TRIBA

Rare Antique Japanese Oversized Sleeping Kimono (Yogi) This is the outer shell of a type of shaped sleeping kimono known as a yogi. Yogi were in more common use during the Edo and M...

Antique Japanese Recycled Saki-Ori Farmer’s Vest This late 19th C recycled farmer’s vest from northern Japan was strip woven from repurposed cotton scraps in a technique known as sa...

Oval dance mask from Nepal with powerful expression, open eyes and oval mouth with finely carved teeth, nicely carved ears. Heavy black encrusted patina inside and out from tradition...

Antique Japanese Recycled Boro Patchwork Futon Cover This indigo-dyed patchwork boro futon cover is a physical testimony to the determination and resourcefulness of those living in ...

Antique Ainu Sword Holder (Emushat), Japan Emushats were worn over the shoulder and served to limit movement of a short sword and keep it in place. Mostly constructed of linden fibe...

19th Century Gilded Wood Mandalay Standing Buddha, Myanmar Gilded and jeweled robe with a serene expression standing in a lotus shaped pedestal. The gilt and the jewels show some m...

Fine Antique Woman’s Mantle (Awayo), Bolivia This exceptionally fine woman’s awayo, or mantle, displays three groups of tightly patterned vertical bands and colored stripes separate...

“Shrimp” Easy Chair by Jehs + Laub for COR Sitzmøbel, 2011. A white enameled formed wood swivel chair made in Germany with olive colored upholstered fabric attached cushions mounted ...

Chinese porcelain dragon snuff bottle, unusual cylindrical pillar form with no neck, unglazed top and bottom concentric grooved base, narrow aperture, painted in under glaze cobalt b...

Antique Tibetan Sitting Rug or Runner This unique Tibetan carpet is somewhat unusual, both in size and design layout. It’s narrower and shorter than most classic khaden sleeping rug...

Antique Tapestry-Woven Carriage Cushion Cover (rölakan), Sweden This finely woven, nine-color rölakan displays a detailed yet balanced composition of three large eight-pointed stars...

Antique Beaded Ceremonial Dance Sarong (Lawo Butu) East Flores, Indonesia A rare beaded tube sarong from the Lio people in south eastern Flores, Indonesia, reportedly worn by young ...

Antique Panel from Young Girl’s Luntaya-Acheiq Hta-mein (skirt), Myanmar (Burma) Skirt panel of interlocking-tapestry woven silk in shades of pink, mauve, cream, light blue and indi...

Antique Woman’s Shoulder Cloth (Mantita) or Head Covering (Phullo), Bolivia This finely woven minimalist mantle or head covering is composed of two panels with a cochineal-dyed mono...

Court Uniform for Imperial Appointee, c. 1887. Wool with gold brocade. Court and military uniforms in emulation of European ensembles were officially adopted by the Japanese gover...

Antique Chinese Cameo Agate Snuff Bottle, rounded square from with raised foot rim and round neck, concave mouth rim, narrow mouth, well hollowed depicting a horse, bee and a monkey....

Khmer Ceramic Lime Pot. A squat globular stoneware jarlet with a high shoulder in the form of a bird covered in a brown glaze stopping short of the elevated foot displaying the beig...

apanese Oribe style ceramic Abura-zara, an oil plate used to catch the drippings from a suspended oil dish in a lantern, simple flat circular form with slightly raised beaded edge an...

Antique Thai Ceramic White War Elephant. A hand sculpted stoneware figure of elephant and rider. The solid elephant stands firmly four square on a rec...

19th Century Stoneware Cat Pillow, China A charming antique stoneware cat pillow from China, cream background with classic brown spots. In great conditi...

A Spinach Jade Snuff Bottle, Qing Dynasty. The flattened ovoid form symmetrically rendered from a waxy spinach green speckled nephrite stone having a high shoulder and short stout round neck, with the countersunk mouth having a narrow aperture. The flat narrow base concave bearing a carved 3 character studio mark. The stopper of coral and vinyl collar attached to a cork with evidence of a previous ivory spoon...

Antique Thai Vessantara Jataka Scene Painting on Cloth, Rattanakosin School, 19th Century. A classical scene from chapter 12 in the next-to-last life of the Buddha wherein Vessantara...

A Hanging or Curtain for a Wedding Alcove or Reception Room Tetouan, Morocco 19th century Silk strip weave with double weave patterning 129 x 24 ins (61 x 328 cm) This luxurious, sh...

The Inro is comprised of three stacked compartments and features a deer motif with mother of pearl accents, an ojime and a wooden frog netsuke. Inros were used to store items like m...

Cast with a globular top with a central aperture on both sides, pierced with radiating petals to one side, supported on a tall spreading foot of rectangular section cast with raised ...

Large 8 inch Split Ammonite Mounted Fossil Set Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old The cutting and polishing of this large pair revealed pale yellow-brown, cal...

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...

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...

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...

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, ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

6.5 Inch Ammonite Fossil Cut Polished and Mounted Mineral Specimen Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old Cutting and polishing this ammonite has revealed an inte...

Madagascar Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old Dimensions: 9.25 × 8 × 2 in. / 23.5 × 20.5 × 5 cm Weight: 5.55 lbs / 2.424 kg In this example, the complex pa...

Chinese porcelain dragon snuff bottle, cylindrical pillar form with high shoulder, short neck, everted lip and concentric grooved base painted in underglaze cobalt blue of a single f...

Antique Palembang Man's Songket and Ikat Ceremonial Head Cloth (iket kepala). A woven silk textile with natural dyes, weft ikat pattern, gold thread supplementary weft weave as the b...

Antique Thai Fish Bowl, Sukhothai Kilns. A deep stoneware bowl with black slip painting of a fish with his tail extending beyond the concentric band on center, further band decoratio...

“Kiku Byobu”, a six-panel chrysanthemum folding screen, Rinpa School, Meiji Period (1869-1912). Painted with several variations of white moriage chrysanthemums interspersed with sma...

Japanese Takeda Ningyo depicting an actor from a Kabuki play in a role of a warrior at the sea with his anchor design embroidered on the sleeve and the stage prop waves in the foregr...

Madigascar Jurassic - Cretaceous Period, 200 - 145 million years old Dimensions: 6.5 x.5.25 × 1.25 in./ 16.5 × 13.5 × 3 cm Weight: 1 lb 9 oz/ 710 gms A richly colored example wit...

A Natural Gourd Snuff Bottle, Qing Dynasty. A dried globular knobby gourd that is hollowed, lacquered and buffed to serve as a snuff bottle with an...

Japanese ink on paper wood block shunga artist’s color and pattern illustration with instructions for the woodblock carver and printer, depicting...

Large Antique Thai Buddhist Manuscript Storage Cabinet. A tapering upright cabinet made of teak with black lacquered exterior and red interior. The decoration of gold on a black ground on three sides is created by the Lai Rot Nam...

“Africa Reinvented” by Keri Muller of Simple Intrigue, Cape Town, South Africa. A contemporary soft sculpture created from repurposed used paperback books retaining the binding of th...

Antique Chinese Niddy-Noddy. A wood skein reel, simple three-part construction, composed of a central handle with middle hand grip worn smooth squared ends with relief sectional carv...