From our Shipwreck Porcelain Collection, a fine blue and white dish, ex-Christie's, executed in the "Peony and Pomegranate Pattern" from the so-called "Nanking Cargo," which is the term applied to the porcelain recovered from the wreck of the Geldermalsen that sank on January 3rd, 1752. The Geldermalsen was a cargo ship belonging to the Dutch East India Company that struck a reef on its way back from Canton China, and sank off the coast of Indonesia in the Linnga archipelago. It took with it to...

From our Shipwreck Porcelain Collection, a good blue and white teacup and saucer in the "Batavian Bamboo Pattern," ex-Christie's, from the so-called "Nanking Cargo," which is the term applied to the porcelain recovered from the wreck of the Geldermalsen that sank on January 3rd, 1752. The Geldermalsen was a cargo ship belonging to the Dutch East India Company that struck a reef on its way back from Canton China, and sank off the coast of Indonesia in the Linnga archipelago. It took with it to th...

From our Shipwreck Porcelain Collection, a good teacup and saucer ex-Sotheby's, from the Ca Mau Cargo, Yongzheng Period (1723-1735), executed in the "Tu Hai" pattern in underglaze blue.

This particular teacup and saucer is a very good example that somehow managed to survive over two centuries under the sea, essentially unscathed. Shipwreck porcelain comes off the sea floor in a wide variety of conditions, with many pieces utterly destroyed, others cracked and chipped, others whole but enc...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, an extremely fine and very attractive dome-shaped, two-piece lacquerware box from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the y...

From our Southeast Asia Collection, a very attractive 5 piece Pagan-style lacquer hsun-ok (offering vessel) from the famed U Aung Myint workshop in Myinkaba Village, Pagan Burma (Myanmar), from which the British Museum has commissioned pieces for display in London. See Isaacs and Burton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer page 222-223. We had the honor, privilege, and education of watching artisans in this famous lacquer workshop creating modern masterpieces in the yun st...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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 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...

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...

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

A b/w jarlet with well balance potted, decorated with simple but elegant of lotus petals on the shoulder in perfect condition. Ming dynasty late 15th century Chenghua-Hongzhi private kiln ware. High: 5.9cm.

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...

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...