Folk Art

As defined by the International Museum of Folk Art, folk art encompasses a broad range of forms – dance, song, poetry, and foods as well as art. It is handmade; traditional, reflecting shared cultural aesthetics and social issues which may change over time; and is of, by and for the people inclusive of class, status, culture, ethnicity, gender, and religion. It may be for community use or for sale as income or empowerment; learned formally, informally, or self-taught. It can be decorative or utilitarian used for daily, ritual or ceremonial purposes.

Showing 61–72 of 99 results

  • Sale!

    Pair of Antique/Vintage Carved Opera Figures (16161LME), China SPECIAL PRICE

    Original price was: $875.00.Current price is: $743.75.
    H: 12.5″ W: 5.25″ D: 3.375″  |  EMAIL OR CALL 213-568-3030 FOR SHIPPING COST

    Wood opera figures are rare and difficult to carve as they wear multicolor costumes with attached trappings and unique headgear and have complex painted faces providing viewers insight into their character. This is a simplified official and his wife with uniform coloring and a unifying lacquer coat seated on pedestals reflect the consummate carving skills in fashioning the many details reminiscent of opera costumes.

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  • Sale!

    Rare Ancient Bronze Mountain Goat Amulet, Iran, Luristan (1941BCE) $450

    Original price was: $450.00.Current price is: $382.50.
    H: 3″ W: 3.125″ D: 1.25″ | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.

    Luristan nomads made sophisticated and imaginative bronzes prized in the ancient world  for their inventive designs and fine craftsmanship. This Iron Age finely cast figurine depicting a long horned goat, a major source of food for survival has a detailed head with long antlers, tall thin legs, large eyes and a slightly curved body and is mounted on a Lucite base.

  • Sale!

    Rare Vintage Balinese Sweet Jauk Mask, Lombok (1320ZAR) SPECIAL PRICE

    Original price was: $395.00.Current price is: $335.75.
    H: 7.5”  W: 5”  D: 3.75” | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL  U.S.!

    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 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.

  • Sale!

    SOLD Antique Animal Shaped Wood Coconut Cutter, Thailand (3450ZSE) $395

    Original price was: $395.00.Current price is: $335.75.
    SOLD

    This antique coconut grater is a very practical multi-use creation designed to cut, grate, shave, husk, and shred coconuts and large fruits and vegetables. Some were carved as crouching rabbits and others like this were realistic renderings of small mammals. Its decorative appeal includes lovely 6-petal flowers above its four legs and elegantly curved and metal piece extending ”  W:from its mouth. With its warm and rustic feel, it would be a unique decorative addition to any kitchen and an interesting conversational piece.

  • Sale!

    SOLD Antique Moon Cake Confection Mold, China (1150LEM) $1150

    Original price was: $850.00.Current price is: $722.50.
    SOLD H: 18.25”  W: 9”  D: 1.875” | FOR SHIPPING INFORMATION CONTACT US AT 213-568-3030

    This intricately hand carved antique Chinese hardwood confection mold was used to create mooncakes to celebrate the Mid Autumn Moon Festival.  The five separate molds are references to the Jade Rabbit, the mythical hare residing on the moon who creates the elixir of mortality and eats Osmanthus leaves. Filled with symbolic references, it is an intriguing and beautiful piece of art.

  • Sale!

    SOLD Vintage Demon Mask (Jauk), Bali (1301-16QBE) $110

    Original price was: $110.00.Current price is: $0.00.
    H: 7.625″ W: 6.125″ D: 3.375″ | FREE SHIPPING within continental u.s.!

    Most jauk keras (strong, scary) masks of a giant are often red or orange to reinforce a volatile dance with jerky movements. This jauk manis (good, sweet) mask dance is a more controlled, regulated and enacted with more calm and human movements. Personally collected in Bali in the 1970s, it is in excellent condition with expected minor scratches and paint losses.

  • Sale!

