TRIBA

Antique Tribal Dayak Plaited Rattan Longhouse Mat (Tikar), Kalimantan The tightly woven longhouse sleeping mats of Kalimantan are almost exclusively constructed by women, who begin ...

Chinese ink rubbing printing depicting Panthaka Arhat, no.4 of the 16 arhat images immortalized in stone at the former stupa at Shengyin Temple. Depicted here sitting on a rock with a book in his left hand and snapping his fingers in his right hand, symbolic of the speed at which he obtained enlightenment, accompanied by a beggar’s bowl and an incense burner, complete with colophons and silk scroll mounting. The Emperor Qianlong ordered the stone stele to be carved in 1764 after the arhat designs painted by the famed artist Guanxiu (832-912). Even though the temple was destroyed in the Taiping rebellion, the steles remain and have been reinstalled at the Hangzhou Stele Forest. Condition: Creases from rolling, otherwise fine condition. Mounting: 58” x 22”. 19th Century. Ex Collection: Frank “Till” & Peggy Durdin, San Diego. For other rubbings of this stele see: Penn Museum, object number 2010-26-4 The Metropolitan Museum of Art AN#: 59.195.15 Fine Arts Library of Harvard University, record id: W280021_urn-3:FHCL:478850 For another example of this image rendered in jade and lacquer see: “Screen Paintings of Guanxiu’s Sixteen Arhats in the Collection of the Palace Museum” Luo Wehhua translated by Bruce Doar, Orientations, September 2010, p. 104. In this article the image is identified as the sixteenth arhat Abheda, It is explained in this article that Qianlong re-identified the arhats, thus the 16th Arhat attribution for this image. Also in this article the identical colophon by Qianlong above the image is translated as: “These accurate portraits of the Sixteen Arhats were created by the Tang Dynasty painter Guanxiu, as recorded in Xuanhe Huapu (Record of paintings in the Xuanhe Reign), and during the millennium from the Guangming reign period to the present day, the original works were to be found in Zhejiang, where they were housed in the collection of Shengyin Temple in Qiantang (Huangzhou). In spring of the dingchou year (1757) of his reign, the Qianlong emperor undertook a southern tour of inspection and stayed at an imperial lodge on the West Lake. He went to the temple to pay his respects and there he saw the arhats on display and wrote a description of these marvels. The sequence of the arhats and their names had been passed down since ancient times, but they did not correspond to their Sanskrit titles; the sequence of the arhat names conformed instead to the interpretation of the Sanskrit classics by the Zhangjia State Preceptor. The emperor penned the original names and positions in the sequence below each of the figures in accordance with the readings supplied in Tongwen Yuntong (Unified Rhymes), and below each he penned an encomium, which he signed. Then the images were returned to the collection, to be passed down as a perpetual treasure. Now, the fourth great arhat had long gone missing and we did not know where his painting was. But it was merely a trifling matter of matching the images with the names, and now surely we have found him! This I, the emperor, believe.” All 16 of these rubbings can be found in the Rubel Chinese Rubbings Collection at the Fine Arts Library of Harvard University with the following descriptive historical note: “Rubbing from stele depicting No. 4 of 16 arhats (Lohans, Buddhist saints) -- Nan ti mi duo luo qing you, Panthaka Arhat. Original painting attributed to Guanxiu, 832-912. Inscriptions written by Hongli, Emperor Qianlong (Gaozong, 1711-1799) of Qing Dynasty. 7 seals of Qianlong follow the inscriptions. Script style: in xing shu. Shi liu zun zhe -- "The 16 noble ones" are 16 lohans. Lohans are also called "a-lo-han" based on the transliteration of the Sanskrit term "arhat." (Japanese: Rakan; Chinese: Lohan; Tibetan: Gnas-brtan). Arhats or Arahants are saints or sages said to have renounced nirvana (freedom from the cycle of suffering and rebirth), vowed to remain in the world to protect the Dharma and propagate the Law of the Buddha in order to devote themselves more effectively to the relief of human misery, like the Bodhisattvas. These 16 Arhats, personal disciples distinguished by the Buddha, formed part of the 500 claimed by tradition to have attended the First Council in Rajagrha. The names and abodes of these 16 arhats are given in a work entitled "Record on the Duration of the Law, spoken by the Great arhat Nadimitra," which was translated into Chinese by the famous pilgrim Xuanzang (596-664) in 654. 16 lohans are quite often represented, especially in China and Japan, in sculpture and painting, in poses and with attributes. Every lohan can be easily with special icongraphic characteristics. Guanxiu (Jiang Deyin or Deyuan, a Buddhist monk also named Master Chan Yue, 832-912) -- painter during late Tang to Five Dynasties, specialized in painting lohan figures. Legend has it that the first portraits of the 18 Lohans...

