PAGODA RED
Color: Beige
Pair of Chinese Drum Form Column Bases, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These 19th century column bases likely figured into the grand and imposing surroundings of a Qing-dynasty courtyard, flanking the entryway with their protective presence. Carved from...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Pedestals and Columns
Materials
Limestone
"Abandoned Land" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural Craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with handcut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Antique Samarkand Carpet, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
This masterfully knotted early 20th century samarkand carpet depicts a floral pattern at its center, framed by an ornate geometric border. Sometimes referred to as Khotan carpets, sa...
Category
Early 20th Century East Turkestani Khotan Central Asian Rugs
Materials
Wool
"Devastated Land" Marble Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural Craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with handcut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Minimalist Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Marble
"Flower Near the Staircase" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with handcut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Marble
"Get a Load" by Esther Shimazu
By Esther Shimazu
Located in Chicago, IL
Bald and chunky, Esther Shimazu’s quirky clay figures are unabashedly naked and delightfully indulgent. Drawing up on her Japanese ancestry and experience...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Porcelain, Ceramic
"Restoration Test, " Mutli-Media Mosaic, 2017
By Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural Craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with handcut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Contemporary Art
Materials
Marble
Chinese Limestone Foot Rest, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This early 20th century foot rest from China's Shanxi province is simply designed with a rounded body and four square feet. Hand carved of limestone, the footstool is patterned with rhythmic etchings and adorned on the ends with an eight-sided star, a symbolic depiction of the universe. It was believed that the Sky Emperor T'ai-Yi, a deification of primordial unity, resided at the top point of this star and ruled over all eight divisions of Heaven. Unlike wooden footstools that would have been placed before chairs or daybeds as a signal of status, this limestone foot rest was likely used in a garden before a drum seat...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Footstools
Materials
Limestone
Vintage Chinese Deco Advertisement Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This framed advertising poster from the 1930s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the Craft of color lithography. These advertisements, influenced by the...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Prints
Materials
Paper
Vintage Chinese Hatamen Cigarettes Advertisement Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This framed advertising poster for Hatamen Cigarettes from the late 1920s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the Craft of color lithography. These adver...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Posters
Materials
Paper
Vintage Sankyo Deco Advertisement Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This advertising poster from the 1930s for a Japanese company operating in China melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the ...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Posters
Materials
Paper
Vintage Chinese Fertilizer Advertisement Poster
Located in Chicago, IL
Influenced by Western advertising, commercial posters featuring beautiful women in modern settings gained popularity in China in the 1920s and 1930s. Posters like this one came to symbolize prosperity and fortune and were often purchased by Chinese consumers to decorate their homes. This 1930s advertisement...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Prints
Materials
Paper
Chinese Wine Vessel with Shizi Lid, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
This ceramic vessel was handcrafted in the Jiangxi region of China in the spirit of ancient temple jars. The style and glaze is reminiscent of Han dynasty burial vessels designed to ...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Jars
Materials
Ceramic
Chinese Springtime Phoenix Tail Vase, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Sculpted in a traditional Chinese phoenix tail vase form, this elegant early 20th century vase is adorned with a scene of magpies flitting between branches covered in cherry blossoms...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Persimmon Ovoid Ginger Jar with Cartouche Paintings, c. 1920s
Located in Chicago, IL
This vase is the perfect example of enduring Chinese symbolism and design. Each side of the ginger jar bears a cartouche painting containing a picturesque scene. Attendants watch ove...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
"Wild Wood" Pointillist Oil Painting by Ren Hui
By Ren Hui
Located in Chicago, IL
In this exquisite painting, Ren Hui celebrates the beauty of nature using a style that he calls “uncomplicated and honest.” Entitled "Wild Wood," this beautifully patterned composition was created using a method of modern pointillism, creating three-dimensional space within a two-dimensional canvas. Embracing the disorderly balance of the forest, the artist attempts to convey the complexities of the natural world by rendering the bough of an evergreen tree...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Decorative Art
Materials
Canvas
Four Seasons Chinese Phoenix Tail Vase, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
The form of this 19th century porcelain vase is called "phoenix tail" for the way its flared mouth and slender waist mimic the shape of the auspicious bird. The vibrant painted scene...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Erotic Album Leaf, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Despite its explicit content, this intimate scene conveys a sense of tenderness and romantic love characteristic of Chinese erotic art. Known as “sp...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens
Materials
Paper
Chinese Celestial Cloud Column Base, c. 1750
Located in Chicago, IL
This 18th century architectural object, hand-carved out of a single block of white marble, is intricately finished with an all-over celestial cloud motif—an ancient and auspicious Bu...
Category
Antique Mid-18th Century Chinese Qing Planters and Jardinieres
Materials
Marble
Throw Pillow with Vintage Central Asian Embroidery, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Created by one of our local artisans, this down-filled throw pillow is decorated with a repurposed panel of vintage central Asian embroidery. ...
Category
Early 20th Century Central Asian Textiles
Materials
Down, Fabric
Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a roo...
Category
Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Ink, Pigment
Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a roo...
