PAGODA RED Asian Art and Furniture
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Chinese Double Steamed Wine Jar
Located in Chicago, IL
This early 20th-century ceramic jar is formed in a traditional shape meant for storing wine and spirits made from rice and grains. Known as cheng, these jars are defined by having a ...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Rustic Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Tibetan Painted Dragon Chest of Drawers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
The number 12 figures prominently in Tibetan astrology, making this simple chest’s dozen drawers the perfect canvas to honor the year of the dragon. Tibet...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Tibetan Tibetan Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Wood, Lacquer, Paint
Chinese Enameled Four Seasons Plate, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Painted with overglaze enamels in the famille rose style, this small porcelain dish is decorated with a common motif of four flowers symbolizing the seasons. The lotus represents sum...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Low Kang Table, C. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
During winter in the colder provinces of China, life revolved around the kang, a heated brick platform that household members would sit or recline upon. Low tables placed atop the kang provided a convenient surface for dining, drinking tea, or playing games. Crafted of beautiful huali rosewood, this low kang table...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Hardwood
Korean Wedding Chest, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
This lacquered wedding chest dates to the early 20th century and was likely originally used as a bridewealth chest during a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. The exterior is finished with red and black lacquer and decorated with two round medallions conveying blessings of luck and longevity. The chest opens from the top, secured with a brass lock plate in the form of a butterfly, a traditional symbol of a life of prosperity and joy. Vintage newsprint...
Category
Early 20th Century Korean Trunks and Luggage
Materials
Brass
Chinese Famille Rose Phoenix and Peony Baluster Jar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
During the 18th century, Europeans provided an eager market for Chinese export porcelain, especially the colorful and fanciful ware known as “famille rose.” Named for a palette of op...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Thai Bronze Buddha's Hand, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th-century Buddha's hand sculpture from Thailand is finely cast of bronze with lifelike features and a beautiful dark patina. The hand is held upwards in abhaya mudra, the ges...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Thai Minimalist Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Bronze
Chinese Red Lacquer Tapered Cabinet, C. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A classic piece of Chinese furniture, large, upright cabinets such as this were used in traditional homes in lieu of built-in closets, filled with clot...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Brass
Chinese Red Glass Snuff Bottle
Located in Chicago, IL
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...
Category
20th Century Chinese Qing Scholar's Objects
Materials
Glass
Chinese Polychrome Seated Ancestor Figure, C. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
An integral part of traditional Chinese home life, ancestor worship before a domestic altar often featured painted ancestral portraits or tabletop ance...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood
Thai Bronze Buddha's Hand, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th-century Buddha's hand sculpture from Thailand is finely cast of bronze with lifelike features and a beautiful dark patina. The hand is held upwards in abhaya mudra, the ges...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Thai Minimalist Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Bronze
Chinese Sancai Glazed Buddhist Arhat, Ming Dynasty, c. 1600
Located in Chicago, IL
This imposing figure is the head of an Arhat, a Buddhist devotee who has attained enlightenment, also called a “Luohan.” The eighteen original Arhat are the personal disciples of Buddha and the guardians of Buddhist adherents. Each is represented with a unique disposition, posture, and distinctive symbol.
This exquisitely formed monumental ceramic Arhat dates to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and has likely been separated from its original full body sculpture...
Category
Antique Early 17th Century Chinese Ming Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Ceramic, Wood
Pair of Chinese Spindleback Armchairs, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These 19th century spindleback armchairs owe their graceful design to the styles and techniques that emerged during the Ming dynasty, the golden a...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Chinese Two-Door Black Cabinet, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
The imposing doors of this 19th century cabinet are accented with a trio of lozenge-shaped moldings that enliven the tall, rectilinear silhouette with horizontal lines. Invigorating ...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Brass
Pair of Chinese Red Lacquer Book Cabinets, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Dated to the late 19th century, this pair of tall book cabinets was once used in a scholars' studio or well-to-do home to store a collector's most ch...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Bookcases
Materials
Elm
Chinese Reverse Glass Painting of Scholars' Objects, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This colorful floral still life is a charming example of Chinese reverse glass painting. Popularized during the Qing dynasty, reverse glass painting requires an artist to essentially...
