• #ART-048 Antique Chinese Fan Painting Painted with Tigers on Two Sides SOLD

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    Antique Chinese Fan Painting Painted Brush with Tigers in landscape on Both Sides. One side is vividly painted with two excellent tigers in a landscape behind pine trees under mountains, signed with Hao-Bo-Yang (郝柏揚). The Other side is painted with an large orange cat wit large spots on the skin, hiding inside in a bamboo forest, signed with Lin-Shou-Kang (林壽康). Both probably are from the late Qing period.

  • SNU-03 Qing Dynasty Painted Porcelain Snuff Bottle with A Bird

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    This late Qing Dynasty hand-painted porcelain snuff bottle on a beautiful blue glaze back ground, although is not made of fancy material as many snuff bottles would be, like jade, ivory, and other more costly materials, has very nice brush work. One side is intricately painted with a bird with a long tail perching on a branch coming out of a cluster of flowering bushes against a wide sky. The other side is painted with a scholar or hermit standing and gazing at a vast landscape by the water with mountains, trees, buildings, and a pagoda high above. Both paintings with lots of space for the sky high above depict a feeling of oneness, being in one with nature, the vast universe. Dimensions:

  • #AMB-09 Antique Chinese Toggle of An Amber One-Horn Mythical Animal

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    Antique Chinese Toggle of An Amber One-Horn Mythical Animal, possibly a Qilin. A Qilin with its head turning and looking back means "麒麟看家,a Qilin looking back to protect the home". This beautiful and translucent old amber piece might be from the Ming or Qing period. A toggle is a small hanging ornament, often carved out of a precious or semi-precious stone, jade, ivory, wood, shell, and many other types of material. It is a highly collectible item among Chinese objects of art.

  • #ART-089 A 17th Century Table Screen Inserted with Old Yu-Hua-Shi Stone

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    (明代雨花石小屏風)This is a very beautiful 17th century table screen in the Ming style construction with inserted red stone with pattern. The many small openings on the wood frame has an interesting name. This small opening is called “開窗, Kai Chuang, opening the window”. “ 開窗, Kai Chuang” is a colloquial term used often by the furniture trade in China, referring to the design of a furniture piece with a small horizontal open work in the solid wood panel, particularly in the narrow waist area underneath the table top of a table. It can be seen also on small wooden objects, such as on a small table screen like the one shown in the photo here. Such design mostly has to do with aesthetics from an experienced old Chinese woodworker or someone who is very familiar with the design and the style of old Chinese furniture. This small opening can be shaped in a plain rounded rectangular shape, or like those on this small screen , in the shape of a begonia flower common in Chinese woodwork. The origin for the term “ 開窗”is not known. It might be a term from the ancient time when human first resided in an enclosed cave and eventually created an opening at the top of a cave with the desire to have the light inside. The type of red or pink stone with varying pattern on this screen is called 雨花石 (Yu-Hua-Shi). “Shi” means stone. It has a beautiful story associated with Chinese Buddhism. This stone mostly came from Nanjing Area in Jiangsu province. This stone is known for its beautiful color and irregular patterns. The collectors appreciate its natural beauty without man-made work. A small table screen defines a small area on a tabletop that offers a sense of intimacy and is often part of a scholar's table arrangement. It is a highly collectible item.

  • #JAD-06 Antique White Jade Ox with Natural Russet Color on Wooden Stand

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    Antique White Jade Ox with Natural Russet Color on Wooden Stand. 18th century or older. Although this jade ox could be originally a toggle, a hanging weighted ornament made of jade, ivory, wood, and other precious materials, etc. often worn around the waist where it can be touched often by hand, it is slighter larger and heavier than some other toggle pieces. This could be why a wooden stand was made later to display it as a display piece even though the composition of the piece shows a looping hole in between the two bend front legs. This jade ox is hand-carved and well executed in its flowing composition and shape with strong carved lines. The face and the back of the ox show some imperfection. Dimensions: 2 1/8" L x 1 1/4" W x 1 1/8" H (jade itself) 2 1/2" L x 1 1/2" W x 2" H (with stand)

  • AMB-06 Antique Carved Amber Toggle of An Ox

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    (明代雕祥牛琥珀佩飾)This is a wonderful hand-carved old amber toggle, possibly from the Ming period. Because it is amber, it is light in weight. The wonderful cow or ox totally shows a sweet and soft nature with its carved face and eyes, with one of its feet curved under the body on the side. Toggle is a personal intimate object worn, often made of jade, amber, wood, ivory, and other precious materials. Old Chinese amber piece is rare. Partially because of its clarity and purity, objects made of amber are often regarded as Buddhist’s objects and are very sought after by collectors. The photos were taken in different light setting. The color of this object is more in the golden tone but with the variation of hues in the stone. Dimensions: 1 3/8” L x 7/8” W x 5/8” D

  • #AMB-01 Rare Antique Larger Size Amber Toggle with Liu-Hai

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    AMB-01(明或清琥珀制劉海戲金蟾佩飾)This beautiful hand carved larger size antique Chinese toggle made of amber (Hu-Po, 琥珀) is about a size of a small palm. The subject matter is Liu-Hai(劉海)with his three-legged pet toad (蟾, toad, pronounced Chan)that is a symbol of wealth. One can see the wonderful workmanship and the natural variation of the beautiful colors of amber of the piece. “Liu-Hai Teasing A Pet Toad (劉海戲金蟾)”is a popular subject in Chinese art. The origin of the figure Liu-Hai is not known, but many thought it derived from Daoism. Whether he was a real human figure from the Five Dynasties or an immortalized figure in Chinese mythology, it all seemed to have come down to his escaping the political ruling at the time and choosing to become a hermit to devote his life to the Daoist's practice until he became a Daoist Immortal. The toad was a magical creature in mythology, who possessed super- natural power and was eventually tamed by Liu-Hai and became Liu-Hai's riding pet. The subject of Liu-Hai and Three-Legged Toad often is painted or done with a string of Chinese coins. Ats modern day, some businesses or stores place a golden Three-Legged Toad at the entrance to welcome the prosperity. The dimensions of this piece is 3” L x 1 7/8” W x 1” D.

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  • #AMB-03 Antique Chinese Hand-Carved Amber Toggle of Monkeys

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  • #AMB-08 Ancient Chinese Carved Red Amber Toggle of A Mythical Animal

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    (明代雕祥獸琥珀珮飾)This beautiful ancient Chinese toggle in the shape of a pebble is carved out of one piece of red amber (血珀)with a wonderful mythical animal in a reclining position with its head turning back with fine detail. One sees its wonderful face with big eyes, nose, and pointed ears. Its feet, spine, and tail are also carved in a wonderful stylized and scrolled design with very free lines. This piece came from the Yunnan area. One can see the beautiful translucent stone with dark red hue with lines inside. Dimensions: 1 7/8” L x 1 3/8” W x 1/2” D

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