Palm Springs - Asian Art and Furniture

A rectangular lightweight silk textile with traditional Palembang decoration by means of plangi (rainbow tie-dye) and tritik (stitched and gathered resist) processes in one dye lot o...

Antique Chinese Honey Quartz Dragon Snuff Bottle, a flat rectangular form with rounded shoulders and footed base of a golden coloured translucent material with horizontal striations ...

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...

Japanese Abura-zara (oil plate), Seto ceramic plate used to catch oil drippings from lanterns, simple flat, round dish with slightly raised edge, one half...

Annamese Blue and White Ceramic Box, Chu Dau kiln, Vietnam, circa 1500. A ceramic covered flat top circular box with lid decoration in under glaze cobalt blue of a landscape scene co...

A pair of Chinese bedside cabinets, red lacquered soft wood, each cabinet with a set of doors  ornamented with glass and shell inlay, gilt relief carving depicting scholars above and...

Pair of Vintage Thai Bencharong Lidded Jars, 20th century. Bencharong enamel decoration with Buddhist imagery on a black background. This porcelain jar and lid form having a raised foot rim and lotus bud on a disk lid finial are richly decorated in bright polychrome enamels in the style of the royal household ceramics favored by the nobility in eighteenth century Siam. This colorful style became known as “bencharong”, a term that derives from two Sanskrit words – panch (‘five’) and rong (‘colour’) and which relates to the number of colors used to decorate such porcelain. These jars and covers are decorated with typical Thai motifs. The sides are decorated with four Thepanom (Buddhist celestial beings) each wearing a broad necklace of petals and seated on a lotus within triangular cartouches that have a coral-red ground. Four Norasingh (mythical forest-dwelling semi-deity with a human head, torso, and arms but with the hind-quarters of a lion and the tail and hoofs of a deer) against black back grounds filled with flaming purple kranok motifs. This design is framed by two floral bands top and bottom. The interior is a covered in a transparent glaze with unglazed lid edge and the gallery interior edge of the lid unglazed. Condition: Excellent Each measuring: 5 in. in diameter x 6 in. high (12.7 x 15.2cm) Each weighing: 1 lb. 5.5 oz. (610g.) 20th century. Provenance: Dr. Philip Gould, New York, NY. Millea Brothers, New Jersey For similar examples see: William Warren & Luca Invernizzi Tettoni, Arts and Crafts of Thailand, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 1994, p.33. Bonhams New York, Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art, 17 Sep. 2014, lot 180 With the following notes: Bencharong porcelains...

Small Betel Nut Box, Maranao, Southern Philippines (Mindanao). A mixed metal box having a bronze/brass body with bordered silver/copper inlay design overall of a symmetrical floral t...

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...

Japanese colors, gofun and metallics on silk painting of Noh/Kabuki Dancers, depicting two figures of actors dancing in the play Shakkyo portraying a pair of shishi (lions), one on a...

Chinese red lacquered painting table, soft wood construction with unusual detailed relief skirt carving depicting figures and flowers, three deep drawers with inset brass hardware, i...

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. Textile...

Vintage Hand Dyed Cotton Batik Slendang (Selendang), Java. A length of cotton fabric used as a shoulder cloth, hand dyed in three colors of rust brown, indigo and a dark blue painted...

UH80301 Japanese Bronze Tripod Ritual Wash Basin (Ashitsuki-darai), Muromachi Period, 16th century.   A five petal round form with undulating rolled edge and...

Thai Gilt Bronze Figure of a Seated Buddha, depicted with legs crossed in the virasana position with the right leg resting on the left leg, soles up, the hands in the earth touching ...

Thai gilded copper alloy sculpture of Phra Malai visiting the damned to hell, a standing monk image with a basket slung over his right shoulder costumed in ...

A globular stoneware body that is well potted with a cup shaped mouth supported on a narrow tall neck. The characteristic chicken head form serves as the spout. The handle is pulled ...

An elegant Chinese black glazed ceramic pottery vase with handles. We acquired this out of a nice Palm Springs estate. It has great scale at 20 inc...

Chinese ink and water colours painted on paper by the artist, Luis Chan (Chen Fushan) 1905-1995, a fantasy landscape depicting islands in a dream blue sea, o...

A pair of monumental red lacquered Chinese palace vases on stands. These are crafted out of wood and paper mache. There are many motifs around thes...

Chinese Shanxi 2 - Drawer Chest,  a sturdy and broad traditional altar coffer cabinet from Shanxi Province. Constructed of Elm (Yumu) having a frame and...

Antique Japanese Yumino Wax Bean Storage Jar, northern Kyushu, Yumino kiln. A well shaped and thickly potted stoneware jar, large well-rounded body with everted lip, lightly applied ...

Chinese pair of wood carved Fu Dogs, rendered from a single block of hardwood each, with exquisite detailing in a naive style, the dogs are opposing, crouched on their haunches, each...

Japanese Collagraph Print by Tsuguo Yanai (b. 1953, Hagi, Yamaguchi), titled “Broken Heart” in Japanese with the printing number 2/30 under the image on the left and pencil signatur...

Antique Burmese Shan Wood, Lacquer and Gold Leafed Buddha, 19th Century. The image sits on a waisted lotus base with raised lacquer  details, seated in padmasana, the lotus position ...

Two Laotian Clay Water Vessels (Nam Ton), Beaker & Kendi, 19th century. The coil built low fired clay shapes are squat globular bodies with tall handle-like necks. One is a tall beak...

Japanese Tomyodai, a temple light stand created of hand wrought iron in an upright form of a circle or "tama" ( flaming jewel of spiritual enlightenment )...

Antique Japanese Yokogi, a fish shaped fulcrum for the pot hook assembly over the hearth, a naively carved Tai (Sea Bream) with large head pierced for the hooked pole and the large tail pointed upward with a metal loop for the cord attachment, incised carving for facial details and scales, encrusted patina from use. Wood storage box made of hinoki. Excellent condition. 5-7/8 in. high x 14-3/4 in. long x 4 in. wide. Weight: 4 lbs. 4 oz. Late Edo, Circa 1800. Published in a Japanese newspaper in 1964 (article and translation available). Provenance: with Kingo Kondo, Kyoto 1964 Ken Domon...

Hand painted porcelain Japanese Imari charger scallop edge plate with figures, buildings, trees, mountains, birds and floral design.

A wonderful old painted wood Asian bell. Likely Indonesian. It is beautifully painted in vibrant colors. There are numerous repairs and quite a bit of pain...

A pair of page turners we recently acquired out of an estate. the first is a Chinese Spinach Jade beauty with a band of gold. It is presumably gold filled as it’s not marked but may ...

An exquisite example of an Asaian bronze art this bust of a woman is signed with a monogram on the back. It is mounted to a black wood base.

A pretty Asian probably Chinese early 20th century iron oxide glazed Vase. It bears a Steve Chase inventory label with a $1000.00 price tag.