Folk Art

Rare small musk Ox figure/carving. Hand worked Norwegian Pine wood and leather. Burnished makers marks to bottom. Arne Tjomsland was Norways leading souvenir designer in the 1950s...

Three Tutsi gourd storage vessels ( liquids wine ) in good original condition with beautifully aged old surface color. Mid 20th century. Burundi Africa. Measurements - gourd w/ wov...

Poto African sword, Congo Africa on stand. A forged iron sword with fine incised design, inlaid brass dots, overlaid brass strips, finely carved wood ha...

Vintage Moroccan Tribal rug handwoven by Berber women from Morocco. Great geometrical abstract designs, very modernist carpet. Vintage Berber rug from the Taznakht tribe in south eas...

Antique, 19th century Asian Middle Eastern collector two person wooden camel saddle with ornate brass mountings and iron reinforcements. 19th Century Midd...

Early 20th century Ceremonial Cloth / Tampan, Paminggir, Lampung region, South Sumatra, Indonesia Commonly referred to as ship cloths, these ceremonial tampan would have been used as gifts, wrappers, cushions or pillows in any number of life-transition ceremonies, including children’s first hair cutting...

A 19th century boomerang from Australia. Good patina and presented on a stand.

Old Jar-shaped rice storage basket (Ulbung), Philippines, early to mid-20th Century This basket comes from Ifugao, Philippines. Made by hand from bamboo ...

A big hand carved painted stag sculpture in wood, early 18th century. Pre-owned by a collector. This sculpture are one of a kind. The stag deer are a symbol of spiritual authority, a deer stag is here depicted in all its magnificent elegance. Wooden sculpture of a life-size deer stag laying upon a rectangular platform base. The symbol of the stag: The deer’s antlers are one of the characteristics that have made it the figure of a spiritual superiority, according to some. Like a crown, the antlers grow beyond its body, bringing it closer to the sky and making it sacred. In many cultures, the deer is a symbol of spiritual authority. During a deer’s life the antlers fall off and grow again and the animal is also a symbol of reGeneration. In the Christian imagination, the deer is a symbol of piety, devotion and of God taking care of his children: men. The legend of Saint Eustace...

Early antique hand carved Toma or Landai mask from Guinea, Africa. “These brooding, often quite large, masks represent a forest spirit, Landai. Masks lik...

Perfectly accurate plaster cast reproduction of perhaps the most recognizable Songye Kifwebe mask. A Pennsylvania University Museum cast of their famous mask.

Bath cabinet makers. In the Liberty style. An early Arts & Crafts oak break front sideboard with Dutch inlaid scenes of mill owners with there little bla...

Mid-century Kuna native Mola cotton applique tapestry depicting angels, one holding a chalice. Mola, a Kuna word, has several meanings: fabric or cloth, shirt or upper garment for me...

From an important thirty year old New England collection of hand decorated pyrographic Arts & Crafts chairs This is a beautiful pair of 19th century chairs hand decorated in a lov...

Early Yoruba offering bowl in the from of a male figure with a beard riding on horse back surrounded by four small attendants, finely carved with nice patina from native use. Probabl...

American Folk Art Pyrography At Its Finest This is an original and beautiful 23 inch by 19.25 inch hand-painted and hand incised work of art on board of ...

Tapa cloth made from mulberry fiber with natural pigments, Fiji, mid-20th century.

A wonderful small early 20th century Ashanti tribal stool, headrest. Carved from a single piece of wood. Well worn and genuine tribal stool or headrest.

A rather unusual Berber rug from the Ait Sgogou tribe, located in the Moroccan Middle Atlas, distinguished by a rich red open field embellished at both ends by contorting horizontal ...

Beautifully crafted Kuna tribe Mola cotton tapestry with tropical toucan bird family motif. Mounted on cardboard, as found, for framing. Traditionally made by the natives of Panama, ...

Female Senufo carved wood maternity figure seated on stool with baby in lap reaching up to feed. Represents the Mother feeding the community. Figure ...

Formed by pounding flattened clay around a convex mold, this oblong footed vessel is a water storage jar known as a jidaga, created by women of the Bambara people of Mali. The body o...

This rare 18th-century Ngelima bronze currency manilla is a stunning artifact, weighing an impressive 20 pounds of solid bronze. Adorned with intricate incised line drawings at its e...

rare square shaped tribal Persian Gabbeh rug from the 2nd quarter of the 20th century. The signature reads "order by reza" and dated 1940 in farsi. It must have been custom made duri...

