Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Skilled craftsmen created this highly detailed Chi-Lin (aka Dragon Horse) from a special category of Nephrite jade, also known as Xiu or Xiuyan jade. Not quite as hard as other Nephrites, it was mined from Xiuyan City in LiaoNing Province in NE China.
Harder nephrite is…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: S-8862
- Provenance/Origin: Xiuyan City, LiaoNing Province. Circa late - 1990s
- Composition: Xiu Nephrite Jade with wood base
- Dimensions: On base: 16" tall x 16" at widest x 8" deep. Jade alone: 11.5" tall
- Weight: Jade: 23 pounds; Base: 9 pounds
- Price: $ 1,495.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Egyptians used silver as early as the Predynastic Period (ca. 4400–3100 B.C.) and was important – as was gold – for personal ornaments and decorative/religious objects in Egypt through Roman times.
Since Egypt essentially had no silver from its lands, sources were from neighboring countries specifically Persia…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: C-6854
- Provenance/Origin: Handcrafted. Early 1900s. Cairo Egypt
- Composition: Silver & other metals. Turquoise
- Dimensions: 6.5" tall with lid on x 3.5" at widest
- Weight: 1.25 pounds
- Price: $ 290.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
This large amulet is not really a scarab, even though the scorpion is strongly associated with scarabs. The reason is that scorpions are common on the belly side of scarab beetle figures.
Scorpions like this are associated with the Egyptian goddess of Serket. She was…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: O-1352
- Provenance/Origin: Heliopolis artisans. Circa 1950 - 1960s
- Composition: Stone, perhaps limestone
- Dimensions: 6" long x 3.25" wide x 2'' tall
- Weight: 1.75 pounds
- Price: $ 118.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Well known for white-faced masks (Okuyi), the ethnic group that this was acquired from (Mpongwe) has two separate uses for masks like this.
Costumed ceremonies include rites of passage and funerary events.
This mask was used for the later. The typical Okuyi performer wears a…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: M-3109
- Provenance/Origin: Ogooue River Region, Gabon. Circa 1970s
- Composition: Wood
- Dimensions: 14" tall x 8" wide x 4.5" deep
- Weight: 3.75 pounds
- Price: $ 165.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Original pieces from ancient Egypt are almost impossible to acquire at a reasonable price. And there are the issues of importing, exporting, authentication and language.
With that said, here is an item that is old but not necessarily ancient.
Isis (aka Aset) – a major…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: M-1197
- Provenance/Origin: Luxor Egypt
- Composition: Stone with some coloring
- Dimensions: 7.5" tall x 5.5 wide x 2.5 deep
- Weight: 4 pounds
- Price: $ 180.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
A Orang Ulu shaman carrier / container is primarily used to store medicine, herbs, roots and other plantation items. The carrier is adorned with the naga motif, the common Buah Berinjan vines, two ancestral Dayak warriors on the two poles and accented with the woven vine / rattan material…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: C-8492
- Provenance/Origin: Central Borneo. Orang Ulu / Kayan tribe. Most likely from mid- to late-1900s
- Composition: Wood, rattan, cord
- Dimensions: 8" tall x 5" wide x 3.5" deep
- Weight: 1 pound
- Price: $ 145.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
A true tantrik (a doctrine of enlightenment of the oneness of one’s self and the visible world; combines elements of Hinduism and paganism including magical and mystical elements like mantras, mudras and exotic rites; especially influential in Tibet). Kapala were made from a human skull bone / cap,…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: O-3209
- Provenance/Origin: Katmandu Valley. Circa early 1960s
- Composition: Himalayan Crystal, Bronze with gold plating.
- Dimensions: 9.25" tall x 7" wide x 4" deep (kapala in cradle)
- Weight: 4 pounds
- Price: $ 890.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
The mythical deity – Garuda – has a ton of spiritual significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, Garuda is most often found mounted on the back of Vishnu, as the god’s protector.
Here the Garuda – with a snake in its beak – symbolizes the…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: M-5924
- Provenance/Origin: Hindu and Buddhist figure. Handcrafted in Nepal. Recent.
- Composition: Bronze
- Dimensions: 14" wide x 9" tall
- Weight: 1.5 pounds
- Price: $ 295.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
This nephrite jade comes from the head waters of the Yurungkash River (Kulun Mountains), just north of the Hotan in the Xinjiang Province in western China. It’s color is a whitish green celadon.
Artisans carve and polish to a semi-opaque tone…. and then hand polish with…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: S-6399
- Provenance/Origin: Yurungkash River & Hotan. Western China. Hand carved and polished
- Composition: Whitish Green Hetian Nephrite Jade
- Dimensions: Each 9.5" tall x ~5" wide x ~ 2.5" deep
- Weight: 5 pounds for both
- Price: $ 998.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Detail: Well known in Hindu religion, this statue was hand carved in Indonesia. My best guess is Java. Nice details and also a gold gilt in various places on the statue to add good contrast and definition. Circa mid-1900’s. From a “Garuda” collector…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: S-6316
- Provenance/Origin: Indonesia. Circa mid-1900's.
- Composition: Wood
- Dimensions: 10" tall x 6.5" at widest x 4.5" deep
- Weight: 1.25 pounds
- Price: $ 80.00 USD
