Far Eastern Works of Art
Charming Novelty handbag, Thailand 1950s
Price: £45
This is a very unusual and large bag constructed in the shape of a house with a central courtyard or balcony and windows which actually open. It is made of raffia and is embroidered with floral motifs. This would most likely have been a souvenir made for tourists. It has a double closure and appears to have been hardly used with a handle that seems sturdy.
Egyptian Silver Pill Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay, marked, second half C20th
Price: £45
An oval silver box and cover, the lid with an inlaid mother of pearl design comprising geometric shapes which combine to produce a 3D ‘trompe l’oeil’ effect of solid shapes within a rope twist border, the exterior of the lid with a small stamped mark and the interior of the box with three small stamped marks. The markings here, which can be seen on other examples indicate that we have Egyptian work and there are a fair number of similar silver boxes but more commonly in a round shape. They are usually dated to the mid twentieth century. The quality of the craftsmanship is obvious and the form and decoration make this a highly desirable collector’s item.
Burmese doll figure of a Priest, C20th
Price: £45
This is a very curious piece indeed. The figure represented by the doll is clearly a man from the depiction of the face with its broad moustache; his hair is swept back and the forehead painted with three red lines which most likely have a ritual or religious significance suggesting that we have a priestly figure here. His torso and arms are closely bound in gold and blue fabric strips and below is a billowing pink robe with gilt thread decoration, now somewhat worn, but the truncated profile is strange. If there is a religious element perhaps the doll had some ritual function; it certainly has the appearance of one. The treatment of the face suggests Burma and there is clearly some age here, perhaps a dating to the mid or even early twentieth century but there do not seem to be any close parallels. One for a specialist collector perhaps and certainly someone with more knowledge than the puzzled cataloguer!
Korean Najeonchilgi lacquerware jewellery Box, C20th
Price: £25
This is an example of Korean lacquerware known as ‘Najeonchilgi’. The technique, derived from both China and Japan, involves the inlay of shellfish derived small pieces onto a lacquerware base. ‘Najeon’ means ‘mother of pearl’ and ‘chilgi’ lacquerware. These wares were produced quite early on in Korea’s history with a ‘golden era’ during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) but continued to be made until quite recent times. This box, then, made in the late C20th, comes at the end of a long run of a traditional manufacturing process but retains some of the hallmarks of its predecessors. The shape is rectangular with a bowed front, the hinges and clasp fastening in polished metal and the interior lined in red fabric with a mirror fitted to the underside of the lid. The highly polished black lacquer surface is inlaid with mother of pearl decoration, flowers to the front and a moonlit scene of storks to the lid, symbolising long life. Highly decorative in itself, this box is also extremely practical as storage item for a small jewellery collection and would be an elegant addition to the dressing table.
Silver plate Perfume Bottle with attached Stopper and Chain, Burmese late C19th
Price: £45
This is a large repousse decorated scent bottle cast from silver plated white metal and depicting two confronting Burmese lions between the sacred pearl on the face with a key pattern border and stylised scrolling foliage to the sides, the neck with rope work and the stopper attached by chain which comes out to reveal the scent wand. The style of representation of the lions suggests the country of origin and the piece probably dates to the late nineteenth century. It is fitted to a very long necklace chain, probably later, creating a very wearable piece of fashion history which is both practical and decorative.
Balinese Silver Bangle with Elephant Heads, 1980s
Price: £45
Balinese Silver Bangle with a typical rope twist design terminating in two elephant heads with raised trunks. One terminal with a small circular pad marked 925 (the nine is very feint and can only be seen with a loop). Style and form of decoration suggest a circa date in the 1980s.
Silver Butterfly form Pendant set with Abalone, Bali, C20th
Price: £95
A Balinese Art Nouveau style silver plaque Pendant in the form of a butterfly, the wings with beaded and ‘micro dot' decoration and set with four abalone panels. The plaque dates to the late C20th, probably 1970s/1980s and has been fitted with a complementary modern English silver belcher chain.
Art Deco Burmese dragon head Necklace, 1920s
Price: £75
This is a stunning and large necklace comprising a bold dragon head pendant formed from moulded brass with filigree work mounted with enamel to simulate stones. It comes attached to the original brass link necklace. This is a real show stopper!
An Octagonal Brass Tray with a roundel of an elephant, probably Persian early C20th
Price: £85
An octagonal Brass Tray with a short squared rim and a wide central well decorated with panels of sylised floral designs in various shapes all interlinked by narrow bands in milled edge decoration, the well with repeating geometric pattern borders and the centre with a raised design of a well modelled elephant standing amidst palm trees. The reverse plain and unpolished. The techniques employed here include repoussé and chased work, but with the addition of niello work where a black metallic alloy is employed as a background to other metal working techniques. Some of the elements of the design, particularly the borders and the central roundel of an elephant can look Indian but the floral work and use of colour is much more typical of Persian decoration and this is most likely what we have here, probably an early twentieth century creation intended as a tourist souvenir. Doubtless designed as a serving tray, this piece functions well as a decorative object for the wall which is why it was later given a soldered hanging fixture.
