Green Crackled Porcelain Table Water Pipe with Metal Strapping from Vietnam

The Chinese water pipes for smoking opium or tobacco could be beautifully decorated with enamel or be coated with precious materials such as ray skin. How were they used? The heated opium was placed in the lidded well of the pipe. The smoker could inhale the fumes through this pipe. Most water pipes have a holder for storing the maintenance tools, such as a little brush, a spike and tweezers. The water pipes could easily be smoked while sitting down, unlike the regular opium pipes...

Beautiful opium box decorated with reliefs with ideograms (one of the two refers to wealth), a chrysanthemum (symbol of longevity) and foliage. This silver m...

Complete Antique Chinese Water Pipe in Paktong (=an Alloy of Zinc, Copper and Nickel). The Base is decorated with fine plates in Bamboo and Red Copper. It is also provided with Ideog...

Nineteenth century Chinese water pipe in Paktong (= an Alloy of Zinc, Copper and Nickel). The Base - elaborated in Enamel Cloisonné - is decorated with a Phoenix on an Ultramarine Bl...

The bamboo water pipe has a cylindrical shape. The upper part is half sawn open. The water reservoir is located at the bottom of the cylinder.The Ends of the Rootlets are finished wi...

Antique Chinese Water Pipe in Yellow Copper, decorated with Tortoiseshell Scales. The Rectangular Base gives this Object its Elegance. French Private Collection.

Beautiful lacquered paper mache box decorated with imaginary animals (that look like cats) and plant motifs. The box seems to take the shape of a vege...

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...

Two pairs of two halves from the same bar, finely detailed, with pointed ears and eyebrows, opaque yellow face, opaque red on the mouth, nose, eyes and ears, translucent cobalt blue edges to the mouth, nose and ears, with translucent emerald green leaves above and between the translucent cobalt blue brows and eye line, translucent pink pupils, with translucent cobalt blie and opaque white snake scales below the face, in translucent cobalt blue matrix, cut in the lower part of a cartouche design. These rare heads might represent the Agathos Daimon, the tutelary deity of Alexandria, who was also identified with Serapis, the male counterpart of Isis-Thermouthis (who in turn was a graecisized form of the early snake harvest goddess Renenutet). In a statue of Isis-Thermouthis in Alexandria museum (no. 25773, ex-collection King Farouk I), reproduced in Gotten, Pharaonen, no. 151, the snake goddess...

An old tool for making textiles in Japan. It's a very rare object. The light and shadow that pass through the even holes are very beautiful. A nice art ob...

17th century arrowheads excavated from central highlands, Vietnam. Beautiful patina on the arrowheads. Mounted $1,400 each.   8.5" H x 5.5" W x 2" D   

Beautiful head with a good base, coming from artists of vietnam with a special cultures of asian.