Traditional Silk Shaman’s Shoulder Cloth, Tai Daeng, Houaphanh Province, Laos. This is a man/woman healing cloth or shaman’s shawl, so named as the center se...

Chinese Sinkiang Geometric Rug, Khotan Xinjiang Province (East Turkestan). A carpet of dyed wool pile on a cotton foundation, a mixed berry palette in hues of purple, salmon, red, an...

These pieces are a part of smoking set tabako-ire. It consists of a kiseruzutsu (pipe case), a kiseru (pipe), and a tonkotsu (tobacco pouch). The pouch is made of lacquered crocodile...

Rare Antique Formal Japanese Silk Tsutsugaki Futon Cover An exceptional example of tsutsugaki from the late Meiji period. The abstract rendering of the auspicious phoenix and paulo...

Erich Heckel (German, 1883 - 1970) Woodcut Print. Title: Junges mädchen / Young Woman (Dube 264 IIIB, Davis-Riffkind 1038, Brücke 14). Original woodcut carved & printed in 1913, woo...

Korean inlaid celadon oil bottle, squat globular shape with narrow neck and mouth having an impressed rope pattern revealed in white slip , on the shoul...

Group of four Toraja wood offering bowls, from Sulawesi, Indonesia with dark deep patina from use. Created from native hardwood and with horn rings in the center portion (except on t...

Antique Japanese Lacquered Wood Temple Stand. An open panel style rectangular table with black lacquered top, lacquered and gold leafed base having chased gilt metal side fittings, ...

20th Century Hollow Abstract Iron Sculpture, Japan This heavy hollow iron sculpture by an unknown Japanese metalsmith is a knockout from every angle. It measure 9 inches high by 9 i...

Antique Chinese Civil Service Examination Basket (kao lan), a traditional rectangular bamboo basket with hinged lid and a pinned overhead handle for carrying, The flat panel lid has ...

Vintage Hand Dyed Cotton Batik Slendang (Selendang), Java. A length of cotton fabric used as a shoulder cloth, hand dyed in three colors of rust brown, indigo and a dark blue painted...

Vintage Hand Dyed Cotton Batik Slendang (Selendang), Java. A length of cotton fabric used as a shoulder cloth, hand dyed in two colors: red and blue painted over a wax resist design,...

Vintage Japanese Obi. Gold kinran abstract wave pattern on a diagonal white on white brocade ground, continuous on one side, center section lined on the reverse side. Minor signs of...

Antique Japanese Recycled Zanshi-Ori Futon Cover Zanshi-ori cloth is woven from leftover or repurposed threads, either from commercial kimono production or home produced recycled co...

Balinese Traditional Painting, acrylics on canvas by W. Erawati. The scene depicts a dense composition of village life just outside of a temple on a festival day with the numerous fi...

Antique Japanese Indigo-Dyed Double Ikat Kimono This deeply saturated indigo-dyed kimono is made of heavy-weight hand-spun cotton and precisely patter...

Iban Lidded Rattan Basket Box, West Kalimantan, Mid-20th Century. A soft sculpture of plaited and stained rattan skin woven in a brown and black plaid pattern set on the diagonal. A ...

