South Asian More Asian Art, Objects and Furniture

Christie's: West East The Niall Hobhouse Collection, 2008, Anglo Indian Collection. A fascinating selection of exquisite treasures from both the Western and Oriental worlds reveal Ni...

Pipe from Indochina in silver and early 20th century bone with a small ceramic pot Moustier with an inscription that will leave no doubt about the destination of this utensil.

A Chinese paktong basin, engraved with scenes of many children at play and before pagodas, within borders of shou characters, bats and flowerheads, the flattened rim with vases of flowers and lingzhi, swords, lotus pods...

19th century sterling silver Malaysian Dagger. Original carved mahogany wood handle. Sterting silver carved crown. Damascene steel. The kris is an asymmetrical dagger with distincti...

Antique Very Large Pair of Japanese Bronze Vases - Exquisite Meiji Period Presentation Pieces! These magnificent Japanese bronze vases, dating back to the Meiji Period and dated 190...

Old Japanese rubber glove mold. It is made of aluminum. This item is from the early Showa period (1920s-1940s). It is very rare. The texture of used aluminum is beautiful. I...

Large antique late 18th century- early 19th century Russian icon of the Resurrection with Great Feasts. Original condition with beautiful age-old patina. The central area depicting t...

Carved Turkish Figural Meerschaum Pipe with Moorish Turkish Bearded head. Meerschaum pipe is a smoking pipe made from the mineral sepiolite, also known as meerschaum. Meerschaum , German for "sea foam" is sometimes found floating on the Black Sea and is rather suggestive of sea foam (hence the German origin of the name, as well as the French name for the same substance, écume de mer). Meerschaum, also known as curlstone, is a unique mineral mined in the Anatolian province of Eskisehir. Local artisans hand carve the stone into collectibles, most notably tobacco pipes...

It is a figurine of Japanese old iron shrimp. It is an item from the Meiji era (1860s-1920s). It is exactly Japanese craftsmanship. Every detail is elaborately made. This is a very ...

Ichimatsu Ningyo doll is a Japanese shell limestone doll from the Meiji period. The doll body as well as the head, forearms, hands, legs and feet are made...

Antique Anglo-Indian quill box handcrafted and decorated with porcupine quills and bone dots. Made in Ceylon which was the colonial name for Sri Lanka.

Nice and unusual Indian Mughal style large decorative box, filigree and carved horn. Anglo-Indian footed domed box with exceptional engraved details throughout with filigree and carved veneered bone plaques with arabesque carving. Vizagapatam, late 19th century. History of the Anglo-Indian Boxes Beginning in the early part of the 18th century, Indian artisans made what came to be known as Anglo-Indian boxes for the English residents living in India, who eventually brought or sent them back to England. At the beginning of the 19th century, India began exporting these boxes commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the 1850s. People valued them so highly that manufacturers of tins copied the designs on them in the late 19th and early 20th century. Anglo-Indian boxes fall into four groups: Rosewood or ebony boxes inlaid; sandalwood boxes veneered; sandalwood boxes covered with Sadeli mosaic; and carved boxes often combined with Sadeli mosaic/ The first two categories came from Vizagapatam in East India while the last two came from Bombay in West India. English traders discovered the rich woods and intricate workmanship of Indian artisans, so colonial government officials began to recognize the work of the Indian artists and craftsmen as a source for satisfying the need for furniture and boxes, which would both serve to enhance English households in India. This gave rise to the cabinetmaking workshops in Vizagapatam between Calcutta and Madras. Craftsmen made the first boxes to be decorated with Sadeli mosaic of rosewood or ebony, incised to give further definition to the decoration, directly inlaid into the wood. The shape of the early boxes was either sloping at the front with a flatter section at the back, reminiscent of English writing slopes, or rectangular. Artisans inlaid the borders with stylized floral scrolls and the centers with a single floral motif following a circular or oval symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern. The edging was ornamental and protective, both helped protect the end grain against the weather. Made in Vizagapatam, situated on the south east coast of India, near Madras These exotic boxes...