Unusual Chinese banded agate chopstick rest
Price: £25Beautiful long jade necklace with lapis lazuli and large carved jade pendant
Price: £950Chinese Embroidered Silk Table Screen 1960s
Price: £30Long Art Deco necklace with spinach jade 1930s
Price: £100Chinese Art Deco carved boxwood frame 1920s
Price: £50Translucent celadon jade recumbent horse
Price: £25Chinese mother of pearl inlay soapstone herb casket
Price: £30Massive lapis lazuli carved pendant necklace
Price: £125Striking Art Deco jade necklace
Price: £150Necklace with soapstone pendant and amber beads
Price: £65Set of Three Chinese Rose Medallion Plates circa 1880
Price: £75Large Chinese eglomise scent bottle 1950s
Price: £75Pair of Japanese red lacquered low stands, Taisho period
Price: £150Pair of Japanese Prints, C20th
Price: £25PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!
Pair of Japanese Imari Plates, Meiji Period circa 1880
Price: £150Set of two vintage Chinese painted eggs in glass display boxes
Price: £25Very fine pair of vintage Chinese painted eggs in a pentagonal glass case
Price: £20Lot of 2 vintage Chinese miniature cork groups
Price: £10Lot of 2 vintage Chinese miniature cork groups
Price: £25Lot of 3 vintage Chinese miniature cork groups
Price: £25Pair of Mughal style frames c. 1900
Price: £45Lacquer Box in the form of a Duck, possibly Persian C20th
Price: £35Japanese Fukagawa Imari Vase of Sake Bottle Form circa 1880
Price: £180Japanese Bamboo Carved Walking Stick, signed, circa 1900
Price: £150A Chinese Carved Wood Figure of Budai, signed, nineteenth century
Price: £75Chinese Red Lacquer Box and Cover circa 1880
Price: £75Chinese Rice Grain Plate decorated in underglaze blue, iron red and gold, circa 1900
Price: £45Chinese Famille Rose Bowl decorated with ladies, Qianlong mark, Republican period
Price: £45PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!
Small Chinese Bronze Vase of Ku Form with Elephant Head Handles, Qing Dynasty circa 1800
Price: £75Unusual Chinese Bowl decorated in the Japanese Kutani Style, early 20th Century
Price: £454 Chinese Imperial Jindezhen Porcelain Decorative Plates 1985-87
Price: £100Two Ketsuzan Kiln plates from the Poetic Visions of Japan Series, Japan 1988
Price: £40Persian Red Lacquer Box in the form of a Pumpkin, 19th century
Price: £35A Persian Gouache Painting on Silk depicting Seven Polo players seated on elephants Nineteenth Century in a modern frame
Price: £25A Japanese Kutani Bowl together with Four Japanese Kutani Coffee Cans circa 1900
Price: £45Chinese Glass Snuff Bottle with interior enamel painted decoration, signed, 20th Century
Price: £25Art Deco Burmese dragon head necklace
Price: £55Lot of 3 Chinese bangles
Price: £35Incredible long jade necklace with large carnelian pendant
Price: £135Chinese Celadon glaze Bowl of Conical Form, 20th Century
Price: £25Chinese Cloisonne Small Tray decorated with Flowers and Rocks, 19th Century
Price: £150Pair of Chinese Cantonese Famille Rose Plates decorated in a mille fleur design, 19th Century
Price: £55Outstanding strand of Chinese coral beads
Price: £150Chinese Silver Bangle with Dragon Heads, C20th
Price: £45Japanese Imari Vase of Water Dropper Form, Meiji Period, circa 1900
Price: £25Japanese Arita Jardiniere decorated with flowers and two tassels, Meiji period, circa 1900
Price: £350Chinese Cloisonné Bowl with a wavy edge, 20th Century
Price: £25Art Deco Chinese Export silver Buckle later converted to a Necklace
Price: £125Chinese cloisonne bangle with raised enamel decoration circa 1900
Price: £35Chinese Sancai Glaze Model of a Horse in the Tang Dynasty Style, 20th Century
Price: £40The Braves and the Fair Men of Letters and Women of Fame of Old China circa 1900
Price: £75Each of the ten characters are described in a double page spread, the right hand containing texts in both Chinese and English and the left hand with hand coloured illustrations on silk , delicately rendered. The book 'works' from right to left and the reverses of the pages are left blank. At each end are fabric covered boards, the front board with a pasted paper inscription in Chinese with a small red seal mark. Other examples are finished with boards in wood, but these are, perhaps, not original or a more deluxe version of the volume.