Indian wooden toy model of a Horse with metal fitments, early C20th
Price: £25
This is an amusing wood model of a horse, its right leg raised and the head looking expectantly forwards, the finely grained wood with metal fitments in brass and copper representing the ears, muzzle, saddle, saddle bags and tail, all with fine detailing and small nail fastenings. Many examples exist of these wood and metal horse figures which are usually held to have been made in India at Jodphur, Rajastan, in the early C20th. Presumably more intended for the local colonial audience these pieces have an obvious and wider appeal. The smaller sizes were probably intended as toys and perhaps the original owner of this piece played with it a little too vigorously which might explain the damage to the right front leg!
Fine quality pair of Brass Cobra Candlesticks, Indian first half C20th
Price: £150
A pair of brass candlesticks cast as two Cobra snakes with twisting tails acting as the feet with the bodies rising up erect from them, the stylised heads supporting the candle sconces and serrated edge drip pans. There are many examples of Indian made candlesticks cast in a similar form where the brass metal is combined with enamel decoration. This pair, lacking even incised detail to the metal surface as can occur, are much more unusual and striking in their simplicity. The brass itself is high quality and the pieces have a good weight. It is as if the Indian workmen have tried to adapt themselves to the angular simplicity of the Art Deco style. Unlike their more heavily decorated contemporaries, this pair of snakes would not have looked out of place in an Art Deco themed European interior. Dating is therefore quite reasonably to the 1920s or 1930s. Arresting in their time, these two Cobra snakes would deservedly attract attention today.
Four Papier-mâché Trinket Boxes, Kashmir, mid C20th
Price: £35
Four papier-mâché boxes, one circular and three of rounded rectangular form, all decorated in typical colourful floral designs, the circular example resembling quite closely the Chinese ‘mille-fleur’ pattern, the bases and the interior in black lacquer. The well known papier-mâché technique, in which items are formed from pulped paper dried to form a hard surface, is nearly ubiquitous, but Kashmir in India was a famed centre for the technique usually held to have commenced in production there in the 15th century when King Zain-ul-Abidin invited papier-mâché artists from Central Asia to practice their craft in his kingdom. These examples are much later, of course, and were probably made some time in the twentieth century, perhaps towards the middle, when the Kashmiri craftsmen were exporting their wares expansively. Their decorative appeal is obvious but, as storage items for trinkets they can perform a practical function as well.
Vintage Lacquer Box with an inset ceramic Shard, probably Persian C20th
Price: £25
A lacquer box of rounded square form with a concave, pillow form cover inset with a blue and white ceramic shard. The box is decorated with stylised scrolling foliage on a dark red ground and the ceramic fragment with a design of lotus flowers and clouds. The box was clearly designed to fit the shape of the shard which presumably derives from a vase of some form. Similar boxes are usually described as Chinese with inserts that are obviously Chinese as well, but the lacquer work on these looks more to be Persian and here, the ceramic fragment definitely has a Persian rather than Chinese style of decoration, suggesting that in this case, at least, both the box and its insert are, in fact, Persian. This was an ingenious way of recycling broken pieces of porcelain and these boxes seem to have been made as tourist souvenirs. Despite the aged appearance, dating is probably to the early to mid twentieth century.
Persian Marquetry Khatam Kari Desk Set, second half C20th
Price: £55
This marquetry desk set is a typical example of a range of similar pieces made by Persian Craftsmen in the second half of the twentieth century. The low rectangular wood base has curved corners and a bowed front in which is set a drawer. The centre has a slightly raised panel with two removable brass loop handles. To the rear of this are two pen holders and behind two upright panels forming a letter rack. Even the pens, which can be fitted with removable biro refills, have marquetry decoration, which is unusual. The base is plain with four short feet.
The intricate marquetry decoration used here, with its repeating star form pattern, is called ‘Khatam’ work. Khatam is the capital of Khatam County in Iran and is the centre for craftsmen working in this technique. Khatam is a Persian version of marquetry in which the surface of wooden articles is decorated with small pieces of wood, bone and metal formed into precisely-cut geometric shapes. The process is time consuming involving the cutting of the shapes and gluing them in place, followed by smoothing, oiling and polishing. In Persian, the work is known as ‘Khatam kari’, ‘the art of crafting Khatam ware’.
These desk sets occur in a wide variety of forms. The drawer is less commonly found and decorated pen holders are, as said above, most unusual. These sets seem to have been made from the 1950s onwards. The use of a ‘biro’ pen indicates a dating from the 1960s onwards and perhaps this example is a bit later than that, but the workmanship speaks for itself and the piece has survived in excellent condition with minimal damage, providing a truly elegant ‘desk tidy’ for the contemporary study!
