Asian Folk Art

Rare Collection of late 19th century hand crafted wooden Indian Peasant figures We share what we love, and we love this rare collection of late 19th century hand crafted pine Ind...

A carved stone figurine from China. A cat-like small sculpture in a quaint pose, eyes wide open in a grimace recalling the figures of the gargoy...

Late 19th century wooden Indian marionette puppets We are proud to offer a wonderfully aged late 19th century hand carved pine pair of Indian marion...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Chinese export silver dressing table hand mirror; an addition to our ornamental bedroom silverware collection This exceptional antique Chinese export silver (CES) hand mirror has a circular form with a rounded handle. The reverse of this silver mirror is embellished with stunning embossed and chased stemmed chrysanthemum decoration in high relief, all on a matte background. This hand mirror retains the original circular bevelled glass. The anterior and posterior surface of the handle is ornamented with a continuation of floral and foliate ornamentation. The hallmarks struck to the surface of this impressive antique Chinese mirror...

Faberge silver and guilloché enamel frame, St. Petersburg circa 1900 by famous head workmaster Mikhail Perkhin. Stamp 88 for Russian silver, Fa...

Presented is a patriotic silk floss and metallic thread embroidered souvenir, circa 1909. The banner has a slate blue silk field, with "E Pluribus Unum" embroidered in gold thread on a bannerette above an American eagle with anchor and panoply of American flags. This embroidered banner was most likely made to celebrate in Japan, to celebrate the visiting US Navy men of the Great White Fleet...

We are proud to offer a collection of late 19th century clay over wire framed Indian souvenir figures. Hand crafted and painted detail, these figures are...

Pair of Kashmir candlesticks, circa 1900 We are proud to offer a pair of open barley twist column candlesticks/lamp bases made and hand painted in Kashmir, (in the middle of the Him...

Sultanabad is a region in NW Persia. It was the site of the principle Ziegler weaving's in the late 19th century. Sultanabad carpets are famous for their floral designs as they impro...

Sultanabad carpets are appreciated for the grand, monumental scale of their design and for the ornamental detail of the floral motifs or palmettes, which all derive from classical Pe...

Early 20th century terracotta decorative handmade Temple Hannya mask This lot is a wonderful example of a decorative Japanese early 20th century Temple ...

ELABORATE SAILOR’S SOUVENIR EMBROIDERY FROM THE ORIENT WITH A LARGE FEDERAL EAGLE, CROSSED FLAGS, CANNON AND ANCHOR, OBTAINED IN YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, DATED 1906: Between roughly 1885 and 1915, American sailors visiting the orient could obtain beautiful needlework embroideries on shore, with patriotic American themes. These extraordinary works of art were acquired as mementos of a long voyage, often with the hope that they might be presented as gifts for loved ones and friends. Using silk floss, elaborately embellished with both silver and gold metallic bullion thread, and combining various types of embroidery work and stitchery, artists working the piers in port towns would create these elaborate pictures, customizing them to the buyer's content. Executed on velvet, like this example, or sometimes on silk, the most common devices included eagles, flags, and shields, often with various maritime elements, frequently personalized with names or initials, locations, and dates. This particular example has all of the above. A spread-winged, war-like eagle is posed here upon clusters of arrows emerging from the apex of a federal shield, flanked on either side by trios of American national flags. Laurel leaves spring from the top of the shield, while a cannon barrel and an anchor extend from the base, with a stack of cannon balls to the left and a billowing streamer below. The familiar "E Pluribus Unum" motto appears on the streamer, separated by a single star. This is rather appropriate for the meaning of the phrase: "out of many, one." The initials of the sailor, "AP," appear in fanciful text at the top, in the valley between the eagle's wings. To the left and right of the flags are the date "April 24th 1906." and "Yokohama, Japan." It is of interest to note that the count of 45 stars on each flag in the foreground is correct for the period, as well as the count of 13 stars and 13 pales (vertical stripes) on the shield.* The attention to detail is relatively amazing, especially given the point of origin. It was not uncommon for American-made patriotic objects to lack such detail. Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House at the time that this textile was made. Utah became the 45th state in 1896. It had been attempting to gain statehood for many years, but remained a territory, primarily due to the fact that the Mormon Church and Utah authorities continued to be openly tolerant of polygamy. In 1890, Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff published a manifesto that denounced the contract of “any marriages forbidden by the law of the land”. This gave way to Utah’s 1896 acceptance. The 45 star flag was generally used from that year until 1907, when Oklahoma joined the Union. Due to the Spanish-American War (1898) and Roosevelt’s famous world tour of the “White Fleet” (1907-1909), this was an extremely patriotic period. When examining the level of craftsmanship, note the glass eye employed in the eagle, the fan-like sprays of feathers on the white portion of the wings, and the tassels carefully knotted from metallic bullion thread. Also note the treatment of the raised feathers on the neck, the scales on the talons, and the spiraling chain...