Scholar's Objects

This is a suiseki viewing stone believed to be Seigaku-ishi, sourced from the upper reaches of the Abe River in central Shizuoka Prefecture. Suiseki (literally "water stone") is a t...

Antique Vietnamese Shell Inlaid Tea Tray (Khay, go kham trai) a rectangular raised footed tray having four kneeling legs connected with bottom elbowed stretchers. The legs, skirt, interior and railing all decorated on the exterior surface with inset shaped mother-of-pearl shell pieces in subtle shimmering hues of flora and fauna motifs with Chinese key fret and flora vignettes with butterflies and birds. The galleried and footed tray crafted entirely of rosewood with mortise and tenon joinery. Minor inset shell losses, evidence of previous cracks, restored condition. Measuring: 4 in. high x 12.25 in. wide x 7.5 in. deep. (102 x 312 x 190mm) Weight 1 lb. 12.1 oz. (797g.) Nguyen Dynasty, 19th - 20th Century. Provenance: Copper Red, Bangkok L’Asie Exotique, Palm Springs, CA For similar examples see: Co Vat Viet Nam: Vietnamese Antiques...

Antique Chinese Cameo Agate Snuff Bottle, 19th century. The stone of a cloudy translucent color and caramel skin on the front side carved in high relief creating a cameo effect of a ...

This is a very good Chinese cameo or overlay glass snuff bottle, which we date to circa 1920s. These overlay glass cameo snuff bottles are very decora...

A rare handsome Chinese Heavenly jade Bi disk carved in a rarely found combination of mutton fat yellow and green jade with patches of brown accents in the stone that depict a green ...

Stunning Pair of early Meiji period Satsuma heavy gauge earthenware Rouleau Japanese Vases of Museum quality and generous proportions. These beautiful Satsuma-ware vases were made du...

A set of 3 beautiful porcelain handle Chinese calligraphy brushes. The handles with hand painted round and oval porcelain balls of longevity motifs and basketweave, in classic, timeless blue and white...

This is an old vermilion suiseki from Japan. Not only in China but also in Japan, rocks from mountains have been quarried and shaped for appreciation since ancient times. These deco...

This is an old Japanese stone object. This stone object has a beautiful black and beige gradation. An art object that gives you a sense of wabi-s...

This is an antique gentleman's writing slope. An English, burr walnut and leather correspondence box, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1850. Delightful craftsmanship with ...

Rare Early Shinto Temple Find This is an incredibly rare and authentic Omikuji (Sacred Fortune Telling) set, dating back to the Late Edo Period. Unlike modern plastic or simple wo...

For centuries, the suanpan, or Chinese abacus, served as one of the world's most sophisticated calculating devices. Long before the arrival of electronic calculators, merchants, scho...

A Rare Mughal Indian Gold and Enamel Mother of Pearl Spoon with Diamonds Discover the exquisite craftsmanship of Mughal India with this rare and...

A good antique Early 19th Century Southeast Asian Bronze Buddha statue, Circa 1800. The Buddha seated upon a triangular shaped base with lotus decoration, the Buddha's hands posed i...

An incredibly rare 18th Century monumental palace size Ottoman Islamic astrolabe on an easel stand, Turkey, circa 1720. This rare palace size Astrola...

Rare find!: 24 feet long Zen monk Mala Prayer Bead String plus original wooden alms bowl with its original attached triangular shaped stone ojime. A huge...

Antique Chinese Chalcedony “Peanut and Jujube” Snuff Bottle, Qing Dynasty. The large pear shaped striated stone carving of a caramel colored jujube fruit (Chinese date) and two beige...

Our calligraphy brush stands are made of solid wenge wood, a prized, sustainable, exotic wood with beautiful grains. Top of the stands are deco...

A fine pair of antique Chinese Qing dynasty ( 1644-1911) hand carved jade table screens, circa 1850. The rectangular screens are made of variegated s...

A rare and refined Meiji-period walking cane clad in spiraled ray skin (shagreen), polished and finished in traditional black lacquer. The lacquered shagreen surface reveals the unde...

A Chinese scholar stone in an upright mushroom form displayed on a custom wood stand. Wonderful and well-balanced, the ocher and cream color stone is likely of the Taihu type. It sho...