Category
Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens
Materials
Glass, Wood
Chinese Reverse Glass Painting of Taoist Immortals, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Popularized during the Qing dynasty, reverse glass painting requires an artist to essentially work backwards, starting with details and shading before adding color and form. Lending the finished work a subtle three-dimensional effect, this exacting technique doesn't allow for any corrections, and is only revealed to its full effect when the glass pane is turned around. This example dates to the late 19th century and depicts the Taoist immortals He Xiangu and Cao Guojiu. Said to have attained immortality through their studies of the natural world, the Eight Immortals each represent a different condition in life and impart blessings of prosperity and longevity. The charming scene is likely one of a set of...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Paintings and Screens
Materials
Glass, Wood
Chinese Bai White Meiping Vase
Located in Chicago, IL
Meiping vases were traditionally used to hold the branches of plum trees, celebrated in China as symbols of strength. This contemporary update made in Jia...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Minimalist Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Stone Shakyamuni Buddha Head
Located in Chicago, IL
With closed eyes and a gentle expression, this large stone Buddha head brings calm and serenity to its surroundings. The hand-carved figure depicts ...
Category
20th Century Chinese Qing Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Stone
Chinese Red Lacquer Roundback Chair, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Prior to the 10th century, Chinese society eschewed raised seats in favor of mats. The rising popularity of chairs and other forms of elevated seating led craftsmen to adapt traditio...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
Southeast Asian Stone Shakyamuni Buddha Head
Located in Chicago, IL
With closed eyes and a gentle expression, this large stone head depicts the Shakyamuni Buddha in calm meditation. Also known as Shaka, Gautama Buddha, or Prince Siddhartha, the histo...
Category
20th Century Southeast Asian Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Stone
Chinese Stone Shakyamuni Buddha Head
Located in Chicago, IL
With closed eyes and a gentle expression, this large stone Buddha head brings calm and serenity to its surroundings. The hand-carved figure depicts the historic Buddha Shakyamuni, also known as Shaka, Gautama Buddha...
Category
20th Century Chinese Qing Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Stone
"Recumbent Lion" Lingbi Scholars' Rock Sculpture
Located in Chicago, IL
Sculptural and unusual stone formations have long been fixtures of the scholars' studio, displayed as sources of beauty and creative inspiration. Known as gongshi, or scholars' rocks...
Category
Late 20th Century Chinese Organic Modern Natural Specimens
Materials
Limestone, Steel
Chinese Painted Book Cabinet, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This lacquered display cabinet from Shanxi province was crafted in the mid-19th century using traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery methods. The enclosed lower half was used for general storage and the open upper shelf was used to display precious objects such as vases, curios, or piles of books. The exterior is darkened by a black lacquer finish and hand-painted with charming decorative motifs, including bronze censers, flower vases, scrolls, and scholars' objects. Original brass hardware secures the doors, now richly aged with a smooth patina and subtle oxidation. Unusual for its smaller scale, we love this painted cabinet in a children's bedroom or playroom as an unexpected bookcase or toy chest...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Cabinets
Materials
Elm
Southeast Asian Polychrome Figure, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This large polychromed wood figure from southeast Asia dates to the mid-19th century and depicts a male attendant or entertainer. Hand-carved by...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Southeast Asian Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Wood
Chinese Stone Warrior Statue with Fu Dog
Located in Chicago, IL
This hand-carved stone statue depicts a fearsome Chinese warrior or general, clad in armor with a chest plate and fu dog sleeves. He stands atop a reclinin...
