Scholar's Objects

Antique Chinese Cameo Agate Snuff Bottle, 19th century. The stone of a cloudy translucent color and caramel skin on the front side carved in high relief creating a cameo effect of a ...

For centuries, the suanpan, or Chinese abacus, served as one of the world's most sophisticated calculating devices. Long before the arrival of electronic calculators, merchants, scho...

Antique Vietnamese Shell Inlaid Tea Tray (Khay, go kham trai) a rectangular raised footed tray having four kneeling legs connected with bottom elbowed stretchers. The legs, skirt, i...

A rare handsome Chinese Heavenly jade Bi disk carved in a rarely found combination of mutton fat yellow and green jade with patches of brown accents in the stone that depict a green ...

Stunning Pair of early Meiji period Satsuma heavy gauge earthenware Rouleau Japanese Vases of Museum quality and generous proportions. These beautiful Satsuma-ware vases were made du...

A set of 3 beautiful porcelain handle Chinese calligraphy brushes. The handles with hand painted round and oval porcelain balls of longevity motifs and basketweave, in classic, timeless blue and white...

This is a set of two (2) very fine quality (2) authentic Chinese jade bi disc from the 20th century or older. These come from our private collection. Quality: very fine translucen...

This is an antique gentleman's writing slope. An English, burr walnut and leather correspondence box, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1850. Delightful craftsmanship with ...

An exquisitely hand carved bone Chinese dignitary standing figure portraying a lavishly dressed bearded male. Difficult to date, in our opinion last quarter of the 19th century. ...

This is an old Japanese stone object. This stone object has a beautiful black and beige gradation. An art object that gives you a sense of wabi-s...

This is a museum quality book form Grand Tour plaster intaglio case, Circa 1820 in date. The intaglios are encased in a red leather gilt tooled binding titled 'L. FERRARIS BIBLIOTH...

Along with paper, ink and inkstone, the brush is one of the Four Treasures of the scholar’s studio. Arguably the most important tool, the brush served as a direct link to the artist’...

This is a very good Chinese cameo or overlay glass snuff bottle, which we date to circa 1920s. These overlay glass cameo snuff bottles are very decora...

A Rare Mughal Indian Gold and Enamel Mother of Pearl Spoon with Diamonds Discover the exquisite craftsmanship of Mughal India with this rare and...

A good antique Early 19th Century Southeast Asian Bronze Buddha statue, Circa 1800. The Buddha seated upon a triangular shaped base with lotus decoration, the Buddha's hands posed i...

Rare find!: 24 feet long Zen monk Mala Prayer Bead String plus original wooden alms bowl with its original attached triangular shaped stone ojime. A huge...

This is an old vermilion suiseki from Japan. Not only in China but also in Japan, rocks from mountains have been quarried and shaped for appreciation since ancient times. These deco...

An incredibly rare 18th Century monumental palace size Ottoman Islamic astrolabe on an easel stand, Turkey, circa 1720. This rare palace size Astrola...

Antique Chinese Chalcedony “Peanut and Jujube” Snuff Bottle, Qing Dynasty. The large pear shaped striated stone carving of a caramel colored jujube fruit (Chinese date) and two beige...

Our calligraphy brush stands are made of solid wenge wood, a prized, sustainable, exotic wood with beautiful grains. Top of the stands are deco...

Antique Chinese Agate Sleeve Snuff Bottle, exceptionally carved with great precision, a flat spade shape, narrow concave base, flared neck, concave mouth rim, narrow mouth, all of an...

This is a grouping of three (3) authentic Chinese old jade bi disc from the 20th century. These come from our private collection. Including Our Certificate of Authenticity Dimensi...

A magnificent and unusually large matched pair of vintage Chinese structural seal blanks (chops), masterfully carved from substantial blocks of natural mottled red and sage-green soapstone. Standing at an impressive 7 ¼ inches tall with a robust 2-inch square profile, each monumental block is topped by a meticulously detailed, deeply pierced high-relief carving of horses interacting across an architectural mountain landscape. Together, the pair forms the complete, highly auspicious "Eight Horses of King Mu" (Ma Dao Cheng Gong) motif, a traditional Chinese symbol of rapid success, vitality, and career advancement. The long vertical side panels and square bases remain entirely smooth, unengraved, and free of cinnabar ink, highlighting the pristine, untouched nature of the stone. Beautifully balanced with an excellent structural heft, this pair serves flawlessly as premium library bookends or standalone desk sculptures for a curated interior. Excellent vintage condition with no cracks, no chips, and completely free of any restoration or repairs. The natural soft mineral surfaces are beautifully preserved, with pristine, sharp geometric edges on the uncarved base blocks. Note:With their substantial 7-inch presence and bold oxblood palette, this matching pair serves as the perfect sculptural punctuation mark for a lacquered library étagère, an executive desk, or flanking a collection of rare art books...

This elegant container is a 19th-century Chinese document box, once used by a Qing-dynasty scholar-official to store stationery accessories such as brushes, seals and ink sticks. Cra...

A Chinese scholar stone in an upright mushroom form displayed on a custom wood stand. Wonderful and well-balanced, the ocher and cream color stone is likely of the Taihu type. It sho...

On offer is an extraordinary Chinese scholar rock of Taihu type in a vertical mushroom-cloud form. Impressive in size, texture and grotto-filled shape, the well-balanced stone is pre...

A rare and refined Meiji-period walking cane clad in spiraled ray skin (shagreen), polished and finished in traditional black lacquer. The lacquered shagreen surface reveals the unde...

A Chinese Wooden Black Painted Pillow Box, Early 20th Century Description: The box features a black finish adorned with hand-painted golden garden scenes and floral patterns. Prove...

