A rare, very well patinated, hardwood carving, with silver wire inlay, depicting the twin Daoist Immortals of Unity and Harmony - the Hehe Erxian. One is holding a lotus leaf and bud; the other holds a bat. This item was made, circa 1780-1820, during the reign of either the Qianlong or Jiaqing emperor...

Fine & Rare Chinese Jin Dynasty Painted Pottery Tile - Entertainer

This impressive pottery tile was made during the Jin Dynasty (AD 1115 - 1234). It is made from a relatively high-fired grey pottery that has been cold-painted in various coloured pigments, traces of which still remain.

Theatre, the arts, music, performances were a very popular part of life during this period in Shanxi province, from where this tile has been excavated...

Fine & Rare Chinese Jin Dynasty Painted Pottery Tile - Musician

This impressive pottery tile was made during the Jin Dynasty (AD 1115 - 1234). It is made from a relatively high-fired grey pottery that has been cold-painted in various coloured pigments, traces of which still remain.

Theatre, the arts, music, performances were a very popular part of life during this period in Shanxi province, from where this tile has been excavated...

Fine & Rare Chinese Ming Dynasty Blue & White Kraak Porcelain Dish

This very rare and unusual fine quality moulded "kraak" porcelain dish was made toward the end of the Wanli reign (1573 - 1620) of the Ming Dynasty at the famous Jingdezhen kilns. It has a scalloped cavetto and the underglaze pattern is a deep blue. The central design features a butterfly and a grasshopper on a rock within an attractive landscape...

Fine & Rare Chinese Neolithic Pottery Jar

This fine pottery jar was made some 4,000 years ago. Although it was excavated from Gansu province, we are not certain from which Neolithic culture it derives although it is probably a product of the Qijia Culture (c. 2050 - 1700 BC).� It is well-made and quite highly-fired, having a distinct ring when tapped. The lower body has been decorated with an impressed, almost spiral pattern...

Fine & Rare Chinese Neolithic Siwa Culture Burnished Black Pottery Jar (c. 1350 BC)

This rare pottery vessel was made over 3,000 years ago by peoples of the Siwa Culture (c.1350 BC) from present day Gansu or Qinghai province. It is attractively-shaped with high handles, a saddle-shaped mouth and a wide body that tapers down to a small circular flat base...

Fine Rare Chinese Song / Yuan Dynasty Inscribed Buddhist Sanskrit Pottery Jar

This very rare and fascinating pottery jar was made around the 13th - 14th century during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1279) or possibly the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) and has been excavated from a Buddhist site in Yunnan province, at the time a particularly isolated part of China...

Fine & Rare Chinese Southern Song Dynasty Qingbai Glazed Porcelain Dish (with carved & moulded decoration)

This attractive porcelain dish, or shallow bowl, was made during the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1127 - 1279). It is coated in a finely-crackled pale greenish translucent qingbai glaze, save for the rim and flat base that remain intentionally unglazed...

Fine Rare Chinese Warring States Painted Pottery Jug

This very rare pottery vessel was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is quite highly-fired and "heavily-potted" with a sturdy handle and the mouth fashioned to form a pouring lip. It was originally painted with diagonal lines in white pigment, although only faint traces of this now remains. Note the round protrusion to the inner surface where the handle is joined to the body...

Fine & Rare Chinese Warring States Pottery Bird with Oxford TL Test

This very rare pottery model of a bird, either a duck or a goose, was made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). It is "heavily-potted" and made from quite a high-fired grey pottery. The duck stands with its neck and wings stretched, as if in the act of preparing to fly. Note the detail, especially to the wings, with the tiger heads. The style and decoration suggest this model was based on a bronze example...

Fine & Rare Chinese Western Zhou Dynasty Pottery Jar

This very rare jar was made during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 771 BC). It is made from a hard high-fired pale pottery. It has a wide body with a slightly rounded base, quite a large neck that splays outwards and two wide loop handles joined at the shoulder and just below the rim edge...

Fine & Rare Chinese Yuan Dynasty Black Pottery Censer

We have recently been lucky enough to have acquired a collection of very rare examples of burnished black pottery items made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such items are relatively unknown and very little has been published about them. They are found in the northern provinces, particularly Gansu province in the north-west.

A black pottery censer; it is quite heavily-potted with a wide flat rim and three legs...

Fine & Rare Chinese Yuan Dynasty Burnished Black Pottery Horse & Groom with Oxford TL Test

These impressive and attractive pottery models of a horse and groom were made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such figures from the Yuan Dynasty are very distinctive and are particularly rare and desirable...

Fine Rare Chinese Yuan Dynasty Burnished Black Pottery Bottle / Vase

This very rare and attractive pottery vase, or bottle, of "yuhuchun" (pear-shaped) form is finely-potted and has a highly polished surface, very smooth to the touch. It has a flared mouth and stands on a fairly sturdy flared foot. In places on the surface there is a silvery-blueish "metallic" sheen, a result of long burial. Simply exquisite !

Height 23 cm (9 inches). It is in exceptional condition and has no restoration...

Fine Rare Chinese Yuan Dynasty Burnished Black Pottery Round Box

We have recently been lucky enough to have acquired a collection of very rare examples of burnished black pottery items made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such items are relatively unknown and very little has been published about them. They are found in the northern provinces, particularly Gansu province in the north-west.

This fine-quality black pottery black has a highly polished/burnished surface making it pa...

Fine & Rare Chinese Yuan Dynasty Jun Jar (Ex. Grahame Clarke collection)

This fine junyao stoneware jar was made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368) and was excavated in the 1990s, or earlier, from Inner Mongolia. Remains of ancient plant growth/roots still adhere to the inner ring of the unglazed foot. It has straight walls that taper in very slightly at the mouth, and stands on a heavy foot. The Jun glaze is at its thickest where it has sagged around the bottom of the walls, and where...

A rare, very finely painted, porcelain jar depicting five Buddhistic lions at play. This item was made in China during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (1875-1908). Condition - excellent and no restoration. 13cm (5.1 inches) high.

清光绪 描金矾红狮戏图彩罐
一件精美稀有的描金矾红狮戏图彩罐。作于&#...

Fine & Rare Large Chinese Yuan Dynasty Burnished Black Pottery Horse

This impressive and attractive pottery model of a horse was made during the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1279 - 1368). Such figures from the Yuan Dynasty are very distinctive and are particularly rare and desirable. The surface of these figures is typically fired to grey, or almost black, and sometimes, as in this case, burnished to a smooth finish.

The horse is laden with a pack on its back, on top of which is tied a tiger skin. N...