Category
20th Century Chinese Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Stone
Chinese Bent Handle Fisherman's Basket, circa 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Basket making is an ancient and humble craft, but in the hands of a skilled weaver a simple willow basket can become a truly beautiful work of art. This bent handle basket was made i...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Rustic Decorative Baskets
Materials
Willow, Bentwood
Chinese Lacquered Theater Bench with Dragon Carvings, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Wide enough to seat three to four people, this ornate bench was likely made as shared seating for live performances, such as operas, plays, and ceremonies...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Benches
Materials
Elm
"Egrets Amongst Lotuses" Japanese Paper Byobu Screen, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
Everything about "Egrets Amongst Lotuses" is timeless and delicate, particularly the fine paper, soft colors, and detailed brushstrokes. The painting is signed Kyokata and dates to t...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Paintings and Screens
Materials
Silk, Wood, Paper
Pair of Chinese Woven Top Square Stools, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Lightweight and portable, stools were popular in Qing-dynasty homes for their simplicity and convenience. These elegant 19th-century square stools have beautifully worked frames featuring rounded edges, humpback stretchers, and ruyi-form fretwork finished with dark lacquer. Each top is inset with a hand-woven seat, providing textural contrast to the graceful elmwood frame. Used as seats or low side tables, this pair of square stools...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Reed, Elm
Chinese Bent Handle Fisherman's Basket, circa 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Basket making is an ancient and humble craft, but in the hands of a skilled weaver a simple willow basket becomes a truly beautiful statement. The artisan’s mastery is evident in thi...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Rustic Decorative Baskets
Materials
Wood, Willow
Pair of Japanese Obi Pillows in Silver and Orange
Located in Chicago, IL
This pair of artisan-designed pillows was made by hand from a vintage Japanese obi patterned with orange wave-like swirls against a metallic silver field. ...
Category
Vintage 1970s Japanese Modern Textiles
Materials
Down, Linen, Silk
Painted Chinese Kang Table with Stone Inlay, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
During winter in the colder provinces of China, life revolved around the kang, a heated brick platform that household members would sit or recline upon. Placed on top of the kang, lo...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Agate, Soapstone
Persimmon Orange Bottleneck Vase
Located in Chicago, IL
Drawing on a long Chinese tradition of ceramics, this striking long-necked vase is cloaked in an all-over persimmon-orange glaze. With a rounded, globular body and cylindrical neck, ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Vases
Materials
Porcelain
Pair of Chinese Lacquered Tall Back Chairs, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
With clean lines and balanced proportions, these 19th-century tall back chairs exemplify the refined forms of Ming-dynasty furniture design. The chairs are designed after the 'southe...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
Japanese Tabako-bon with Two Rabbits, c. 1920
Located in Chicago, IL
This wooden box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the traditional ...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Taisho Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes
Materials
Bamboo, Bakelite, Hardwood
Japanese Keyaki Elm Tabako-Bon, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This box with many drawers is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the t...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Meiji Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes
Materials
Brass
Tall White Glazed Bottleneck Vase
Located in Chicago, IL
Drawing on a long Chinese tradition of monochrome ceramics, this tall gooseneck vase is glazed in an all-over cool white glaze. The vase features a rounded body with high shoulders a...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Minimalist Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Chinese Famille Rose Soup Tureen, c. 1870
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th century covered jar takes its rounded shape from serving tureens used to serve soups and stews. Contrasted by a crisp white field, the lid and sides are decorated with a lively scene of children at play in a courtyard garden. Accompanied by a man and woman, the children are each playing with a different toy, including a kite, a reed organ...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Provincial Chinese Burden Bar, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Used to tote pails of water and grain, this 19th-century yoke, or burden bar, transcends its utilitarian origins as a striking sculptural object. Fitted with the original brass finis...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Antiquities
Materials
Brass
Pair of Framed Chinese Silk Brocade Chair Panels, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
These framed silk brocade tapestries are two halves of a magnificent Qing-dynasty chair panel, or chair strip. Because traditional Chinese seating was n...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Textiles
Materials
Silk
Japanese Gilt Takamaki-E Tabako-Bon, C. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This box with many drawers is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the t...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Japanese Meiji Lacquer
Materials
Brass
Chinese Ho Ho Boy Headrest, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
To keep her elaborate hairstyle intact while sleeping, a well-to-do Qing-dynasty woman once used this ceramic headrest as a pillow. This headrest is shaped in the form of a baby boy,...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Ceramics
Materials
Ceramic
Chinese Traveling Knife and Chopstick Set with Bone Inlay, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This elegant set of eating utensils dates to the mid-19th century and would have accompanied a well-to-do traveler on a long cross-country journey. The set includes a pair of bone chopsticks and a long blade with a highly decorated handle. The handle and scabbard having matching designs, both crafted of blackwood with brass and bone inlay of Buddhist and Taoist symbols, including the parasol, golden fish, infinite knot...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Mounted Objects
Materials
Brass
Tibetan Bronze Prayer Bell, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
This small bronze bell is the lower half of a Tibetan ceremonial bell called a dril-bu. This example is missing its handle, which would have been shaped like a diamond scepter, or va...