The illustrations are in excellent condition with the colours still bright. The yellow finish to the paper is original and perhaps intended to give an 'antique' effect. Each of the end boards are very slightly scuffed at the borders. The pages, including the title page and the two end papers, suffer from varying degrees of 'worm hole' perforation. There are also various tears. A selection of illustrations can be seen above and further images (and a more detailed condition report) are, of course, available on request. But these condition issues should not necessarily detract from the charm of the item which is an Englishman's attempt to capture some of the folk lore of China, a land which attracted such popular interest during the Victorian period.
Three Chinese Canton Enamel Dishes, Nineteenth Century
Price: £45Carved Chinese brown jade necklace
Price: £55Chinese Silk Embroidered Textile depicting Sages and Boys in a Garden Scene, framed, Twentieth Century
Price: £45The panel is framed by a broad band of dark beige coloured fabric with a repeating diaper design, typical of early twentieth century work. The stitching is bold rather than subtle which again conforms to the period, but the overall effect is both amusing and decorative. The European frame may well be contemporary.
Chinese Pale Celadon Jade Bangle, probably Nineteenth Century
Price: £45Jade is usually divided into two types, nephrite jade and jadeite jade. The latter is heavier and slightly harder, making it more difficult to scratch. The weight of this piece suggests that we do have jadeite here. The stone was selected for carving on the basis of its attractive appearance and the finish, which bears no trace of machine tooled manufacture, suggests a pre twentieth century dating, but certainty in these matters is notoriously difficult
The size of this piece is unusually large, suggesting that it would have been intended for a male wearer. This too suggests an earlier rather than later time of manufacture. The stone is exceptionally pleasant to the hand and would have been an elegant accompaniment to any wardrobe.
Chinese Bronze Mounted Emerald Green Jade pendant, Qing dynasty
Price: £180It has been suggested that the form of the stone indicates it was intended as a handling token, some sort of a 'pass key', but this may well be apocryphal, although it does indeed sit comfortably when gripped. But the decorative qualities of this piece are clear and the maker clearly saw that this was a stone to be exploited and displayed. A contemporary wearer now would certainly attract attention! The weight and quality of the bronze suggest a reasonably early dating, perhaps to the late eighteenth century.
Brass and Enamel Campaign Serving Set, Made in British India mark, 1920s
Price: £45Chinese Soapstone Brushwasher decorated with flowering Lotus, early 20th Century
Price: £45Scandinavian Glass Dish, probably Kosta Boda, 1970s
Price: £45Kosta Boda, previously known as Kosta Glasbruk, is a Swedish glassmaking company founded by two foreign officers in Charles XII's army, Anders Koskull and Georg Bogislaus Staël von Holstein, in 1742.It is located in Kosta, Sweden. Early production consisted of window glass, chandeliers and drinking glasses. From the 1840s, the factory was at the forefront of new trends and technical developments, producing pressed glass, and in the 1880s setting up a new glass-cutting workshop. In 1903, the company merged with the Reijmyre glassworks but both retained their own names and Kosta went on to maintain its reputation as one of the leading Swedish manufacturers with a range of fine art glass and tableware by distinguished designers such as Vicke Lindstrand, artistic director from 1950-1973.