On offer is an extraordinary Chinese scholar rock of Taihu type in a vertical mushroom-cloud form. Impressive in size, texture and grotto-filled shape, the well-balanced stone is pre...

A large Chinese export hardwood scholar's brush pot or vessel crafted in a beautifully restrained and minimal cylindrical form. The pot is crafted from a dense red-brown rosewood, an...

This is a museum quality book form Grand Tour plaster intaglio case, Circa 1820 in date. The intaglios are encased in a red leather gilt tooled binding titled 'L. FERRARIS BIBLIOTH...

Chinese Scholar's Carved Hongmu Hardwood Qilin Paperweight, Possibly Zitan, Qing Estate of John Loring of Tiffanys An exceptional Chinese scholar's desk paperweight (zhenzhi), finel...

In Japan, there are stones for viewing called suiseki. The same culture has existed in China since ancient times. Suiseki is a Japanese culture and hobby of appreciating stones indoo...

Antique 19th century Chinese carved gold gilt and painted wood wall panel or plaque with scholar and warrior figures scene. Signed on back as p...

Along with paper, ink and inkstone, the brush is one of the Four Treasures of the scholar’s studio. Arguably the most important tool, the brush served as a direct link to the artist’...

Fine antique Chinese Qing Dynasty silvered golden copper alloy snuff bottle of hulu double gourd form, inset with 4x carved five petal white jade p...

This elegant container is a 19th-century Chinese document box, once used by a Qing-dynasty scholar-official to store stationery accessories such as brushes, seals and ink sticks. Cra...

This is a set of two (2) very fine quality (2) authentic Chinese jade bi disc from the 20th century or older. These come from our private collection. Quality: very fine translucen...

One of a pair No. 2– Stunning Chinese handcrafted Bonsai Tree/Flower in white and green / gray white and green jade (for the leaves) and agate/hardstone (for the pink and yellow flow...

A magnificent and unusually large matched pair of vintage Chinese structural seal blanks (chops), masterfully carved from substantial blocks of natural mottled red and sage-green soapstone. Standing at an impressive 7 ¼ inches tall with a robust 2-inch square profile, each monumental block is topped by a meticulously detailed, deeply pierced high-relief carving of horses interacting across an architectural mountain landscape. Together, the pair forms the complete, highly auspicious "Eight Horses of King Mu" (Ma Dao Cheng Gong) motif, a traditional Chinese symbol of rapid success, vitality, and career advancement. The long vertical side panels and square bases remain entirely smooth, unengraved, and free of cinnabar ink, highlighting the pristine, untouched nature of the stone. Beautifully balanced with an excellent structural heft, this pair serves flawlessly as premium library bookends or standalone desk sculptures for a curated interior. Excellent vintage condition with no cracks, no chips, and completely free of any restoration or repairs. The natural soft mineral surfaces are beautifully preserved, with pristine, sharp geometric edges on the uncarved base blocks. Note:With their substantial 7-inch presence and bold oxblood palette, this matching pair serves as the perfect sculptural punctuation mark for a lacquered library étagère, an executive desk, or flanking a collection of rare art books...

Among the many esteemed objects of the traditional Chinese scholar’s studio was the scroll pot, a large container for storing one's collection of landscape paintings, poetry and work...

A superb Chinese yellow and russet nephrite jade carving of a mythical beast, Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) or earlier, China The mythical beast is portrayed with feline features, i...

A finely carved zitan wood display stand in the form of a round table, China, Republic Period, mid 20th century. The circular display stand carved from rare and precious zitan wood. Fashioned as a classical Chinese round table...

Antique Chinese Agate Sleeve Snuff Bottle, exceptionally carved with great precision, a flat spade shape, narrow concave base, flared neck, concave mouth rim, narrow mouth, all of an...

An exquisite late Qing dynasty display Stand of longyan wood, carved as a miniature "kang" table. The center panel features an amazing grain that delights the eye, while a soft glo...

A fantastic Chinese scholar's stone, called gongshi, of gray lingbi limestone, mounted on a hardwood stand, late Qing or early Republic, early 20th century, circa 1910, China . The ...

Our calligraphy brush stands are made of solid wenge wood, a prized, sustainable, exotic wood with beautiful grains. Top of the stands are deco...