Category
Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Ink, Pigment
Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a roo...
Category
Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Ink, Pigment
Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a roo...
Category
Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Ink, Pigment
Vintage Chinese Republic Period Advertisement
Located in Chicago, IL
Mixing Western and traditional pictorial styles, this vintage ad depicts a young family on a garden stroll. A cheongsam-clad woman nods to tradition in contrast to her Western-garbed...
Category
1920s Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Paper, Ink
Vintage Chinese Advertisement Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This poster from the 1930s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography—and a side of risque. The poster features a young woman dressed in a fur-trimmed coat with Western accessories...
Category
Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Paper, Ink
Vintage Chinese Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This vintage poster from the 1930s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. The serene landscape print depicts a young woman d...
Category
Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Paper, Ink
Vintage Chinese Advertisement Poster, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
This poster from the 1920s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. The poster depicts two young girls gathered by an ornate stool...
Category
Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Paper, Ink
Vintage Chinese Advertisement Poster, c. 1930
Located in Chicago, IL
This commercial advertisement poster from 1930s Shanghai melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. Large companies often presented posters such as this to their clients to commemorate the Chinese New Year. This poster depicts a young woman luxuriously...
Category
Early 20th Century Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Paper, Ink
Pair of Framed Chinese Ancestor Portraits, Ink and Pigment on Paper, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Believing that the departed continue to hold influence over the lives of the living, many Chinese households honor their ancestors in private family rituals, invoking their spirits for long life, health, and prosperity. Commemorative portraits, which came into vogue in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, were commissioned specifically for ancestor worship and were believed to house the spirits of the deceased. When properly cared for, one's ancestors were believed to be a powerful source of honor, protection, and good luck.
This pair of ancestor portraits was hand-painted in the mid-19th century and beautifully depicts a Qing-dynasty couple. While some ancestral portraits offer a more stylized representation of one's ancestors, this particular pair is painted with incredible realism and life-like expressions. Rather than depict the pair in a regal hall wearing elaborate finery, the couple is shown in a quiet home environment, seated at either end of a square tea table. Their surroundings are minimal, practically undecorated, and they wear simple, matching blue silk robes...
Category
Mid-19th Century Qing Portrait Paintings
Materials
Ink, Pigment, Paper
"Tranquil River" Watercolor Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
This charming watercolor is composed in the style of traditional ink calligraphy and depicts two ducks resting on a river bank. Tall grass and leafy sprouts dot the rocky terrain and...
Category
20th Century Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paint, Ink
Vintage Chinese Lithograph Print, c. 1920s
Located in Chicago, IL
This advertising poster from the 1930s melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. These advertisements, influenced by the Art De...
Category
1920s Art Deco Figurative Prints
Materials
Lithograph, Paper
"Urbane Profile, " Mixed-Media Tile, 2007
Located in Chicago, IL
Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, integrating techniques of painting, collage, and printmaking into ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Materials
Ceramic, Paper, Acrylic
"Abandoned Land, " Mixed Media Mosaic, 2017
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the sam...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Mosaic
Yangliuqing Longevity New Year Painting, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
Chinese New Year paintings (nian hua) are colorful folk paintings created to celebrate the annual Spring Festival. Drawn or printed by folk artists in regional studios, nian hua pain...
Category
Early 20th Century Folk Art Figurative Paintings
Materials
Ink, Pigment, Paper
"Literary Garden, " Scroll Painting, 1923
Located in Chicago, IL
Exquisitely painted with delicate line work and a subdued color palette, this Chinese scroll painting is an early 20th century reproduction of a famous...
Category
Early 20th Century Qing Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Silk, Paper, Ink
"A Wheel Stopper, " Marble and Smalti Mosaic, 2014
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Marble
"Waiting for the Time, " Marble and Smalti Mosaic, 2010
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art of mosaic making.
In this evocative mosaic entitled "Waiting for the Time," Kii imagines the pensive serenity of laying in wait, taking inspiration from the dormant stage of an insect life cycle. Kii explains, “an insect in its pupal stage is sleeping underground, waiting for the time to wake up and become an insect. Nearby is a heavy rock covered by thick soil. It would be long and hard...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Marble
Japanese Festival Folding Screen, Paint on Paper, c. 1750
Located in Chicago, IL
This 18th-century folding screen is a stunning example of Japanese artistry. Beautifully painted with delicate brushwork, the evocative screen depicts a lively festival during the Edo period (1615–1912). The raucous scene is full of life; within the dense crowd, you can make out people dancing...
Category
Mid-18th Century Edo Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink, Pigment
Set of Four Chinese Immortals Screen Paintings, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes—the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Qing Figurative Paintings
Materials
Fabric, Ink, Gouache
"Get a Load, " Clay Figure, 2018
Located in Chicago, IL
Bald and chunky, Esther Shimazu’s quirky clay figures are unabashedly naked and delightfully indulgent. Drawing up on her Japanese ancestry and experience...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
"Scholars' Treasures, " Ink on Fabric, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A scroll and a small lantern depicted in this 19th-century painting suggest the romantic notion of a Chinese scholar painting in the evening hours. Re...