    SOLD Vintage Earth Witnessing Buddha, Laos (3185A- ELO) $295

    Original price was: $295.00.Current price is: $250.75.
    H: 9”  W: 4.25  D: 3.125” | FREE SHIPPING

    This mid 20th century Buddha Shakyamuni in Earth Witnessing position is carved in rural Lao style. Covered with gilt, the small rustic and simply carved image follows Lao artistic canons for depicting a Buddha: a curved hairline and high arched eyebrows that meet at the bridge of the nose, distinct hair curls, long ears, and a flame-shaped radiance emerging from his ushnisha. Its very large base is as tall and wide as the image, reflecting Laotian beliefs that a high pedestal reflects a deep respect for the Buddha. A base has been added for display purposes.  Authentic old Lao images, even small personal ones like this, are difficult to find.

  • Sale!

    SOLD Vintage Mask of a Demon Clown (Topeng Begul), Java (1201ZLE) $165

    Original price was: $165.00.Current price is: $140.25.
    H: 12.7”  W: 3.375”  D: 3”| FREE SHIPPING!

    This mask (Topeng Begul) reflects two themes in Javanese mask theater: it is comical, foolish and ludicrous with a silly bulbous clown nose and also a demon with animal teeth, fangs, bulging eyes and a stark black and white design.  “Jatiguwi” is written on the inside of the mask identified by the Javanese merchant who sold it in the 1970s as the clown’s name that we were not able to confirm.

  • Sale!

    Taoist Queen Mother of the West with a 3 Phoenix Headdress (16804BCK)

    Original price was: $625.00.Current price is: $531.25.
    H: 14.75″ W: 4″ D:  4.5″ | FREE SHIPPING IN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    This unique carved head is the Queen Mother of the West, the first Chinese female deity to be represented in Chinese art and the most important female deity in the Taoist pantheon. Carved from a single piece of wood, it is either a puppet head or was attached to a larger figure. Her headdress has three phoenixes instead of her iconic single phoenix. Having a cavity on the rear of the head is rare indicating it might have been consecrated by a Taoist monk.

  • Sale!

    Vintage Ancestor Mask, East Timor, Featured in 1st Spiderman Movie (1203BKM) SPECIAL PRICE

    Original price was: $1,750.00.Current price is: $1,062.50.
    Ht: 20.75″ W: 8″ D: 8.75″| FOR SHIPPING INFORMATION CONTACT US AT 213-568-3030 or [email protected].

    This large rare vintage Timor ancestor mask has huge eyes, a horsehair beard, an inverted curved U-shaped mouth and two small half-circle ears and is an ancestral carving said to  protect living relatives. In excellent condition considering its age, storage and use, its black patina results from its storage above the hearth and comes with a museum-quality metal stand. This mask is one of 3 of our masks featured in the original 2002 Spiderman movie pictured on the wall in the collection of Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin.

     

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    Vintage Bearded Doll Official-Dancer Acrylic Stand, China (1301B-EAO) $195

    Original price was: $195.00.Current price is: $165.75.
    Ht: 8.75″  D: 4″  D: 3.125″ | FREE SHIPPING within Continental U.S.!

    This delightful doll mounted on a frosted acrylic stand is dressed as a bearded official wearing a traditional ‘spread-wing” official’s hat. Originally mounted on a wood stick seen under his attire, he wears a dark blue and gold robe with a loose black, red and silver official’s belt and boots.  Although dressed as a Chinese official, he is clearly an entertainer. He holds a set of paper clappers (Kuaiban)– meaning “fast boards,” a two-millennia old Chinese castanets-like instrument made of bamboo or wood slats tied together which entertainers rattle, shake, or clap together to produce a complementary sound or beat. This piece is in excellent condition with expected signs of wear and use in the clothing and minor paint losses.

     

  • Sale!

    Vintage Carved Ibeji with Necklace, Africa, Nigeria Yoruba (1964BHA) SPECIAL PRICE

    Original price was: $475.00.Current price is: $403.75.
    H: 9.625″  W: 3″  D: 3″ | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.!

    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.

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