Chinese scholars rock, Qing dynasty, circa 1900 or earlier, mounted on a custom carved hardwood base. This is a large scale rock is a fine example, with beautiful striations of light...

This is a stone mined in Japan. Not only in China but also in Japan from ancient times, rocks in the mountains have been shaved and stones for viewing have been quarried. Such stone...

This remarkable glass snuff bottle, crafted by the esteemed artist Ya Qing in the spring of 2009, is a masterful example of inside painting. The bottle showcases...

One of a kind, extra large, rare blue serpentine gemstone brush in bamboo form with carved bamboo leaves. Serpentine is a beautiful stone highly valued for its similarity to nephrite...

Antique Thailand sutra bamboo/palm leave book, 1873. There are about 48 pages and are written on double sides with lots of writing. The following handwriting on the Lacquer reads: ...

A remarkable straits Chinese (also known as Peranakan or Nyonya) carved hardwood and bamboo inlaid and embellished table-form stand, originally for dis...

A beautiful Chinese calligraphy brush with blue and white porcelain. Handle with hand painted blue and white porcelain balls of "double happiness" characters, hand polished and crafted. Bone ferrule and horse hair. This is a great brush for painting and calligraphy art...

This rare 29" long calligraphy brush features a beautiful handle made from Buddha's Belly Bamboo, a prized variety known as Bamboo Ventricosa. Revered for its unique bulging form, th...

This enormous figural fountain pen store display is unsigned, but presumed to have been made by the Waterman Co. of France in approximately 1965 and d...

‘Kamuy kotan seki’ (Kamuy kotan stone) from the canyon called ‘Kamuy-kotan’ (‘Whereabouts of God’ in the Ainu language) in the western part of Asahikawa city in Hokkaido, Japan. Quite a unique abstractive blackness as the God (‘Kamuy’=’Kami’) with no processing by human hands, except attached with a wooden stand (undetachable) as such a calm and sacred piece of Art of Japanese ‘Suiseki...

A visually arresting tall vertical scholar stone of Lingbi type balanced on a fitted wood base. The rock formation features an elegant slender form of highly sculptural surface with ...

Antique Chinese Crystal Agate Snuff Bottle. This bottle is in a a stout rounded form, with countersunk base, short thick neck, concave lip with a sharp edge and narrow mouth, in a we...

Amazing vintage glass vase. Displays a back a red glass exterior with an orange interior.

A fine Chinese scholar's stone. Made of nephrite jade from the Hotan (Hetian) region of China. Scholar's rocks (gongshi, 供石) are naturally occuring rocks that are appreciated for t...

A charming Korean keyaki (Japanese elm), lacquer, and mother-of-pearl inlaid personal accessory chest for a woman, Joseon Dynasty, early 19th century or earlier, Korea. The small ac...

This calligraphy brush is distinguished by its faux turquoise handle. Hand cut and polished, exhibiting a beautiful turquoise color with naturalistic black veining, very much approxi...

A stunning carved and pierced Chinese jade vase, Qing Dynasty, 19th century. The vase is carved with a design of birds, flowers and trees, each rife ...

Horagai conch shell trumpet with beautiful patination and bronze mouthpiece. This Horagai conch shell trumpet is a rare and valuable piece of Japanese history and culture. It was made in the Late Edo period (18th-19th century) and is in fine original condition with expected abrasions due to the significant age of the item. The trumpet is made of a conch shell with a bronze mouthpiece. It measures 34x 16.5 x 13 cm (13.5 / 6.5 / 5 inch) and weighs 1.2kg (2.5 lb). The trumpet has a beautiful patina, resulting from years of use and exposure to the elements. The bronze mouthpiece is also in good condition and shows no signs of wear. The trumpet is powerful and can produce a loud, clear sound. It was traditionally used in Japanese ceremonies and festivals and is still used today by some Shinto priests...

An exquisitely hand carved bone Chinese dignitary standing figure portraying a lavishly dressed bearded male. Difficult to date, in our opinion last quarter of the 19th century. ...

This is a stone mined in Japan. Measure: w 22cm. Not only in China but also in Japan from ancient times, rocks in the mountains have been shaved and stones for viewing have been qua...