Chinese Reverse Painted Glass Globe depicting deities and attendants, Modern
Price: £45Chinese Reverse Painted Glass Globe depicting tigers, Modern
Price: £45Constructed necklace with jade, egg yolk amber and cherry amber
Price: £250A Pair of Japanese Lacquered Porcelain Ginger Jars and Covers, late nineteenth century
Price: £250A Chinese Cloisonne Box and Cover circa 1900
Price: £75A Chinese Crackleware Famille Verte Ginger Jar decorated with Warriors circa 1880
Price: £45'Crackleware' glazed pieces, usually with 'bronzed bands, were a staple output of the Chinese potteries from the mid nineteenth century onwards and were produced in a wide variety of mainly vase shape forms, both in polychrome and blue and white and intended as decorative pieces for the Victorian rooms of the West. As with other ceramic types, the quality deteriorated and this piece is typical of late nineteenth century productions of a more modest level of craftsmanship but still retaining a naif charm. As with many ginger jars, this one lacks its original domed cover which would have been decorated to match.
Japanese Fukagawa Imari Bowl, signed, circa 1880
Price: £380The Fukagawa kilns produced the best quality Imari items made in Japan in the late nineteenth century for export to the West. Their history starts with Ezaiemon Fukagawa who in 1856 became head of his family's porcelain business and in 1875 founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) in Arita, Japan, to produce tableware for export. In 1894 the modern Fukagawa company was founded by Chuji Fukagawa, with the Fukagawa trade mark of Mount Fuji and a stream, as its trade mark. Dating here is within the Meiji period (1868 - 1912) probably around 1880. This conforms with the script mark used as opposed to the later symbol design.
Chinese Verre Églomisé Snuff Bottle with landscape scenes, fitted box, C20th
Price: £35Chinese Soapstone Brush Washer with flowering lotus, early C20th
Price: £75A Chinese soapstone brush washer unusually modelled as a rounded triangular shallow basin in the form of a lotus leaf, footed and with a sprig of flowering lotus growing upwards from it with a vase behind in the form of lotus leaves. The skill of the carver is self evident and the design has been very carefully conceived, artistically employing the varied detail of the natural stone from which the piece was made. Soapstone was first used by the Chinese over three thousand years ago but began its popularity in the Ming dynasty (1368 -1644) with the height of production during the ensuing Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911) when a stone mined in the Shoushan village in northern Fujian was most commonly used. Shoushan soapstone is noted for its smooth texture, bright colours and fine grain and a wide variety of objects were carved from it. This piece is an excellent example of the genre and has survived in pristine condition to become a scholar’s object from the past which can be enjoyed and appreciated today. Production of soapstone carvings continued into the twentieth century and this is probably what we have here but almost certainly from the early years of the period.
Japanese Gouache Painting of Flowering Lotus, signed and framed, C20th
Price: £45Chinese Bone Netsuke carving of a Sage, early C20th
Price: £45Pair of Japanese Blue and White Seto Ware Vases, early C20th
Price: £220The finely drawn brushwork here and the distinctive bright blue are characteristics of pieces made at Seto in Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The city of Seto is located in the Aichi Prefecture and was the location of one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan. Pottery was produced there from the 13th century onwards. The kilns took part in the export of decorative wares to the West from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards producing a wide variety of forms, in particular pairs of vases, but with a speciality in flat plaques and table tops, for which they gained something of a monopoly. Their pieces are usually marked, to include the characters for Seto, and this pair of vases may have originally been signed themselves but with the marks partially obliterated in the firing process. The quality here matches anything else produced by the factories but the light weight and thinly potted body suggests a dating to the early 20th century rather than before, probably during the Taisho period (1912-1926). Nevertheless the skill in craftsmanship is obvious and contributes to a highly attractive pair of ornaments for a contemporary interior.