Category
Antique Early 19th Century Tibetan Tibetan Metalwork
Materials
Bronze
Pair of Chinese Guardian Lion Dogs, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This pair of monumental Fu-Lions, also known as shizi, once would have flanked the entrance to a Qing-dynasty home in China’s Shanxi province. One has a pearl under its foot, and the...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Sculptures and Carvings
Materials
Limestone
Chinese Painted Drum Stool with Blessings, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th century drum-form stool is assembled with traditional stave and hoop construction, with two bands of decorative nailheads. Painted in red and gold, two colors thought to br...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
Chinese Low Painted Lacquer Table with Fish Chimes, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
During winter in the colder provinces of China, life revolved around the kang, a heated brick platform that household members would sit or recline upon. Placed on top of the kang, lo...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
Low Chinese Bentwood Chair, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This bentwood chair was created over a century ago in northern China by moistening, bending, and heating willow to form its desired shape. It is beautifully carved with auspicious flowers and is considerably smaller than most roundback chairs. As the height and size of chairs were traditionally marks of status in Chinese culture, it is likely that this artful chair...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Elm
Japanese Woven Bamboo Tabako-bon, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This woven basket is actually a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used as a portable hibachi for lighting tobacco pipes. Believed to have evolved from the traditional accessories of Japanese incense ceremony, tabako-bons first came into use in the 17th century and were often beautifully decorated to display one's wealth and status. This tabako-bon is woven of smoked bamboo and features a ceramic...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Meiji Decorative Baskets
Materials
Ceramic, Bamboo
Japanese Blue and White Sake Cask
Located in Chicago, IL
This large porcelain jar is a vintage Japanese sake keg dated to the early 20th century. Known as taru or daru, large sake casks such as this are often saved...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Ceramics
Materials
Iron
Japanese Gilt Tabako-Bon with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay
Located in Chicago, IL
This handled box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the traditional...
Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Decorative Boxes
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Japanese Gilt Tabako-Bon with Mountain Landscape, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This lacquered box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the tradition...
Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Edo Decorative Boxes
Materials
Copper
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
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Antiquities
Materials
Silk, Bamboo, Glass
Chinese Green Deco Carpet with Salmon Border
Located in Chicago, IL
In the 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 that permeat...
Category
Vintage 1930s Chinese Art Deco Chinese and East Asian Rugs
Materials
Cotton, Wool
Chinese White Brass Happiness Brazier, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Filled with burning coals, this petite 19th-century brass brazier once warmed the hands of a well-to-do person on a cold winter's night in northern China. The brazier is crafted of white brass in a rectangular form, complete with a hinged handle and an intricately pierced lid with a chrysanthemum pattern. The exterior is etched with a pattern of golden coins...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Metalwork
Materials
Brass
Chinese Offering Table with Ruyi Spandrels, C. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
This late 19th-century offering table from Beijing expresses Ming-dynasty tastes with clean lines and a simple silhouette. Minimally decorated, the table features straight legs, double stretchers, and spandrels carved in the form of an auspicious ruyi and outlined by a beaded edge. The table is crafted of northern elm (yumu) and darkened to a rich brown with traces of the original black lacquer finish. Originally used as a home altar...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Qing Console Tables
Materials
Elm
Pair of Chinese Low Back Official's Chairs, C. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
This pair of elegant 19th-century elm wood chairs embody Ming-dynasty design with simple form yet complex construction. The chairs are an unusual blend of traditional tall yoke-back ...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Furniture
Materials
Walnut
Pair of Chinese Famille Rose Baluster Jars with Ancient Censers, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Beautifully commemorated on this pair of baluster jars, censers have been used for thousands of years as a part of funeral rites or prayer offerings. Filled with dried aromatic plant...
Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Ceramics
Materials
Porcelain
Citron Yellow Bottleneck Vase
Located in Chicago, IL
Drawing on a long Chinese tradition of monochrome ceramics, this tall gooseneck vase is glazed in cheerful citron-yellow glaze. The vase features a rounded, globular body and a narro...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Vases
Materials
Porcelain
