif of curved buffalo horns with the buffalo’s head and neck inside the V-shaped horns. Mounted on a frosted acrylic base, it would make a dramatic presentation when displayed with Naga Shell Ear Coverings 1639A and 1639B.
This finely carved Ibeji has distinctive Yoruba features. The elongated head is narrow, has full lips, thick eyelids, incised lashes, flat prominent ears, a high stylized coiffure and scarifications. The strong stance with hands on hips, massive legs and arms are visible signs of fertility and power. The elongated head is where one’s spirit, intelligence and the seat of power lie. With one of the world’s highest twin births rate and mortality rate, the Yoruba have a twin cult to revering deceased twins as potent spirits and honor them with carved images to house their spirits and souls.
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