Pair of Chinese Paintings on Silk, framed, 1960s
Price: £45Japanese Blue and White Porcelain Bowl decorated with hydrangea, early C20th
Price: £25Hydrangeas flourish in Japan and also carry a hidden meaning of apology and gratitude based on a mythical story of an Emperor, who angered a woman he loved by neglecting her, and gave her in recompense a bunch of blue hydrangeas as a symbol of his deep emotion and gratitude. Used here as a decorative motif, the painting of the flowers is skilful and elegantly combined with the plainer exterior. The paste of the foot rim suggests an early C20th dating, perhaps to the late Taisho era (1912-1926).
Japanese Noh Figure Doll of a Lady, Showa Period (1926-1989)
Price: £55Dolls such as these were made for display, sometimes at the special ‘Doll’s Day’ or ‘Girls Day’ festival held annually on the third of March and termed ‘Hinamatsuri’. The elaborate dress is sometimes known as ‘Hagoromo’ (‘feathered’) and the mask with its fixed expression derives from the well known ‘Noh theatre’, a major form of Japanese musical drama created in the fourteenth century which combines dance, music and song and is still performed today. The actors are all male and play the female roles wearing a lady’s mask.
The craftsmanship of this piece is self evident and it was most likely made in the second half of the C20th. It can stand equally well on its own or as part of a wider collection and would be a desirable acquisition either way.
Japanese Kutani Dish decorated with the Thousand Faces pattern, first half C20th
Price: £25The colourings and style of work here clearly indicate the workshops of Kutani (the word means 'nine valleys') in the former Kaga province of Japan. By the nineteenth century the majority of their pieces were decorated in iron red and gold but sometimes with other colours in addition, as here. The ‘thousand faces’ pattern (an apocryphal term and this cataloguer has not attempted to count the number of faces appearing here) seems to have been evolved around the end of the nineteenth century and then continued in production until the mid twentieth. Both plates in various sizes and even tea sets are found in the design. The mark ‘Made in Japan’ was usually employed after 1941 (in the previous twenty years ‘Japan’ was the norm) but there are exceptions and the paste of the foot rim here does suggest a slightly earlier date, perhaps around 1930. In perfect condition, with very little wear to the decoration, this piece is a fine example of a rather eccentric decorative patttern.
Chinese Fan, painting on silk, 1960s
Price: £15Two Chinese Fans, painting on silk, 1960s
Price: £15Chinese Bone Netsuke carving of a man holding a musical instrument, early C20th
Price: £25Small Chinese Ginger Jar decorated in Famille Rose enamels, second half C20th
Price: £25The stamped mark to the base reads ‘Zhongguo Jingdezhen Zhi (China Jingdezhen Made)’ with the letter ‘V’ between two lines. In the early 1950s almost all the factories in Jiangxi, the province where the kiln town Jingdezhen is situated, were merged into larger units, each made up of ten to fifteen previously independent factories. From this time factory numbers such as we have here (=V=) came to be used and many pieces are found with a wide variety of letters and numbers indicating the various cooperatives. The quality of the productions varied and it is a reasonable assumption that increasing years witnessed a decline. While other examples of this type of jar exist, some with their original domed covers, this piece is of the very best quality, indeed the work matches earlier pieces in the style very closely, and a dating to the mid 1950s seems quite plausible. It shows that the Chinese potters continued to produce to a high standard when they chose to do so and provides a pleasing memento of the closing era of a tradition of porcelain production stretching back long into the past.
Chinese Mandarin Pattern Saucer circa 1780
Price: £30This is a typical example of the ‘Mandarin’ pattern produced by the Chinese in the late eighteenth century for export to the West where it enjoyed great popularity. The name derives from the male court figures, mandarins, who form such an important component of the designs. The scenes are carefully composed with much charm and rendered in a wide variety of coloured enamels with much emphasis on deep pink (‘Famille Rose’) and iron red. A wide variety of wares were produced in the pattern including vases, bowls, dinner services and tea sets, as here, where there would have been a set of bowls and saucers along with matching serving items. The charm and quality of this piece speaks for itself and presents an excellent and collectible example of this opulent pattern from the eighteenth century.