A fine bronze tribute drum (Heger Type III), Pazi (Burmese), pam klo’ (Karen). This unique lost wax casting of a drum is ornamented with 8 frogs with bulging eyes placed in stacks o...

An irregular shaped slice of Dalbergia root burl with a dark center and blonde surround, all figured with multiple “bird’s eyes” and knobby live edge, supported by four short and cur...

Group of three Toraja wood offering bowls, from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Sweet abstract mid-century forms. Created from native hardwood and with horn rings, these strikingly sculptural w...

Antique Panel from Young Girl’s Luntaya-Acheiq Hta-mein (skirt), Myanmar (Burma) Skirt panel of interlocking-tapestry woven silk in three shades of jade green, purple, reddish pink,...

Madagascar Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old 8.75 x 7 x 2 in. / 22 x 18 x 5 cm Weight: 4 lbs 14 oz/ 2.065 kg Ammonites were cephalopods that resembled a s...

Antique Man's Ceremonial Head Cloth (Iket Kepala), South Sumatra Malay people, Palembang region A beautifully subtle weft ikat ceremonial head cloth with elaborate silk chain-stitch...

Rare double joined standing figure with male figure on top standing on female shoulders. Deep patina and wear from traditional use. Finely carved and expressive faces. 11 1/4 inche...

Two bronze rectangular boxes decorated with symmetrical silver inlay in the tendril vine pattern referred to as “the okir pattern”, a traditional design for the Maranao people. This...

A Chrysanthemum and Bush Clover painting on gold leaf six-panel folding screen, painted with clusters of leafy green chrysanthemum plants with white blossoms having moriage relief petals of gofun growing amidst pink blossoming bush clover within a bunched bush clover garden fence rendered in lighter gold relief, all on a background entirely of rich gold leaf. These two flowers are symbolic of Japan and the autumn season. The classic patterned paper verso with a Naga Antiques...

Small sweet early Kuba Cup with refinedf face, finely carved hair, with a handle, from the DRC, Africa Finely incised hair in tight geometric form, small proj...

Japanese Rosoku-tate or Shokudai (candle stand) a lathe turned wood in a slender baluster form with attached concave circular base and broad circular wood candle base tapering down ...

Tribal Bronze Cache-sexe, Vere People, Cameroon/Nigeria Bronze alloy 4.5 (11.4 cm) to 2.25 (6.7 cm) inches high Late 19th century A set of bronze spikes forms this cache-sexe from t...

Five Tribal Bronze Snuff Rings, Tiv Culture, Nigeria Brass or copper alloy 4.5 (11.4 cm) to 2.25 (6.7 cm) inches high 19th century A fascinating collection...

Large dark reddish brown carved wood mask with underlying traces of red pigment, from New Guinea Sepik River Area. Strong downward looking expression, carved fringe edges. Signs of...

Kuba (Bushong) Raffia Fiber Textile Panel From Woman’s Skirt The Bushong people are one of the largest and most dominant ethnic groups within the Kuba Kingdom in the DR Congo, and h...

Antique Chinese Agate Master Snuff Bottle, 19th century. Larger scale bottle of pale translucent color with varied caramel inclusions, symmetrical rectangu...

Early and rare mask from Gabon, Central Africa, created by the Tsogho peoples. Powerful large mask with carved open eyes, and black painted eyes above, below heavy carved eyebrows. ...

Trio of Pre-Columbian Foot Vessels, West Mexico The first is a reddish brown pottery shoe vessel from the Chipicuaro culture (ca. 500 BC – 300 AD) with a burnished surface and a wid...

Small used Senufo stylized bird beak face weaving heddle pulley, Ivory Coast Africa I Deep patina and polish from traditional use, circular wear inside from weaving bobbin, now absen...

Antique Tribal Dayak Plaited Rattan Longhouse Mat (Tikar), Kalimantan The tightly woven longhouse sleeping mats of Kalimantan are almost exclusively constructed by women, who begin ...

