Ethnic

Also known as Non-Western Art, the terms Ethnographic or Ethnic Art, Indiginous Art and Tribal Art are interchangeable and refer to art or artifacts created by indigenous people which includes North American Indians, pre-Columbian peoples of Mexico and Central and South America, and cultures or tribal peoples of Africa, Oceania and parts of Mecico and East, South and Southeast Asia. Art forms are generally masks, carved sculptures, paintings, textiles and jewelry which often are spiritual or religious representations.

Showing 1–12 of 28 results

  • Antique Dhokra Brass Measuring Bowl, India (9500B-VAH) $155

    $155.00
    H: 4.25” Dia: 4” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This antique brass vessel was a daily measuring bowl for rice or other grains made by the Dhokra metalsmiths from Eastern India using lost wax casting which creates a unique and distinct identity and a one-of-a-kind object.  Dhokra items are beautifully and intricately decorated, very accessible, made with an appealing simplicity and their uncomplicated forms are forceful and captivating.  This charming one is a typical small grain measure with a round lip, bulging body, handle for hanging and decorated with horizontal striations across the top half bordered by a band of downward striated triangles and a broad horizontal band at the center. It is in very good condition with a smooth patina from prolonged use and its considerable age.

     

  • Antique Dhokra Brass Measuring Bowl, India (9500D-JAH) $155

    $155.00
    H: 3.5” Dia: 3.75” | FREE SHIPPING!

    Dhokra items like this measuring bowl for rice or other grains are beautifully and often intricately decorated, very accessible, made with an appealing simplicity and in uncomplicated forceful and captivating forms. Made by the lost wax technique, each item has a distinct one-of-a-kind identity as the mold is broken after use so no copies can be made. This charming piece is a typical small grain measure with a rounded lip, bulging body, and handle for hanging and decorated with horizontal striations across the top half. It is bordered by a band of downward striated triangles with bosses at the tips, and a broad horizontal band at the center. It is in very good condition and has a smooth patina from prolonged use and considerable age.

     

    Click here for the Blog Hindu Home and Temple Shrines and Religious Practices

     

  • Antique Dhokra Brass Measuring Bowl, India (9500E-NAH)

    $155.00
    H: 3.875” Dia: 4.125” | FREE SHIPPING!

    Dhokra items like this measuring bowl for rice or other grains are beautifully and often intricately decorated, very accessible, made with an appealing simplicity and in uncomplicated forceful and captivating forms. Made by the lost wax technique, each item has a distinct one-of-a-kind identity as the mold is broken after use so no copies can be made. This charming piece is a typical small grain measure with a rounded lip, bulging body and handle for hanging. It is decorated with horizontal striations across the body and small and large raised zig-zag horizontal bands at the top and underneath are crossing bands with signs of verdigris. It is in very good condition with a smooth patina from prolonged use and its considerable age with a slight loss above the handle.

    Click here for the Blog Dhokra Metal Smiths: Retaining Primitive Techniques with Unfailing Success 

    Click here for the Blog Hindu Home and Temple Shrines and Religious Practices

     

  • Antique Dhorka Brass Measuring Bowl, India (9500C-VAH) $155

    $155.00
    H: 3.75” Dia: 3.75” | FREE SHIPPING!

    Dhokra items like this measuring bowl for rice or other grains are beautifully and often intricately decorated, very accessible, made with an appealing simplicity and in uncomplicated forceful and captivating forms. Made by the lost wax technique, each item has a distinct one-of-a-kind identity as the mold is broken after use so no copies can be made.  This charming piece is a typical small grain measure, with a rounded lip, bulging body, and handle for hanging and decorated with horizontal striations across the top half bordered by a band of downward striated triangles, and a broad horizontal band at the center. It is in very good condition with a smooth patina from prolonged use and its considerable age.

     

  • Antique Nuo Opera Female Mask, China (19220WRK) $395

    $395.00

    H: 9.25”  W: 5.75”  D: 2.25” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This antique-Chinese-wood-carving is a hand-carved Nuo Opera mask from Southern China of a smiling woman with a slender face, delicate features and hair in a topknot. She is a zhengshen, a friendly female deity (shen) with a kind, honest nature and a gentle disposition and a symbol of the power of good capable of defeating evil. Most Nuo masks are brightly painted, but the age and heavy use of this one has resulted in paint losses. Different colored bases under the reddish-brown indicate it was repainted and reused a number of times. The bright red lips have faded and areas around the eyes, mouth, nose and hair reveal what may be an original first layer of white gesso. Mask enthusiasts will appreciate the resulting paint and lacquer layers which tell the story of this mask’s colorful history, and, yes, the pun is intended. In very good condition for its age and use and for its journey surviving China’s modernization, masks like these were initially considered ethnic folk-art offerings to the gods and part of the VA Deities-and-Legends collection.

  • Antique Ox Cart with Chinthe Lion, Burma/Myanmar (11306FSE) $325

    $325.00
    H: 14.5”  W: 17.75”  D: 3.375” | FREE SHIPPING!