Japanese Arita Blue and White Bowl, first half C20th
Price: £25This ‘swirling’ pattern is sometimes found on late nineteenth century polychrome plaques. Dating here is probably later, perhaps to around 1920, in the middle of the Taisho period (1912 – 1926), but care has been taken with this piece and the mark, which unfortunately cannot be deciphered, no doubt denotes the studio which created it.
Japanese Arita Dish circa 1880
Price: £45The town of Arita in the former Hizen Province, northwestern Kyūshū island was a major cente for the production of porcelains in Japan. Best known for blue and white pieces it also produced polychrome wares as well, including the familiar imari colourings. While similar to Imari, the wider palette of colours used here is usually termed ‘Arita’ and the decorative appeal of the style is clear. This plate probably comes from an original set of five and its quality is much above average. Dating is to the Meiji era (1868 - 1912) probably around 1880.
Two jade carvings mounted as a necklace
Price: £125Very finely carved soapstone pendant necklace
Price: £175A Chinese Imperial Jingdezhen Porcelain Decorative Plate, dated 1985
Price: £25PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!
Japanese Arita Bowl decorated with panels of flowers and interior Scenes, circa 1820
Price: £45The rather more elaborate style of decoration here and the addition of enamel colours to the standard imari palette of underglaze blue, iron red and gold resembles 'kenjo imari' pieces produced in Japan in the eighteenth century and in the early nineteenth century, a specific type of Imari that was highly decorated and meant for domestic consumption, Kenjo, meaning 'for presentation'. The paste of the foot, harder and smoother than that used in the later nineteenth century, suggests a dating here to around 1820 before trade with the West was temporarily paused. The form suggests a cup for Sake and this piece was probably one of an original set of five, but it stands on its own as a decorative item in miniature.
Japanese Satsuma style Censer, 1930s
Price: £15PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!
A Japanese Hichozan Shinpo Brush washer circa 1880
Price: £10PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS FREE UK SHIPPING ON THIS ITEM. For international buyers the shipping cost will be reduced by the UK shipping cost, so don't worry if you are outside the UK, you still receive this benefit!
Nesting Set of Four Small Brass Trays with an engraved designs of Bats, Chinese C20th
Price: £30Brown Alabaster Egg painted with a bird and flowers, fitted wood stand, Chinese C20th
Price: £25Japanese Kutani Shell Shape Dish, circa 1880
Price: £45Kutani (the word means 'nine valleys') porcelain was made at various factories in the former Kaga province of Japan. The earliest pieces were in a completely different style employing a palette of colours emphasising green, the so called 'Ko Kutani'. Production of this ceased around 1730, and manufacturing was not revived until the early nineteenth century when the more familiar colourings of iron red and gold were introduced. Many pieces were exported to the West in a variety of forms including vases and wall plates. This shell dish is more unusual; the shape is more normally found in Chinese ceramics. Perhaps one of an original pair, this dish, like its Chinese counterparts, was probably intended as a serving dish and could even be used as such today although it can well stand as a decorative item.
Floating Flower jade pendant on bead necklace
Price: £175A very finely carved white pendent on traditional silk cord, Modern
Price: £25Japanese Kutani Vase of Water Dropper form, circa 1880
Price: £35Kutani (the word means 'nine valleys') porcelain was made at various factories in the former Kaga province of Japan. The earliest pieces were in a completely different style employing a palette of colours emphasising green, the so called 'Ko Kutani'. Production of this ceased around 1730, and manufacturing was not revived until the early nineteenth century when the more familiar colourings of iron red and gold were introduced. This small vase is typical of pieces exported to the West in fairly large quantities at the end of the nineteenth century. The form suggests a water dropper and is found in Imari colourings as well. Many of the Kutani pieces were marked, sometimes simply 'Ku' 'Tani' as here. The glaze was sometimes unstable with a tendency to craze as can be seen here, but this is original to the manufacture and does not detract from the piece's decorative appeal.