About Pagoda Red
PAGODA RED is the destination for collectors who love the art, history, style & spirit of Asian and handcrafted objects. Every item is authentic—historically and geographically—and wears the patina of many lifetimes served in homes, palaces and gardens. In the early 1990s, owner Betsy Nathan studied Mandarin and moved to Beijing. There, she met a group of legendary Chinese furniture experts. Under their mentorship, she became an expert in provenance, craftsmanship, joinery and history. Nathan moved back to the United States and established her first showroom in Chicago i...Read More
Featured Pieces
Offered By Pagoda Red
Early 20th Century Japan Edo Sculptures and Carvings
Steel, Boxwood
This miniature masterpiece, or Netsuke, was carved and used as a button-like toggle on a Japanese man's clothing. The most highly prized designs were carved with elaborately detailed...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Scholar's Objects
Stone, Rosewood
Functionally used as a surface to mix dry ink and water for calligraphy, this inkstone was also an object revered for its symbolism. The phoenix, known as “the king of birds” in Chin...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Furniture
Elm, Lacquer
Chrsyanthemums are a traditional Chinese symbol of longevity. This stool is held together with traditional stave and hoop construction and has fu dog handles for protection. The remo...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Scholar's Objects
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
This red and black lacquered brush pot, imbued with the texture of time from its many years of use, once held a scholar’s selected calligraphy brushes. The gilt-decorated pot was cho...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Sculptures and Carvings
Wood
This 19th century rabbit charm was hand-carved of aromatic camphor wood and was originally an architectural ornament on a Qing Dynasty home. Perhaps the owner of the home was born in...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Early 19th Century China Qing Antiquities
Iron, Elm
This early 19th century Chinese merchant's coin barrel is made from slats of wood strapped together with hand-wrought iron rings. Its form suggests it was originally intended for oth...
Offered By Pagoda Red
21st Century China Ceramics
Porcelain
The melon shape is respected by the Chinese not only as a form but as a symbol for proliferation. These contemporary ceramics call back to the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279) when artisan...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Antiquities
Limestone
This limestone trough was made over 150 years ago in the Shanxi region of China. It was carved out of a solid block of limestone by a Chinese stonemason and has an elegantly simple f...
Offered By Pagoda Red
21st Century Japan Textiles
Silk, Down
The Japanese silk techniques that combine to form these pillows are fundamental to the formation of contemporary fashion aesthetics. In the center, fabrics from vintage skirts create...
Offered By Pagoda Red
21st Century China Ceramics
Ceramic
This contemporary tapered stoneware vase reinterprets the classic curves of traditional Chinese ceramics with simplified lines and a rich, white glaze. A subtle raised band encircles...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Late 20th Century China Ceramics
Ceramic, Paint
A lidded jar of this scale would have originally been used to store bushels of tea leaves. This contemporary example is hand-painted with a cherry blossom motif representing feminine...
Offered By Pagoda Red
Antique Mid-19th Century China Qing Antiquities
Steel, Elm
Used to tote pails of water and grain, this 19th-century yoke, or burden bar, transcends its utilitarian origins as a striking sculpture. Displayed on a custom mount, the yoke stretc...
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