Indian Brass and Copper Inkwell, C20th
Price: £55
This is a finely worked inkwell in brass and copper, the square lobed edge base with shallow walls and a lidded pot attached to the centre, also in brass but with a copper body. Both elements have precisely cast stylised floral decoration with elaborately curved tendrils which shows strong Persian or Islamic influence, but the work is most likely Indian and probably the product of the workshops in Kashmir. Dating is most likely to the early twentieth century and this piece probably formed part of a desk set with a pair of candlesticks in addition, made either for local market, perhaps to be bought by colonial settlers, or for export.
Fine Quality Persian Silver and Brass Hammam Bowl, C20th
Price: £110
This is a very finely worked small bowl, the gently curved sides with a lipped rim, made from silver with brass inlay to the exterior. The decoration inside and out is mainly quite distinct demanding great skill from the silversmith who had to hammer punch the designs on both sides without damaging the body of the piece in any way. The exterior has a continuous series of panels in rounded and geometric shapes all intricately decorated with either Moorish style stylised floral designs or diaper work between two diaper filled line borders and at the base is star like emblem with arabesque designs. The star emblem is repeated in the centre of the interior and surrounded by six lobed emblems, again with arabesque designs, between six pendants with drops in the form of endless knots suspended from hexagonal diaper filled panels. The lipped rim was deliberately left plain. That this was a luxury item at the time of its production is quite clear. The form is said to be that of a ‘Hammam’ bowl, used by bathers to sprinkle water over themselves while visiting the Hammam (commonly termed by Westerners the ‘Turkish Bath’), a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. Unlike the practice in baths of the Classical world, bathers at the Hammam usually wash themselves with running water instead of immersing themselves, since this is a requirement of Islam. The ‘Hammam’ bowl was designed as an accessory in the process. Dating is slightly speculative, but these finely worked bowls, though not often as finely worked as this example, are usually ascribed to the early years of the twentieth century. Given the theme of this sale, this bowl could be regarded as a useful companion when the scholar seeks relaxation at the end of a long day’s study!
Burmese Lacquer Three Section Betel Box, early C20th
Price: £95
This is a typical example of the so called ‘betel box’ which was a feature of so many of the homes in Burmah in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The betel nut, in fact a form of berry, comes from the Areca palm and, wrapped in betel leaves, often with added ingredients, is chewed as a stimulant, although both addictive and with potentially adverse side effects it is not necessarily conducive to good health. ‘Betel boxes’ were used to store the ingredients for making a betel ‘quid’, the leaves being stored in the lower compartment and the upper compartment filled with small tins, often made of silver in the wealthier homes, containing various other ingredients such as the betel ‘nuts’ themselves, slaked lime, anise seed and a varying range of other spices (see image 16). A guest would be offered the host’s box to sample along with tea and cheroot.
The betel box seems to be mainly confined to Burmah, now Myanmar, and was normally made using the lacquer techniques for which the country was so well known. A woven bamboo, or sometimes cane or wood, base (which can be seen here where the lacquer has flaked away : see image 12) was covered in multiple layers of lacquer paste, each allowed to dry and then polished, and finally the piece was decorated. The format here is typical : an upper section with a tray on top covered by a lid which fits on to a lower section also with a tray on the top. The trays are coloured red on the inside and black on the outside, the lid and the boxes orange on the inside. The exterior decoration of the two section body and the base of the lid employs a wide mixture of narrow bands, some indented and some raised, with a broader band of repeated stylised floral decoration at the top and another with modelled vertical line decoration below. The base is slightly flared and the lid slightly very slightly domed. The top of the lid has a densely packed design comprising temples and dancing figures and the base a design of circles and waves. As with many of these boxes great care was taken in the ornamentation and this example was, perhaps, made for one of the wealthier households.
Dating of these boxes is put in the early years of the twentieth century and they survive as a memento of a tradition which is still practised, but with less elaborate accessories, in the present day.
Silver metal Perfume Bottle Necklace, probably Indian early C20th
Price: £55
A silver metal perfume bottle and attached stopper, the body spherical with a short cylindrical neck, the whole elaborately cast with bead work below and repeating fleur de lis above underneath repeating raised bosses, the neck with rope twist work and the stopper with beading. The stopper is attached by a short chain and the bottle itself has two lugs which attach it to the necklace chain. Many of the motifs here suggest Indian work, probably from the 1920s and made for the local market.
Pair of engraved and enamelled Brass Cobra Candlesticks, Indian c1900
Price: £180
These are a lovely pair of candlesticks in a cobra design. They are brass with engraving and enamel work. These cobra candlesticks are commonly found in the UK as they were brought back from India during the Raj and many families had them. This pair is a very good example of the type, in excellent condition. Their inclusion in an auction of Egyptian pieces might seem strange but few will need to be reminded of the fate of Egypt's most famous Queen!