A Chinese Inside-painted Glass Snuff bottle with Silver Metal, Early 20th Century Description: The scene depicted is a version of the famous classical Chinese painting "Along the Ri...

A finely carved Chinese brush pot made from a single section of bamboo, dating to the late Qing Dynasty. The exterior is decorated in deep relief with a detailed scene of figures set...

A fine Chinese scholar's stone. Made of nephrite jade from the Hotan (Hetian) region of China. Scholar's rocks (gongshi, 供石) are naturally occuring rocks that are appreciated for t...

A mixture of finely powdered tobacco, herbs, and spices, snuff was introduced to China in the 17th century by Western diplomats. Initially reserved for ranking members of Qing-dynast...

A rare, beautiful pair of antique Chinese bookends. Showcasing the beauty of translucent white jade with clarity almost to transparency, hand-carved dep...

Antique 19th century Chinese carved gold gilt and painted wood wall panel or plaque with scholar and warrior figures scene. Signed on back as p...

One of a kind, extra large, rare blue serpentine gemstone brush in bamboo form with carved bamboo leaves. Serpentine is a beautiful stone highly valued for its similarity to nephrite...

Fine antique Chinese Qing Dynasty silvered golden copper alloy snuff bottle of hulu double gourd form, inset with 4x carved five petal white jade p...

A superb Chinese yellow and russet nephrite jade carving of a mythical beast, Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) or earlier, China The mythical beast is portrayed with feline features, i...

A finely carved zitan wood display stand in the form of a round table, China, Republic Period, mid 20th century. The circular display stand carved from rare and precious zitan wood. Fashioned as a classical Chinese round table...

This is a stone mined in Japan. Measure: w 22cm. Not only in China but also in Japan from ancient times, rocks in the mountains have been shaved and stones for viewing have been qua...

A fantastic Chinese scholar's stone, called gongshi, of gray lingbi limestone, mounted on a hardwood stand, late Qing or early Republic, early 20th century, circa 1910, China . The ...

A fine pair of antique Chinese Qing dynasty ( 1644-1911) hand carved jade table screens, circa 1850. The rectangular screens are made of variegated s...

Antique Thailand sutra bamboo/palm leave book, 1873. There are about 48 pages and are written on double sides with lots of writing. The following handwriting on the Lacquer reads: ...

This enormous figural fountain pen store display is unsigned, but presumed to have been made by the Waterman Co. of France in approximately 1965 and d...

This remarkable glass snuff bottle, crafted by the esteemed artist Ya Qing in the spring of 2009, is a masterful example of inside painting. The bottle showcases...

Antique Chinese Moulded Tangerine Skin and Wood Snuff Bottle. A pear shaped hexagonal form with relief character design on each side possibly translating to “good” - “fragrance”. Th...

An exquisite late Qing dynasty display Stand of longyan wood, carved as a miniature "kang" table. The center panel features an amazing grain that delights the eye, while a soft glo...

This calligraphy brush is distinguished by its faux turquoise handle. Hand cut and polished, exhibiting a beautiful turquoise color with naturalistic black veining, very much approxi...

This rare 29" long calligraphy brush features a beautiful handle made from Buddha's Belly Bamboo, a prized variety known as Bamboo Ventricosa. Revered for its unique bulging form, th...

Here's a wonderful find from our acquisitions trip to Japan. We were fortunate to find this Art Deco period pair (2) matching hand-carved, hand red lacquered and gilt embellished temple wooden benches. The white elephant bench and matching shi-shi komainu temple lion both originally came from a temple near Kobe. Quite sturdy, they may have been entry sitting or shoe changing benches...

Our calligraphy brush stands are made of solid wenge wood, a prized, sustainable, exotic wood with beautiful grains. Top of the stands are deco...

A mixture of finely powdered tobacco, herbs, and spices, snuff was introduced to China in the 17th century by Western diplomats. Initially reserved for ranking members of Qing-dynast...

‘Kamuy kotan seki’ (Kamuy kotan stone) from the canyon called ‘Kamuy-kotan’ (‘Whereabouts of God’ in the Ainu language) in the western part of Asahikawa city in Hokkaido, Japan. Quite a unique abstractive blackness as the God (‘Kamuy’=’Kami’) with no processing by human hands, except attached with a wooden stand (undetachable) as such a calm and sacred piece of Art of Japanese ‘Suiseki...

A visually arresting tall vertical scholar stone of Lingbi type balanced on a fitted wood base. The rock formation features an elegant slender form of highly sculptural surface with ...

A rare and authentic vintage Gucci document case crafted in rich tan leather, featuring the house’s iconic green and red web stripe across the front. This classic folio-style piece e...

This is a stone mined in Japan. Not only in China but also in Japan from ancient times, rocks in the mountains have been shaved and stones for viewing have been quarried. Such stones for appreciation are collectively called "suiseki". Suiseki means "water" and "stone". The name comes from the fact that I enjoyed pouring water on the stones and changing the color of the stones. And this item is also Suiseki, but it is for viewing without splashing water. It is made with the image of a mountain view. The flow of the river...

A Chinese Glass Snuff Bottle, 20th Century Dimension: Height: 9 cm Diameter: 9 cm. Provenance: Private Western Australian Collection.

Amazing vintage glass vase. Displays a back a red glass exterior with an orange interior.

This is a stone mined in Japan. Not only in China but also in Japan from ancient times, rocks in the mountains have been shaved and stones for viewing have been quarried. Such stone...

Old Korean garment brush used for hemp textile as scarce exposed type without covered grip, early 20th century, approx. L 24cm (9.44in), in used conditio...

A Korean writing box from the Joseon Dynasty. This is a beautiful and very decorative antique Korean writing box made during the period of the Joseon dynasty, circa 1880. This box h...