Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Singerie, a visual arts depiction, can be found back in ancient Egypt but more popular in France over the last couple of centuries. The word – singerie – is the name given to a visual arts genre depicting monkeys imitating human behavior. Such monkeys are often…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: O-7498
- Provenance/Origin: Vintage. Circa mid-1900s. Philippines
- Composition: Bronze and paint
- Dimensions: 7" tall x 3.5" wide x 4" deep
- Weight: 1.75 pounds
- Price: $ 95.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Wonder who used this over 100 years ago?
Wings of a bird and body of a lion…. the description of a sphinx in Greek mythology. The sphinx apprears in the legends, myths and dramas of Oedipus . . . by poets like Homer,…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: C-4758
- Provenance/Origin: French foundry. Circa mid- to late-1800s
- Composition: Bronze with glass wells
- Dimensions: 5.5" tall x 10.5" wide x 6.5" deep
- Weight: 5.5 pounds
- Price: $ 285.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
These protomes replicas appear more frequently from various global locations. They all point back to decorative adornments displayed in ancient Greek architecture, sculpture and pottery. Yes, there are many Greek heads (some with upper torsos) of humans, animals and mythological creatures, but this one has a…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: S-1388
- Provenance/Origin: Greek Griffin. Circa 1950s
- Composition: Bronze with marble base
- Dimensions: 10" total height. 8.5" Griffin only x 3.25" wide x 3.5" deep
- Weight: 5.25 pounds
- Price: $ 210.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
An excellent casting of a med-sized or large wild cat . . . cougar, cheetah, leopard, panther . . . I don’t know but I will bet you do.
Hand cast from a foundry near the Beijing Sino Sculpture company, in Gaoliying Town Shunyi District of Beijing
- Item Number: S-9286
- Provenance/Origin: Beijing foundry. Age unknown.
- Composition: Bronze
- Dimensions: 14.5" long x 4.5" wide x 3.5" tall
- Weight: 4 pounds
- Price: $ 195.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
The people of Igbo-Ukwu (southeast of Onitsha), ancestors of present-day Igbo, were proficient in metal working art in the 9th century (+ or – years depending on what expert you speak with). They are thought to be the earliest smithers (hammering, bending, twisting & incising) of copper and…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: M-8686
- Provenance/Origin: Igbo tribe. Igbo-Ukwu, Circa early- to mid-1900
- Composition: Bronze
- Dimensions: 8" tall x 5" wide x 3" deep
- Weight: 2 pounds
- Price: $ 570.00 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: $ 975.00 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: $ 245.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
A new word for some of us: Singerie. Not sure what the Maitland Smith folks had in mind when they created this casting of monkeys, carrying a dish- like-object on two poles. But it has a history.
Singerie, a visual arts depiction, can be…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: O-9060
- Provenance/Origin: Maitland Smith. Mid-1900s. Philippines
- Composition: Bronze, paint
- Dimensions: 8" tall x 11" wide x 5" deep
- Weight: 5 pounds
- Price: $ 295.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
Typical of Northern Thai Buddhas, this stunning statue lacks many of the ornate designs seen in many Buddha statues as seen earlier and more recently. Simplicity is better because it allows followers to concentrate more on the spirituality aspect.
Acquired 30 years ago in The golden…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: S-0069
- Provenance/Origin: Northern Thailand. 17/18th Century
- Composition: Bronze
- Dimensions: 15" tall x 7" at widest x 3.5" deep
- Weight: 8.5 pounds
- Price: $ 1,175.00 USD
Click the photo above for a larger version and more pictures
The Senufo people – numbering between 1 to 1.5 million and aka Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé – is a West African ethno-linguistic group consisting of diverse subgroups.
Their masks are varied with a range of materials.
By far the most profound and valuable are…
Continue reading →
- Item Number: M-0357
- Provenance/Origin: Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast. Circa 1950s or earlier
- Composition: Bronze
- Dimensions: Mask: 12" tall x 6.5" wide x 3" deep. Mask on Stand: 15"
- Weight: 2.75 pounds
- Price: $ 395.00 USD