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Chinese Historical Memorabilia

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Place of Origin: Chinese
Chinese Wooden Block Printing Set, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Chinese innovations in ink, block printing, and movable type fueled global advancements in printing technology, expanding the range of influence of the written word. These printing innovations can be attributed to Chinese Buddhist devotees, who embraced woodblock printing as an important vehicle to spread sutras and good spirits. Though the printing press is said to have been invented in China, it never offered the same efficiencies to Chinese culture as it did in the West, due to the near endless numbers of Chinese characters and the labor involved in manipulating them. Enclosed in a contemporary wooden frame, each of the miniature wood blocks included in this early 20th-century type set was hand-carved with a Chinese character. Each is a unique and wonderful curiosity, providing an unusual look at a moment in time. Each set contains approximately 70 individual tiles.
Category

Late 19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Chinese Silver & Leather Theatre Opera / Wedding Tiered Phoenix Headdress, 1920s
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Chinese Silver & Leather Theatre Opera / Wedding Tiered Phoenix Headdress, 1920s Silvered Metal & leather and embroidered Mandarin hat This Chinese silv...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Export Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Metal

Chinese Lotus Mooncake Mold, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th-century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes are a d...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Chinese Woven Bamboo Foot Soldier's Helmet, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
This conical woven hat originates from 19th century China and is expertly crafted entirely of bamboo. The outside consists of slivers of bamboo woven together with rattan strips, sec...
Category

Early 19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Bamboo

Handheld Chinese Mooncake Mold, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes ar...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Handheld Chinese Mooncake Mold with Lotus Pods, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes ar...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Handheld Chinese Mooncake Mold, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes ar...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Handheld Chinese Mooncake Mold, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes ar...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Handheld Chinese Mooncake Mold with Lotus Pods, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century hand-held wood press is carved with a large mold used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean, or other regional fillings, mooncakes ar...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Set of Chinese Wooden Printing Blocks, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Chinese innovations in ink, block printing, and movable type fueled global advancements in printing technology, expanding the range of influence of the written word. These printing i...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Pair of Chinese Brass Brazier Tongs, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
In 20 years of collecting, we have never run across a pair of brazier tongs, making this object truly a rare find. Once used by a scholar or wealthy homeowner to place hot coals in a...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Brass

Pair of Chinese Silk Lotus Slippers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These dainty, pointed slippers, made of cotton and silk embroidered with pink flowers, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These silk lotus slippers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Pair of Chinese Silk Lotus Slippers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These dainty, pointed slippers, made of blue silk and embroidered with pink flowers, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These embroidered silk lotus slippers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Chinese Painted Bamboo Walking Stick, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th-century walking stick from northern China is comprised of a length of thin bamboo that has been steamed and bent into a hook shape. The bamboo segments are painted in alter...
Category

Mid-19th Century Folk Art Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Bamboo

Chinese Official's Summer Hat and Hat Box, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
No self-respecting man in Qing-dynasty China would leave the house without some kind of hat. Headgear was central to social status and those of title relied on their hat to convey their rank and cultural identity. This conical hat is the summer hat of a Qing-dynasty official and would have been worn from the third month of the Chinese calendar...
Category

Late 19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Silk, Bamboo, Glass

Chinese Calligraphy Brush, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Along with paper, ink, and inkstone, the brush was among the four treasures found in a traditional scholar’s studio. The brush served as a direct link to the artist’s creative spirit...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Elm

Fine Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Spoon, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A delicate example of the time-honored practice of blue-and-white ceramics, this 19th century porcelain soup spoon was likely used as an everyday ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Porcelain

Provincial Chinese Kite Reel, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This unusually-shaped object is a 19th century Chinese kite reel, cleverly carved to contain small wooden beads that rattle back and forth as the reel is used. A popular past time, kite flying...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Chinese Calligraphy Brush, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Along with paper, ink, and inkstone, the brush was part of the four treasures found in a scholar’s studio. Arguably the most important tool, the brush served as a direct link to the ...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Antique Chinese Mooncake Press, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Dated to the mid-19th century, this rustic wood press is carved with twenty round molds used for shaping festive mooncakes. Packed with lotus root, red bean...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Wood

Chinese Shanghai Deco Perfume Bottle
Located in Chicago, IL
In the 1920s and 1930s, Shanghai, China was swept up in the Art Deco design movement. Design, architecture, art, fashion, and furniture were all influenced by this modern movement, permeating every part of life in the bustling, vibrant city. This blue glass perfume bottle...
Category

Early 20th Century Art Deco Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Glass

Set of Six Chinese Bound-Foot Lotus Slippers, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Each of these pointed slippers, crafted of beautifully embroidered silk, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity during the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These beautifully preserved lotus slippers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Chinese Lilac Lotus Slippers with Plum Blossoms, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These pointed silk slippers, beautifully embroidered with pink plum blossoms, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of b...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Silk, Cotton

Chinese Handheld Ink Block, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Chinese innovations in ink, block printing and movable type fed the technological push toward expanding the written word's range of influence throughout the world. This printing push...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Elm

Pair Chinese Double Luck Lotus Slippers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These pointed silk slippers are beautifully embroidered with colorful bats and golden coins, symbols of happiness and good luck, and were shaped to resemble a lotus bud to enhance one's bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity during the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive, albeit tortured, gait of small, light steps. These beautifully preserved lotus slippers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Fabric, Silk

Chinese Black Silk Lotus Slippers with Plum Blossoms, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These pointed slippers, beautifully embroidered with light blue plum blossoms on black silk, were shaped to resemble a lotus bud and enhanced the diminutive shape of bound feet. A practice that began in the Tang dynasty and reached the height of its popularity during the Qing dynasty, foot binding was a painful process intended to make a woman's feet as small as possible by restricting bone growth from an early age. The smaller the feet the more attractive and erotic they were, giving elite women a mark of elegance and a distinctive - albeit tortured - gait of small, light steps. These beautifully preserved lotus slippers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Silk

Chinese Floral Incised Brass Brazier, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th century handcrafted bronze hand warmer would have been owned by a woman of means and filled with coals so she could warm her hands on cold...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Brass

Cultural Revolution Porcelain Mao Pins
Located in New York, NY
A collection of three 1960s Cultural Revolution period porcelain Mao pins. Each shows a different image of Chairman Mao. China, circa 1960s. KM1.
Category

1960s Vintage Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Porcelain

Chinese Silk Skull Cap with Gilt Lacquered Box, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
No self-respecting man in Qing-dynasty China would leave the house without some kind of hat. In fact, headgear was so central to social status that a boy’s passage into manhood was m...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Antique Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Silk, Cane, Wood, Lacquer

Cultural Revolution Period Porcelain Mao Plaque
Located in New York, NY
A standing Cultural Revolution period porcelain plaque celebrating Chairman Mao. This plaque is decorated on both sides with an image of a clapping...
Category

1960s Vintage Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Porcelain

People's Republic of China Porcelain Group, circa 1965
Located in Paris, FR
Porcelain group of the Chinese revolution, representing a soldier and peasant allies to the future. The inscription in Chinese means "army and peo...
Category

1960s Vintage Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Chinese Calligraphy Brush, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Dated to the early 20th century, this fine calligraphy brush would have been an essential tool for a Qing-dynasty scholar-official, used to draft official documents or compose poetry...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Hardwood

Chinese Calligraphy Brush, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Along with paper, ink, and inkstone, the brush was part of the Four Treasures found in a scholar’s studio. Arguably the most important tool, the brush served as a direct link to the ...
Category

Early 20th Century Qing Chinese Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Elm

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