Dan carved wood prestige spoon or ladle, from the Dan people of Ivory Coast, West Africa. Spoons like this were used by the most prominent woman in the village as a sign of her powe...

Antique Japanese Kurume Indigo-Dyed Double Ikat Futon Cover Kurume double-ikat weaving was established over 200 year ago on the southern island of Kyushu, and has long been celebrat...

Early Large Food Bowl, Tami Islands, Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea This large food bowl exhibits a pleasing asymmetry in the raised relief carving of the t...

Hand-carved mid-century netsuke depicting a contemplative monkey in a sitting position. Monkeys represent multiple things in Japanese culture and folklore among them being: mediators...

Annamese Blue and White Ceramic Box, Chu Dau kiln, Vietnam, circa 1500. A covered flat top circular box with lid decoration in under glaze cobalt blue of a peony blossom with leafy b...

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...

Wood carving of Vishnu on peacock with two attendants from South India Early to mid-20th century.

A rare triangular wooden seat studded with iron spikes, with remnants of black paint along the borders. During the initiation of new members, candidates were blindfolded after being shown a triangular chair with a seat of metal studs, such as this, on which they were to sit to prove their worthiness. While they were being led, blindfolded, to the chair, an identical rubber-studded triangle was substituted, allowing for a slightly softer landing. The Fellowship’s motto is Amicitia, Amor et Veritas or “Friendship, Love and Truth,” and began in Manchester, England, 26 April 1819. This rite is also said to have been used by the Knights of Pythias...

Antique Thai White Elephant Painting on Cloth, Rattanakosin School, 19th Century. A painted scene of two white auspicious elephants in a landscape setting. In Thai Buddhist folklore,...

Late 19th to early 20th century Trio of puppets, China Two puppet torsos and one puppet head from China, all mounted on custom bases. The heights are 16, 9 and 13.5 inches (40.6, 23...

Zulu carved wood double headrest with stylized human figure in middle, from South Africa. In stylized human form within a pair of vertical columns, with triangle arms and legs and he...

Bambara Standing male figure with powerful shoulders, arms at sides and large feet. From Mali, Africa It is in good condition with wear, polish and erosion from traditional use, appropriate for its age, use, and medium. Scuffs and nicks here and there. Age, wear and staining inside. On vintage wood block...

Hand carved boxwood frog netsuke dating from the Meiji period. The frog (kaeru) is associated with luck and wealth in Japanese culture. Kaeru in is a homophone meaning both "frog" an...

Vintage Indonesian Kain Batik Tulis, Solo (Surakarta), Java, 1950. A traditional meticulously hand drawn wax resist painting by canting on cotton of a spirited phoenix pattern inters...

Small early Kuba Cup With Sweet Face, Fine Hair, Handle DRC, Africa Finely carved hair in tight geometric form, small projecting ears. Some damage and wear t...

Playfully carved out of boxwood, this Meiji period hyottoko noh mask netsuke features a figure of a crouching man on the reverse. In Iwate Prefecture, there is a myth about the origi...

An old well used Ethiopian head rest with attached oxidized silver or white metal beads and dangles. It is in good condition with wear, polish and eros...

An assembled collection of 25 antique Chinese blue and white ceramic spoons. Each porcelain or porcelaneous stoneware spoon hand modeled and trimmed. Some with an unglazed foot ring and others with firing spur marks on the underside. Each spoon decorated in under glaze cobalt blue paintings...

Baule antelope-human wood old weaving heddle loom pulley. From Ivory Coast, Africa It is in good condition with wear, polish and erosion from traditional use, appropriate for its ag...

Antique Japanese Double-Ikat Futon Cover This eye-dazzling hand-spun cotton, indigo-dyed 4-panel futon cover is a classic double ikat design displaying rows of concentric squares in...

Antique Kuba Shoowa Cut-Pile & Embroidered Cloth, DR Congo A graphically compelling example of a Kuba raffia fiber prestige cloth with cut pile and stitched embroidery. In very good...