Catalog (83)

Rare men’s loin cloth from the Northern Chin, Haka group Burma. Mantle of Merit: Barbara Fraser has a good write up on these, and has a couple of pieces dating to late 19th to early 20th century, she also writes these were rarely used after 1950 circa first half 20th century. The two end panels are different colors of which the lighter blue colored is original while the darker piece.. Made from hand spun cotton with silk patterns. A few small holes, the worst being noted in enlargeme...

Mid 20th century textile from the Mulao ethnic group Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Province. This is a two paneled blanket with original border and supplementary weft silk embroidered pattern phoenix and flowers on a cotton field “key fret” pattern- all handspun threads. Good condition - no holes or missing embroidery threads. L: 110cm/43in and W: 66cm/cm/26in- with blue cotton border L: 153cm/59in and W: 110cm/43on.

Beautiful women’s apron style skirt from the Bahnar (Ba Na) ethnic group, Central Highlands of Vietnam. Woven from fine handspun cotton using all indigo and natural dyes. The weaving is very intricate and refined, note the use of narrow warp ikat bands throughout this piece. This piece is has small tear at the corner (see last enlargement) and a couple of frays but otherwise excellent condition and dates to 1960 to 1970. The center panel is stitched loosely at the top as it was mea...

Rare and unusual 3 paneled piled blanket from the Rawang ethnic group, Kachin State, Burma. The ground is woven from hemp, the reddish head ends are dog hair .There are a few areas that have a bright colored commercial yarn but other than that, all natural dyes. In the red field there are some bits of missing weft noted in enlargements. This piece is circa 1950 (+/-), definitely old an old piece. The Rawang are a tiny upland group, numbering only 65,000, living in some of the most remote...

Lao, continuous supplementary weft “kit” woven festival banner. This is created from all handspun silk and natural dyes. I acquired in Vientiane, Laos in 2010, and this is highest quality of this type of weave available. Included is simple hand carved “elephant” textile hanger. An exceptional home décor accent piece. Please note I put a grain of rice in the last enlargement to highlight the detail of this work. L: 186cm/73in and W: 18cm/7in.

Old Taoist priest's robe, from The Yao ethnic group Southwest China. There are various Taoist deities, dragons and other mythical beasts embroidered on handwoven cloth and also has handwoven hemp lining. The rest of the robe is made from commercial cloth. W: 190cm/74 x H: 100cm/39in. Some of the threads are loose or pulled so please examine the enlargements carefully. The embroidered area is quite old dating to first half of the 20th century or earlier.

Beautiful woman’s shawl from Java circa 1950 with floral (buketan) design, from the Pekolongan or Lasem area North Java. There are a couple of 5mm holes and a minor tear noted in last enlargements. Ex Dr John Yu, collection Australia. L: 190cm/75in and W: 85cm/33.5in.

Colorful Stieng woman’s wrap around skirt from the Xtiêng (Stieng), estimated population of 7000, minority Binh Duong Province and Dong Nai Province of southeastern Vietnam. Hand woven with handspun cotton field and patterns of combination synthetic and cotton commercial yarns, this piece dates to circa 1970 to 1980 (i.e. post Vietnam War era). The Keith Harring (ish) anthropomorphic images are quite unusual. Provenance- Rob C. Clark Ethnobotanist PhD. Excellent condition, no damage...

Collection of three vintage/antique cloth printing blocks from Tamil Nadu, carved from hard wood (probably Jackwood) all in excellent condition, acquired in India 30 years ago. Very decorative- may be hung on as a wall art ensemble. Large one: H: 26.3/10.4in x W: 16.4 cm/6.4in, round one D: 20.6 cm/10.2in and, small one H: 17.5/6.9in x W 8.3cm/3.2in.

Special offer- marked down from $600. Fine three panel wedding blanket from the Bouyi (Buyi) ethnic group Libo County, Guizhou, China. The Bouyi are a relatively small ethnic group- so embroideries from them have become quite scarce. The supplementary weft “well” patterned embroidery is silk except for the black medallions- the field is all handspun cotton. The black border is a later addition made from hand woven cotton. Circa mid 20th century very good condition. W: 83cm/33in and L...

Very rare, Gulong Miao children’s jacket from Guizhou. This is a side opening style, made from all hand woven cloth (except for the inner sleeve lining) with hand embroidered anthropomorphic figures, on a calendared greenish cotton ground. This pattern was only used on children’s clothing from this Miao subgroup. Excellent condition. Width: 75cm/29.5in (sleeve tip to sleeve tip) Length: 39cm/15.3in (collar to bottom). Free shipping.

Lovely traditional red silk satin child’s jacket with floral sprigs, circa first half 20th century, maybe even earlier. Excellent condition, except for the trim all hand embroidered and hand sewn. Old commercial trade cloth cotton lining. Would look good as a wall hanging. Width straight across shoulder 63cm/24.8in and H: 37cm/14.5in. Free shipping

Fine, old and rare Chang Naga, three paneled body “prestige” cloth with anthropomorphic cowry shell design. Made from very fine hand spun cotton weft and silk warp, the cowry shells have a fine toned aged patina. This is a genuinely old cloth circa 50 to 70 years old (not for the tourist market). This kind of cloth signifies the owner has given a series of feasts or in the past taken a head. There is one 3cm hole, and two frays on selvedge as well as what appears to be an ink s...

Beautiful, unopened, three paneled, semi antique, woman’s sarong from Flores Island (probably Ende), Indonesia. Circa 1950 +/-. All hand spun and woven cotton and natural dyes. Very soft and in perfect condition. The incorporation of indigo dyes is quite subtle giving it the depth. L: 142cm/56in and W: 158cm/60in. Free Shipping

Exceptional semi antique, over 70 years old, two paneled Tai Daeng (Red Tai) blanket from Northern Laos with supplementary weft silk Chinese Shou longevity character medallions and key fret design. The last time I was in Vientiane (13 years ago) textiles of this quality are no longer to be found. There are two repairs noted in enlargements 2 & 3 as well as some minor weft design loss. The Tai Daeng are generally acknowledged to be the best weavers in Laos and their contemporary piec...

Rare Zo/Tedem "tawnok"- reference "The Art of the Zo: Philadelphia Museum of Art". The Tedum aka Tiddim are a subgroup of the Chin, who live mostly in Northern Burma, Chin State, as well India, and Bangladesh. This piece is circa 1950-1960, spun from commercial, hand dyed cotton thread with some single faced supplementary and diamond twill patterns. Please see enlargements to appreciate the complexity of this weave. There are a few pin holes but noting egregious (one small repair w...

Lovely hand silk embroidered alter “skirt” with the Eight Chinese Immortals and three double happiness roundels at the top. I recently acquired this with a group of other vintage textiles; this is in perfect condition with a lovely palate of colors. Late 20th century, this would have been hung in in front of a temple altar table’s legs. H: 100cm/40in x W: 94cm/37in. Appears never to have been used.

Fine old all and spun and hand woven wedding blanket from the tiny Maonan minority group living in Guangxi and Guizhou province, circa 1940 to 1960. This piece is very crisply silk weft embroidered classic butterfly, phoenix and floral pattern. Excellent condition. The border is made of an outer hand spun cotton cloth will the red inner border is commercial cloth. L: 94cm/37in and W: 65cm/25.5in- total with border L: 149cm/58.6 and W: 94cm/37in.Free shipping