This stool, from the Gurage culture of Ethiopia, has been carved from a single piece of heavy, dense wood. The stool exhibits a flat, low form and over time, has developed a lovely d...

The distinctive sculptural form of this large Tutsi fibre basket from Rwanda - woven with the same double-layer 'igihisi' structure used to create Tutsi wall screens - is an expressi...

Rare to find raincoat made of braided palm leaves. Of pre-Hispanic origin, it is a woven garment that protects against the rain. Also known as Capisayo in or Capote in other parts of...

Late 19th-early 20th century iron currency, kurr, Sara-Madjingaye peoples, Southern Chad. These rare currencies have a wonderfully minimalist anthropomorphic form, but were inspired...

This amazing nineteenth-century Ethiopian bed, personally collected in Ethiopia in the 1990's, formally belonged to the collection of Tekalegn Besapa, in Addis Ababa. This type of be...

Yao Shaman's Mask Guizhou Province, China Early 20th Century Wood,horse hair, printed paper, nails Size: 13 1/2" x 8" (34 x 20 cm) On a custom made metal stand. Covered inside and o...

African Mask with Spears 90s. It is a rare set. Carved from one piece. Spears are ultra light - height 152 cm.

WOMAN’S WRAPPER (BOGOLANFINI) Mali, Bamana people First half 20th century (probably made circa 1970) Cotton (hand-spun), strip weave; painting with mud and plant dyes These textil...

Akan Ashanti cast bronze figurine. The Ashanti or Asante People from Ghana have a rich tradition of crafting bronze pieces to commemorate important figures from their culture or peop...

This is a vintage display mask. An African, carved ironwood ceremonial tribal mask, dating to the late 20th century. Fascinating ridged carvings accentuate this distinctive mask Di...

Ancestral Senufo cast bronze face mask (Kpelie) from Côte d'Ivoire West Africa. Made using the lost wax technique. Traditionally, the 'Kpelie' is an ancestral mask worn during funeral rites, initiation ceremonies, weddings and births. The function of the mask is determined by the crest at the top of it's head and the subtle scarification markings it carries. The female mask will normally have a plug on it's mouth with the male masks having an open mouth and longer protruding jaw. It is believed that the mask itself embodies the spirit of the dead, hence the name 'Dead Face' The delicate attributes of this mask is a fine example of the excellent artistry of the Senufos. This is a male Senufo Mask...

An Indonesian low stool or seat, hand-carved from a single piece of dense and heavy mango wood, circa 1930. Dayak Benuaq tribe, Southeast Sulawesi. Presents age patina throughout. ...

This early 20th-century Yoruba Ọ̀sanyìn staff, meticulously crafted from wrought iron, features a prominent central bird surrounded by several stylized avian figures, symbolizing spi...

Mid-20th century tribal beaded cache-sexe modesty apron (pikuran), Mandara Mountains, Cameroon These colorful cache-sexe were worn for celebrations, rit...

A good example of an African Ashanti tribal headrest. Ghana. Early to mid-twentieth century.

Insika (Screen or Wall Panel) Rwanda-Burundi, Tutsi people Circa 1900 or earlier Natural fibers and dyes H 23 ins (58.5 cm) W 16 ins (40.5 cm) Depth 3 1/2 ins (9 cm) This superb ...

Offered by Zena Kruzick Large Mali terracotta tribal bead necklace by Claire Ginioux, Paris, France. Mali terracotta beads from the 19th centu...

A very rare and stunning Arts & Crafts studio pottery vase of twisted floral shape made in London by Horace Elliott (British, 1851-1938) dating from the...

20th century Mola quilt, Kuna People, San Blas Islands, Panama This large quilt is composed of thirty-six molas, including some depicting various animals and sea creatures, Jesus Ch...

Congolese Textile Tetela DR Congo 19th century Measures: 68 x 41 inches (172 x 104 cm) Provenance: Ambre-Congo gallery, Brussels $5,000. A very rare ...

Sweet worn, polished and smoothed Kuba ceremonial serving platter with handle and incised Classic royal Kuba knot pattern on one side. Cra...

A Benin bronze of an Oba. Oba means ruler in the Yoruba language. Wearing a lattice-pattern cap with strands of beads suspended around the head. The neck is bound with a lattice-patt...

Intriguing cast bronze relief plaque from Benin, showing three guardians. The plaque was modeled after ancient Benin bronzes but was made in the 20th century. The plaque is cast in b...