    Finely carved figures were attached to ox cart yokes to protect farmers from malevolent spirits who inhabited all seen and unseen sectors of their environment. This beautifully carved ox cart yolk was created in the image of a chinthe, (the word for lion) a mythical creature commonly represented in Burma to decorate a multiplicity of everyday items. Considered a propitious spiritual and protective guardian figure, the chinthe symbolizes power, courage, and strength. This carving displays the common characteristics of singhas with a long face with large eyes, a long sharp nose, a long draping lion-like beard, and a flame-like shape on the top of his head. He stands on all four legs holding his beard that extends from his open roaring mouth with sharply pointed teeth that combine elegance with strong beast-like strength. He is masterfully carved with careful attention to details like the deeply incised hairs that cover his body. For functional reasons, the piece is in two parts held together with a wooden plug. Even though it was for daily use, Burmese craftsmen created beautiful objects and finished them with the best materials they could afford. This piece was originally covered with lacquer, most of which has faded with use over time.  It is in good condition with losses to his left side, fading surface, and wear consistent with its age and use.

  • Antique/Vintage Jetayu Mask, Museum Quality Stand, Bali (1208JKE) $650

    $650.00
    H: 13.75”  W: 6.25”  D: 9” | FOR SHIPPING INFORMATION CONTACT US AT 213-568-3030

    Jetayu is the mythical demi-god divine bird in the Hindu epic the Ramayana. It is a very rare Balinese mask with a fine patina from decades of dance performances. The crowned forehead and snout, huge round eyes, wide-open mouth, curled leather tongue, expressive jaw muscles with upper and lower sets of piercing sharp teeth in graduated sizes reflect the pinnacle of skilled woodcarving and polychrome painting.

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  • Antique/Vintage Mask of a Comical Character, Bali (1266WCE) $395

    $395.00
    Ht: 7”  W: 5”  D: 3.25” | FREE SHIPPING!

    The third eye on this topeng bondres is ironic, as it depicts a very odd clown-like, personality. Very well-carved, he has uneven bloodshot eyes, an almost hairless head, angular bony eye-sockets and a recessed face with black age lines on each side of a puny nose. The protruding red lips, open mouth with two teeth and mustache are not balanced and describe a weirdo demanding our attention. He is a strange and wacky Balinese jokester who evokes laughter and is exactly what the Balinese love: a abnormal slapstick clown with physical oddities. Personally collected in Bali in the 1970s, this piece is in excellent condition for its age and use with expected minor paint losses and scrapes.

  • Antique/Vintage Rangda Mask on Museum Stand, Indonesia, Bali (1310BML) $875

    $875.00
    H: 15.5”  W: 8.625”  D: 6” | CALL 213-568-3030 FOR SHIPPING

    Central to Balinese culture and lore, Rangda is the demon-queen ruling an army of witches practicing black magic. Frightening, she has two upper fangs and two lower fangs now lost, scary teeth, jagged elements around her head, bulging eyes and is red symbolizing someone angry and threatening. In very good condition considering its age and use, it has expected paint losses, scratches and a fine patina. Personally collected in the 1970s, she is mounted on a museum-quality metal stand.

     

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  • Rare Vintage Jauk Mask, Lombok (1320ZAR) $395

    $395.00
    H: 7.5”  W: 5”  D: 3.75” | FREE SHIPPING

    This finely carved vintage jauk mask is the manis (sweet, softer) version of a jauk mask. It and the dance present the gentle traits of a giant having more normal human-like features and a smile, and its white color is usually symbolic of purity. Those colored red or orange represent one easy to anger. Collected in the 1970s in Lombok, this mask is rare as then  Lombok the Balinese community usually did not sell their masks. It has a fine aged patina with expected hairline cracks and frayed eyebrows consistent with its age and use.

  • Vintage Carved Dewi Sri Rice Harvest Goddess, Bali (3044WOK) $425

    $425.00
    Ht: 14.5”  W: 3.5”  D: 2.25” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This rare vintage carving was probably made for a temple, home shrine or rice field temple dedicated to Dewi Sri, the Balinese Goddess of Rice. Resented as a young and beautiful woman with fine facial features and an hourglass-shaped body, she has a narrow waist and wears intricately carved clothing topped with an elaborate headdress that frames her head, covers the ears and extends below her cheeks. The richly embroidered garment is carved in fine detail, and she wears thick red arm and wristbands and an intricate collar around her neck. This finely crafted piece was personally purchased in Bali in the 1970s. It is in very good condition with an aged  patina showing both age and use, minor scratches and 2 minor chips on the crown. The hole near the bottom indicates this piece may have been attached to a larger decorative scheme. It is mounted on a modern, uniquely-crafted, hand-finished and frosted Acrylic base.

  • Vintage Carved Tibetan Cham Mask of a Horse, Nepal (11325B-GHL) $325

    $325.00
    H: 13.5”  W: 7.5”  D: 5” | FREE SHIPPING!

    This Tibetan mask shows the mastery of Tibetan carvers. It emphasizes the horse’s strength and alertness by cutting deeply around the large and widely separated eyes, raising the lids, creating black eyelash lash patterns as if the horse is moving and proving its strength and stamina. Its open mouth reinforces this and reveals a fine set of teeth. In excellent condition, it was personally collected in Nepal in the late 1970’s.

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