Showing 253–264 of 301 results
This thick decorative Song brick tile portrays a seated female musician holding a lute in a hall with attendants on each side and third person in the distance framed in a decorative wide border with a pointed ogee arch. Since most ancient buildings with these pieces used un-reinforced fired construction, they were subject to disasters and few survived intact.
As part of the The Song dynasty cultural expansion, government and public buildings and tombs were built with interior walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold-made brick tiles. This fanciful vibrant tile with a scalloped frame portrays two people wéiqí which originated in China over 2500 years ago and is the world’s oldest ( and most complex) board game still played.
This ancient Song dynasty tile is likely a memorial tile as it portrays an official, hands in a farewell gesture looking up with devotion to his wife or mother ascending toward heavens on a cloud. A very striking and emotive scene, it would be a great wall piece with an appropriate mount.
This Song earthenware tile depicts the legendary scholar, poet and alchemist Taoist deity Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, who sought to discover the elixir of immortality and used charms still used in Chinese homes to prevent illness and ward off evil. He and his fly whisk are auspicious symbols of longevity and a wish for immortality.
This vibrant stoneware Shiwan censer is the central part of a 5-piece altar set featured in our Instagram post. Placed in a special room considered the home’s center it was used to perform ritual offerings honoring ancestors deities to bring good fortune and long life and repel malevolent energy and spirits. Jost (incense) sticks were held inside, and smoke could waft from the lid. This truly special set should be kept in tact in the home of a lucky resident to continue to foster positive feng shui.
This unique carved head is the Queen Mother of the West, the first Chinese 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.
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.
This fine vintage brass Buddha Shakyamuni sculpture reflects characteristics of unique Nepalese style. With both hands in teaching mudra, wearing in the “wet style” monks robe, he stands with similar to a contrapposto posture, weight supported on a single leg suggesting movement. His elaborate regal pedestal has a removable aureole with wheel of the dharma above two Buddhist protective lions. This piece is elegant in its simplicity and expresses the Buddha’s refined and restrained meditative spirituality.
This rare vintage carving was probably made for a home shrine or small rice field temple dedicated to Dewi Sri, the Balinese Goddess of Rice. The hole near the bottom indicates it may have been part of a larger decorative scheme.
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.
Identified in Bali as Topeng Dayu or Dahyu, the mask of a Brahmana, it is a bit large to be a dance mask and, if smaller, could have filled a series of important roles in mask dances and dramas. Presented as a charming and beautiful woman from the top Hindu caste, she has delicate, detailed and sensitive features, and the carving is superbly and subtlety modeled. There are some minor paint losses and darkening of the yellow paint but its condition remains very good given its age and use, and it is presented on a museum quality stand.
Dayak Hudoq made after the arrival of masks from Java show their influence, but now even masks like this valid Vintage Dyak piece are hard to find. Authentic with strong parallels with traditional Hudoq pieces, it is painted in an unusual detailed pattern while the projecting mouth and nose, pierced eyes and undulating snake-like elements on the separately carved and attached wing-like ears align with Hudoq tradition. Mask reproductions throughout Indonesia are referred to as “antique baru” (new antiques), but this original, later, authentic vintage mask is hard to find and scarce. Personally collected in the 1970s, it is in excellent condition, placed on a museum-quality metal stand and without restoration or repairs except for the new wing-ear bindings.
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