Small carved darkened wood bird faced mask with long nose/beak. Smaller squatting figure with curled arms carved on forehead. From Sepik River Area of Papua New Guinea. Signs of ...

Large sized Dan Mask ('Deangle', 'Dan Gle') from Côte d’Ivoire W.Affrica, circa early 20th century. To the Dan people, the 'Deangle' embodies the spirit of an individual ancestor d...

An exuberant early 20th century Turkish runner. Bright reds, orange, green and blue. Measures: 3' x 10'11''.

The source of carpet comes from the book Arts & Crafts Carpets, by Malcolm Haslam, and David Black, 1991, fig.49. This Hammersmith carpet was designed by William Morris in 1882, in the United Kingdom. In 1887 English artist and bookbinder T.J. Cobden Sanderson, suggested that a new group be named the “Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society” As a result, he was the first to use the term “Art and Crafts” and also is credited with naming this new emerging movement. The Arts & Crafts movement was inspired by the degradation of product standards that resulted from the factory production age. The rise of machinery in manufacturing caused a noticeable decline in uniqueness and crafts. These anti-Industrial reformers promoted economic advancement and social change. They wanted to eliminate poor quality and “artificial” items from 19th century British society. They saw a plethora of uninteresting items on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and became inspired to launch a Campaign for originality and uniqueness. William Morris was an English designer, as well as an uplifting social activist and writer. Morris is credited with sparking the rebirth of textile arts and traditional means of production. In 1861, Morris and a small group of designers opened an incredibly fashionable design company that grew to be largely successful. Morris left behind works in many different mediums such as textiles, books, furniture, stained glass, and area rugs. But in the end, he is most remembered for the magnificent wallpapers that he designed. He got much of his inspiration from the natural world. Through his interior decor pieces, Morris set out to convert rooms or spaces into meadows with beautiful trees meandering, vines, and plants. This concept of taking something Industrial and man-made, and converting it into something natural is what William Morris meant when he once said: “-any decoration is futile… when it does not remind you of something beyond itself.” Morris was a huge commercial success and his works are some of the most sought-after pieces in the world of design and decor. He is also credited with almost single-handedly reviving the British textile arts as well as their methods of production. Morris was also severely critical of machine-made goods, exclaiming, “Today almost all wares that are made by civilized man are shabbily and pretentiously ugly.” Houses were filled “with tons and tons of unutterable rubbish,” which, he suggested, should be heaped onto a gigantic bonfire! “As a condition of life, production by machinery is altogether evil.” He masterminded one of the most well-known styles of Arts & Crafts, recognizable by its twisting and arching patterns and simple, elegant floral design prints. Although Morris believed that Persian carpets were the greatest ever made, he adopted the coarser Turkish (Ghiordes) knot for his hand knotted carpet manufacture. They were woven at a thickness of 25 knots to the square inch at that time. Morris & Co.’s rugs are reminiscent of Persian garden design carpets in that they are smartly styled depictions of English gardens. Donegal also started producing highly desirable Irish rugs in the late 19th century. The Donegal rugs were predominantly created by English architects C.F.A. Voysey and Gavin Morton. The handcrafted Voysey rugs are typically woven in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Voysey had a knack for using contrasting shapes to decorate flat monochromatic spaces. Dark outlines added a flair of drama to his signature pattern and Celtic rug...

Baule Standing Female Figure with finely carved raised scarifications, hands on side of stomach with long figures. From Ivory Coast, Africa It is in good condition with wear, polis...

This is a pair of vintage African spear currencies from the Mbole peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo which are nicely presented upon custom m...

Zulu Tribal carved wood Snuff Container, South Africa A finely carved snuff container with finely carved incised great geometric designs, a great example of the detailed work the Zu...

A wonderful example of a Tibetan Coral Bead mala / neckpiece with a stunning mix of orange & red colours that have aged beautifully over the decades. Tib...

Carved wood dance mask from China with open expression, attached moustache and beard, large ears. Traces of many layers of paint, including red, blue, black and white pigments. Ex- ...

Mid-20th Century Dance Skirt Panel, Kuba, D.R.Congo A wonderful, almost op-art Kuba dance skirt panel with an appliqued design of four squared spirals. Th...

Mid-20th Century Globular Vessel, Mangbetu People, D. R. Congo An unusually large and striking non-figurative vessel from the Mangbetu people, comprised of six lobes joined to a c...