Antique pair of Chinese official's hat arm chairs, made of huanghuali wood with intricately woven rattan seats. Carved cusped edged apron. Dramatic grain.

Provenance: From the collection of the Santa Barbara Museum.

17th century

Dimensions: 44" high x 18 7/8" wide x 17" deep. Seat: 20 1/2" high.

Japanese hardwood platform shelf for a tokonoma, a recessed art display area for a traditional tea ceremony room. Made with bold Keyaki (elm) hardwood with original dark lacquer finish. Original condition.

Dimensions: 54" L x 18" D x 9" H

Japanese large half section Mizuya, or kitchen buffet tansu, constructed of Hinoki wood frame and Sugi wood panels. The large pair of sliding doors open to the spacious interior with two removable shelves straight across. The sides of the chest have horizontal bracing slats for reinforcement.

Dimensions: 69 1/4" x 19 1/2" x 35 1/2" H

Chinese porcelain figure of a seated Daoist monk. The monk's skin is left unglazed, his draping robes and seat with Sancai "three colors" of yellow, green, and dark purple underglazes. One of the figure's ears is pierced through for gas to escape during kiln firing.

18th/19th century

Dimensions: 5 1/4" x 4 1/4" x 11" H

A fine Japanese hirado porcelain okimono of a recumbent horse. The horse has a whimsical expression. Its eyes are left unglazed with blackened pupils, its unglazed teeth exposed in a wide grin, the corners of the mouth and nostrils pierced through. Touches of cobalt blue underglaze accent the hooves and snout of the horse. The base is impressed with maker's cartouche.

Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 8 1/2" L x 4" W x 6" H

The Ming dynasty tradition of mortise and tenon joinery can be seen and experienced in this later Ming form day bed. The Zitan bed platform rests soundly on all four inverted horse hoof legs. Mortise corners frame the woven bamboo rattan seat cover. For added flexibility, roped lacing and carved wooden support structures help reinforce the durability of its function.

The back and side rails form a lattice-like structure called “wheel of life” pattern. The finely polished Zitan... Click for details

Korean round lacquered container with shell inlay motifs of scrolling vines and lotus petals. The lid is topped with a pointed finial, lifting away to the red lacquered interior. The base is black lacquer with inlay sides and delicate inlay along interior rim.

19th Century

Dimensions: 3 1/4" W x 2 1/4" H

A Chinese rock crystal carving of a mythical beast called a Qilin. Resembling a fu dog, the creature is a chimera mixed with a lion, a deer, a dragon, and sometimes other animals. The Qilin is said to appear with the arrival and the passing of a sage or high ruler.

19th Century

Dimensions: 4" L x 1 3/4" W x 4 1/2" H

A symbol of humility and modesty, a bed made for the scholar's hermitage aesthetics. Carved huanghuali wood in a naturalistic root form, constructed and joined together creating the enveloping roots and branches. The seat platform is of block wood fitted to mimic woven mats. These types of furniture are reminiscent of the Song dynasty. Scholars retreated into the mountains and relinquished materialism. The aesthetic is based on nature moving away from the lavish life style.... Click for details

A pair of Quan Yi Huanghuali horseshoe back armchairs from the 18th Century. The generously proportioned curving top rail is made in five parts using half-lap pressure peg joints terminating in a curved look beyond the goose-neck side and front corner post. The back splat is carved with a Chimera medallion. The back corner posts continues through the frame of the soft mat seat to form the back legs and front legs enclosing the cusped apron carved in relief with curling tendrils. Reinforced... Click for details