From our Early Chinese Collection, a very rare, large, and striking Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) stoneware jar with lid, executed in a straw colored glaze over buff colored stoneware (or proto-porcelain as it is sometimes referred to, which is clay fired at higher temperatures than pottery but lower temperatures than true porcelain, which had yet to be invented at that time). The jar has four sets of very distinctive and unusual udder-shaped protuberances in columns of 5, and four illegible, presu...

From our Early Chinese Collection, an excellent neolithic tripod (Li) pottery vessel from the Xiajiadian Culture of either Inner Mongolia or Liaoning Province, circa 2500-1500 BC. These strange, other-worldly looking vessels belie their true age, which is an astonishing 3500 to 4500 years old. Constructed of a buff colored earthenware with partially hollowed-out udder-shaped legs, it has a slender and well-burnished body that flares out to a wide rim. This particular piece has signs of root grow...

From our Early Chinese Collection, a very good Han Dynasty hu jar, most probably Western Han (circa 100 BC - AD 08), of well-known and documented form with a dish-shaped mouth, a molded animal frieze on the upper shoulder, and with two taotie mask handles on either side of the jar. Constructed of reddish earthenware covered in a green lead flux glaze that is somewhat crackled and has fired to an attractive brown in some spots, this jar has acquired a silvery iridescence from burial.

Han D...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a lovely Kangxi Period (1662-1722) export dish with barbed rim, depicting a flowering tree in a fenced garden setting in the center medallion, with eight panels in smaller scale repeating the same pattern on the border, and with flowering branches and an auspicious buddhist symbol in double circles on the reverse, all painted in a deep and attractive Kangxi blue.

Size and Condition: 8 3/4 inches in diameter, 1 1/4 inches deep, one small chip to ...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, an interesting so-called "Scholar's Examination Dish,” Kangxi Period (1662-1722), decorated in a slightly greyish underglaze blue, depicting a leaping carp juxtaposed against a fierce dragon clutching at the flaming pearl of wisdom, with wave shaped aquatic motifs on the border, and a square fu character on the reverse.

We have not researched the symbolism of this particular piece ourselves, but we are told by a colleague that the leaping carp...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, a very interesting late 18th century export porcelain plate, depicting an unusual subject matter of a gondolier in what is either an Italian canal in Venice, or a Dutch canal in Amsterdam. The plate is executed in a good underglaze blue with an unidentified edifice in the foreground, and a border of floral motifs. Perhaps architecture buffs can recognize with specificity what the edifice is, and nail down for us whether this is actually an Italian or D...

From our Chinese Monochrome Collection, a fine blanc de chine (dehua) porcelain figure of a seated dignitary, Kangxi Period (1662-1722), seated on a low plinth and crisply modeled with an elaborate dragon badge to chest, a ruyi scepter in his left hand, and a pensive downward gaze. Holes under the ears and around the mouth were originally for placement of animal hair to form the beard. In virtually perfect condition, there are two small firing cracks, but these are original to the manufacture an...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a very fine and large pair of Rose Medallion vases, mid-late 19th century, most likely late Daoguang to Tongzhi Period circa 1845-1874, certainly no later than Guangxu Period (1875-1908), executed in the typical palette of pinks, blues, greens, yellows, whites, and gilt, depicting four well-painted panels of figures alternating top to bottom with four other well-painted panels of birds, butterflies, and foliage, separated by a band of foliage with four car...

This old Japanese Noh theater mask has the expressive face of an old man. The mask is carved from paulownia wood and dates to middle Edo period, around 1750. The patina is wonderful.

Mask measures approx 8 inches high and 6 inches wide

New Life Woodblock Print on Traditional Hanji Paper by Hong Sung Dam in 1982 (29 x 20 inches, 74 x 51 cm, including margins). Hong Sung Dam is a woodblock print artist who was a leader of the minjung, the peoples' political movement that arose from the ashes of the Gwangju Massacre where the Korean government slaughtered hundreds (some witnesses say thousands) of their own citizens in the streets in response to demonstrations in Gwangju. He was arrested in 1989, and suffered brutal torture in pr...

From our Japanese Collection, a large and attractive pair of bamboo carvings, late Meiji - Taisho Period, depicting a continuous battle scene of fighting samurai, with some on horseback and some on foot, all well-carved and with a good patina. This pair makes a strong decorative statement. There are several age splits to the base of each piece, ranging from a half inch to an inch long, but none threaten the structural integrity. There is one larger split, however, to the top of one piece about 2...

From our Japanese Collection, a very good, large, and older pair of Japanese cloisonne vases, late Edo to early Meiji Period, probably 1850-1875, executed with floral motifs including wisteria, peony, and chrysanthemum, along with small birds and butterflies, all set against a turquoise blue ground upon a lobed, melon-shaped form.

This is an attractive and quite sizable pair of early cloisonne that illustrates the evolution of this art form just prior to the Golden Age, when the Japanese ...

From our Japanese Collection, a good kutani baluster-shaped jar and cover, Meiji Period (1868-1912), executed in traditional kutani palette of iron-red, green, yellow, and gilt highlights, depicting a continuous scene of figures gathered around the circumference of the piece. A small but charming example of genuine 19th century kutani.

Size and condition: 7 1/4 inches tall, 5 inches at the shoulder. Some very minor rubbing to the gilt commensurate with age, and an incidental hair line on ...

From our Japanese Collection, a good Fuyode Ko-Imari Arita blue and white porcelain dish, the term "Fuyode" referring to late 17th century Japanese porcelain painted in the style of Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain. This is one of the earliest examples of Japanese Arita ware. This dish is painted in underglaze blue with a central panel of flowering peony, and with panels of the “Three Friends of Winter" design (pine, bamboo, and prunus) in the border. The reverse is sparsely painted with karaku...

A contemporary but very attractive Tibetan ewer, crafted of thin, hand-worked sheets of white metal that appear to be some type of nickel/aluminum amalgam, decorated with deep repousse and chasing techniques forming the decorative bands along the shoulder, neck, lid, and upper base of vessel, with well-formed makara shaped spout and handle, all atop a splayed footed base. This is a contemporary piece exactly 15 years old, but a very attractive ethnic handicraft.

Size and Condition: 12 1/2...

A very good late 19th - early 20th century Tibetan ewer, crafted of thin, hand-worked sheets of what is probably some type of brass/bronze amalgam that has acquired a rich chocolate patina over time, with deep repousse and chasing techniques forming the decorative bands along the shoulder, neck, and lid of vessel, a well-formed makara shaped spout and handle, all atop a splayed footed base. Overall a very nice example with legitimate age, good presence, and very decorative.

Size and Condi...

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a fine and intricately constructed silver filigree peacock adorned with turquoise stones in the tail feathers. Though modest in size, its stature should not belie the amount of work needed to create this wonderful little object, as filigree work is very intricate and time consuming. Sourced directly from Jaipur, the so-called "Pink City" and one of several marvelous cities in Rajasthan India with a rich culture of handicrafts production.

The peacoc...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very striking contemporary Burmese writing box done in the "shwei-zawa" technique, with gold leaf floral designs known as "chupan" set against a shiny black lacquer ground, all done to very striking and dramatic effect. For those unfamiliar with this ancient Southeast Asian craft that began with the Thai in the seventeenth century, and is still practiced today mainly by the Burmese, Sylvia Fraser -Lu gives a simplified but useful explanation in Burmese Craft...