Very rare ceremonial rice cutter from the Karen people (this particular one is from Northern Thailand). This knife would only be used on the first cutting of the season and as with most all of the rice cultivators in Asia there is a great deal of ritual and importance given to this act, regardless of the religion i.e. Buddhist, animist, Hindu etc. The bone handle, given its size, I am guessing to be from the leg of a muntjac (barking deer) and is most likely to be much older (circa... Click for details
Fine and rare Naga child’s cowrie shell necklace from northwest Burma on hand woven macramé cotton cord. These is an old set, circa 60 years with an excellent worn natural patina, please note that each bead is hand carved to nest into one another. Cowrie shells has been used been used as money and jewelry since just about the beginning of the human race. Please note that this is a genuinely old Naga artifact- most of what is being offered on the internet these days are new pieces a... Click for details
This silver and clay pipe is from a Lawa tribal group living in northern Thailand. (For Lawa pipes similar to this one, see “Peoples of the Golden Triangle,” by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, 1998, p. 66.) The Lawa, also called Lua or Wa/Lawa, are a lowland people, one of the smaller tribal groups among the hill tribes of Thailand, Burma and Laos. The black clay bowl on this pipe is in pristine condition, suggesting it replaced earlier bowls that were affixed to the old curved silver ... Click for details
A charming hand woven and decorated basket of split bamboo made in an Isan village in Northeastern Thailand is smoothed on the exterior with an application of brick red lacquer thickened with ash. Yellow and green flowers and dots on black grounds give the basket folk appeal. The Isan (also Isaan) people, though sometimes called Thai Isan, are a blend of Lao, Mon and and Khmer, and have their own language, which is Lao-like but written in the Thai alphabet. They are primarily agrarian and live i... Click for details
An especially handsome lacquer bowl, called a “kwet,” is from the Shan people, a southeast Asian tribal group living primarily in northeast Burma. Similar Shan bowls, though not identical to this one, are pictured in a book from the British Museum Press entitled “Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer” by Isaacs and Blurton, on pages 183 and 184, where they are labeled with the spelling “khwet.” This bowl has an inscription on the bottom that is difficult to decipher but it ... Click for details
Fine and rare old hand spun and woven cotton textile from Luang Prabang, Laos with indigo tiger and monkey motif and key fret side borders. Comparing the dyes (note the well toned silk threads in last enlargement) to other dated Vietnam War era pieces, I saw during a recent visit, I would put this piece to at least 60 years or older. Excellent condition and mounted on a contemporary handwoven cotton backing and border. L: 128cm/51in and H: 56cm/22in (mounted dimensions 88cm/35in x ... Click for details
Delicately incised yun designs on a lacquer betel box from the Burmese city of Pagan depict scenes of five elegantly dressed courtiers, each portrayed within a distinctive and elaborate portal. The name of the artisan, Ko Sein Maung, is incised in one ribbon-like cartouche, and his locale, Pagan Dikesu, in another. The wish, chantha basage (may you be rich), appears in a third cartouche. The container has three parts—a deep lid, a high base and a fitted tray. It is designed to retain freshness i... Click for details