Category
Mid-19th Century Qing Still-life Paintings
Materials
Silk, Ink, Pigment
"Accumulated Roads, " Marble Mosaic, 2016
Located in Chicago, IL
In the mosaic “Accumulated Roads,” Toyoharu Kii describes the futility of man’s attempts to traverse and tame nature. The work portrays a tangle of once carefully aligned tesserea paths, now broken and falling ruin, a victim of disregard in nature’s relentless chaos.
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media
Materials
Marble
"Treasures of the Scholars' Studio, " Ink and Paint on Fabric, 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
With careful brushwork, this 19th-century painting honors the four treasures of the scholar's studio - paper, calligraphy brush, ink, and inkstone. Essential to his way of life, the ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Qing Still-life Paintings
Materials
Silk, Ink, Pigment
Chinese Lunar New Year Painted Scroll, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
In celebration of the lunar new year festival, it was traditional all over China to hang special decorations. In a city called Wuqiang, local artists made lacquer scroll paintings laden with symbolism. This framed and finely rendered early 20th century folk painting from Wuqiang features an imperial court official and his family dressed in their best silks. The young boy is dressed in a wonderfully patterned yellow robe to offer Shou Xing...
Category
Early 20th Century Qing Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Lacquer, Paper, Pigment
"Crystal Hunt, " Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 1999
Located in Chicago, IL
Starring Donnie Yen, "The Bruce Lee of the 90s," "Crystal Hunt" was a martial arts film from Hong Kong made in 1991. Frequently, theaters in Ghana were unable to import official post...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Chinese Erotic Pillow Book Scroll, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A pillow book was meant to teach a young bride about the art of lovemaking. This rare museum-quality 19th century example is composed of 12 masterfully pai...
Category
Mid-19th Century Qing Nude Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Silk, Paper, Watercolor
"Ladies at Tea, " Mixed Media Tile, 2007
Located in Chicago, IL
Liverpool-based artist Pauline Hughes takes a fluid approach to her ceramic practice, combining aspects of painting, collage, and printmaking into her w...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Materials
Ceramic, Paper, Acrylic
"Power Force, " Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 2003
Located in Chicago, IL
Power Force was an American-made martial arts movie from 1991. It starred Alphonse Beni, a Cameroonian born movie star as a crime-fighting ninja. Frequently unable to import official posters, theaters in Ghana hired enterprising artists to create and embellish designs to promote the films in their own style. The result is a whole new genre collected worldwide. In this work by Ghanian artist...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
"Jeremiel, " Mixed Media Mosaic, 2021
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Heavenly,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes cont...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Marble
"Raphael, " Mixed Media Mosaic, 2021
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Heavenly,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes cont...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Marble
"Devastated Land, " Marble Mosaic, 2017
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the sam...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Marble
"Flower Near the Staircase, " Marble Mosaic, 2017
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the sam...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Mosaic
"Man in Green Shirt, " Acrylic on Ceramic
Located in Chicago, IL
Although this whimsical sculpture by Allan Winkler has the look of outsider art, this ceramic work stems from the art school-trained artist’s interest in...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Acrylic
"Azrael, " Marble Mosaic, 2021
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Heavenly,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes cont...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary More Art
Materials
Marble
"Camael" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Heavenly,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes cont...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Marble
"Clouded 20.19, " Marble Mosaic, 2020
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Clouded,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes contain a disorderly array of jagged tiles, suggesting the unexpected moments that life reveals. Within a lifetime, every living being bears the burden of change and finds their purity of spirit clouded by time. Expressing his wish for clarity, the artist surrounds each marble form with a halo of golden tiles, representing the soothing balm of heaven in the cycle of rebirth.
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Marble
"Ramiel, " Marble Mosaic, 2020
Located in Chicago, IL
In the series “Heavenly,” Toyoharu Kii honors the fullness of life and its continual rebirth. In some works, white tesserae assume abstract profiles. In others, irregular shapes contain a disorderly array of jagged tiles, suggesting the unexpected moments that life reveals. Expressing his wish for guidance, the artist surrounds each marble form with a halo of golden tiles, representing the company of a heavenly guardian in the cycle of rebirth. This mosaic in particular is named after Ramiel, the archangel of hope.
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Marble
"Cloud, " Mixed-Media Mosaic, 2020
Located in Chicago, IL
Entitled "Cloud," this mosaic work by Japanese artist Toyoharu Kii tells a story of nature and rebirth. As with many of Kii's works, the lively and chaotic field of white marble tess...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Marble
"Restoration Test, " Marble Mosaic, 2017
Located in Chicago, IL
A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art of mosaic making.
In this mosaic entitled "Restoration Test...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract More Art
Materials
Mosaic
Read More
A Pair of Monumental Stone Tigers Protect and Guide Wandering Souls
The Qing dynasty beasts honored the dead and warned off malicious spirits.
Chicago’s Pagoda Red Has a Spirited Mix of Asian Antiques and Bold New Art
For 25 years, gallerist Betsy Nathan has leveraged her keen eye and key connections to bring a unique selection of rare finds to the market.