Indian carved wood Box with miniature Plaques, second half C19th
Price: £150
A small carved hardwood box, probably ebony, the top with two hinged lids with hook fasteners which open to reveal the plain interior. The sides and lids are decorated with deeply carved stylised scrolling foliage on a micro ‘punched’ ground (see especially images 7 & 8), and the lids are inset with oval painted plaques depicting two scenes from Delhi (i) to the left, the minaret Qutb (or Qutub) Minar, a ‘victory tower’ built by the first Sultan of Delhi in 1199 (ii) to the right, the mosque Jami Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1656. These miniature plaques were a speciality of the artists in Delhi in the second half of the nineteenth century and keenly sought after by Europeans who would buy them loose, framed, or mounted into boxes such as this. They are also sometimes seen elsewhere as ‘grand tour’ brooches. The workmanship here is of the highest quality and the plaques have survived in excellent condition which is not always the case, making this a highly desirable addition to a collection of Indian colonial art.
Burmese Lacquer Tray, C20th
Price: £55
A lacquer tray of lobed circular form profusely decorated in bright colours with ladies by windows, court figures and mythical animals on a stylised floral ground, the interior edge and rim in red and the reverse in black. The distinctive style of decoration here with its bright palette of colours and intricate detail, employing the motifs of mythical animals and architectural details, points to the work of Burmese (now Myanmar) craftsmen working in a tradition which was centuries old (image 9 shows a lacquer bowl in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which is signed and can be securely dated to the early twentieth century). Burmese lacquer is made from the sap of a tree native to South-east Asia, commonly known as the Thitsee tree. Layers of lacquer that are mixed with ash are applied over a wood base as here, although other materials were used including woven bamboo and metal, and polished to provide a smooth surface for the decoration. The tray, or ‘byat’, was one of the most commonly produced forms and this is an excellent example of the range with the decoration finely preserved. Dating is probably to the second half of the twentieth century.
Papier-mâché trinket box and cover, Kashmir, India, C20th
Price: £25
An attractive papier-mâché box and cover of slightly compressed globular form, the cover with a knob finial, and the base and lid with a mating small triangular section to ensure a secure fit, finely decorated in polychrome colourings with panels of stylised lotus on a gilt scroll ground, the top with gilt cells on a black ground and the base with a band of repeating gilt stylised lotus leaves, the interior and underside finished in black. The style of the decoration here is typical of the papier-mâché wares produced in Kashmir in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which were known for their fine and elaborate floral decoration. Round trinket boxes were a particular speciality and this is a good example which probably dates to the early twentieth century.
Soapstone Box and Cover with antelope design, India, C20th
Price: £45
A soapstone box and hinged cover, three of the sides with deeply cut stylised floral decoration, the lid with concentric circles to the edge and a carved image of an antelope to the top on a ground of incised circles within a curved edge border. Soapstone with its variegated patterns and relatively soft texture was used as medium for carving in both India and China. The rather coarse work here and the antelope design itself suggests an Indian rather than Chinese origin, though, and soapstone boxes with carved decoration seem to have been a staple of the output of the Indian carving studios in the twentieth century. Dating is difficult but there does seem to be the appearance some age here so perhaps a mid century period of production is a reasonable assumption.
Pair of Mamluk Revival hexagonal brass Vases, Cairo Ware, probably Syria C20th
Price: £150
An unusual pair of brass vases of hexagonal form, the angular baluster body above a spreading foot and below a long, slender concave neck flaring out towards the top, decorated all over in repoussé work with stylised floral tendrils on a chased hammer punched ground of small circles, the base, shoulder and top rim with bands of studding. Repoussé work is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing or embossing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, often with a punch, sinking the metal. The two are often combined, as here.
The form and style of these vases link them to a group of pieces known as ‘Mamluk Revival’ ware, produced in Syria in the early twentieth century and marketed through Cairo, where the Sultans there gave considerable stimulus towards their production and sale. The Mamluk period (1250–1517) was the greatest Islamic empire of the later Middle Ages and included control of the holy cities Mecca and Medina. During it, the arts flourished with an especial concentration on elaborately decorated metalware and it was these pieces which provided the inspiration for the twentieth century craftsmen copying and adapting their style. Similar and rather grander pieces are known where the brass is inlaid with silver and copper, often with Islamic calligraphy. This pair of vases is rather more modest and perhaps intended for a domestic rather than export audience, but no small amount of care was taken in their manufacture, the soldered joins of the various panels forming the vases as a whole requiring great skill. Under a strong light the decoration, from which a considerable amount of old dried polish has been removed, glows with an attractive intensity and the vases certainly have a pronounced ‘Islamic’ look and feel.