You Are Ev Ry Thing and Everything is you (Honey). Something I’ve not seen before… a #rajasthan #miniature gouache #painting of a #tantric form of #ganesh #ganesha with 5 trunks spouting fountains of water from which emerge figures of #brahma #visnu #shiva #bhudevi or #parvati and the head of #surya as the sun. I have seen many forms including 5 headed versions of Ganesh the elephant headed son of Shiva and Parvati, the remover of obstacles. But one head w 5 trunks - what does it mean. I need more research. Attracted much attention at @milleabros #milleabrothers sale a few weeks back despite torn margins and faded appearance. #indianart #indianminiatures #rajput #rajasthani #induanpaintings #hindu #hinduart #hinduism #ganapati #elephant #elephants #elephantsinart #asianartincanada #asianartresearch
Together forever and never to part together forever we two… Sadly they are apart and not likely to get together soon. Two prints in online research the other day #hiroshige #woodblock #prints from the series 100 views of Edo. Ca 1856 of Jumantsubo plain at Fukagawa Sasaki - true Birds Eye view almost with the dramatic eagle soaring over the plain. The left @sloansandkenyon auction where it made $16,500 sold with another of the series Fukagawa Lumberyard and a rarely published Ogata Gekko of the Revenge of the Soga Brothers. The prints are so close suggesting done close together (i.e. in succession) but for one small speck of light sky in the upper left corner between wing and tail. Sky and water are two major areas often left up to the actual printer to finesse and often done with a thumb swipe adding tonal colour to the block as they feel. With the same printing the colours can vary from daytime to night. This print also done with both red and green versions of the square cartouche. The right side example of the same in Tokyo Fuji Art Museum #tokyofujiartmuseum. #japaneseart #japaneseprints #ukiyoe #japanesewoodblock #japanesewoodblockprint #utagawahiroshige #100viewsofedo #woodblockprints #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto #sloansandkenyon
I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly away. I don’t know where my soul is, I don’t know where my heart is. This bird certainly flew from my grasp at auction today closing at a whopping $47,500 (w fees) usd @milleabros in New Jersey #milleabros It’s a bit tricky identifying this half man half bird but it should be a #jaoanese #buddhist form of the #hindu #vahana companion of #vishnu #garuda in Japanese Karura #karura. Rather an esoteric deity and among the 33 Hindu gods traditionally enfolded into the Japanese Buddhist pantheon in the 9th century, but images of Karura are quite rare and the few known are in wood though several early masks for #gigaku religious court dances. This in exceedingly weathered bronze is very difficult to date so much of the dating relies on the cabriole legged base which is 12-13th century in style but popular in bronze up to the Meiji period 19th century. A conservative dating might be 16th-17th century late Muromachi to early Edo. I think it will be a long time before another flies into view. #japaneseart #japanesebuddhism #buddhistart #buddhistbronze #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #bukkyo #mikkyo
I’m on the…top of the world looking down on creation. At least the top of some feudal castle roof. #japanese #shachihoko fish-dragon-seamonsters were traditionally at the ridge line of rooftops on important buildings, palaces, castle’s and temples supposedly to ward off evil spirits and as a water beast to battle fires or at least keep them at bay. Bronze lacquered 20th century example at auction last week at a big 24” 60 cm but I had no real heart to go really high on a modern example and thought I should save up for a nice antique one - the next time one comes up for auction. Next time. #japaneseart #japanesedragon #bronze #japanesebronze #japanesearchitecture #dragons #makara #seamonsters #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #bronzesculpture
A great selection at Rosebery’s last night! Of course, I always gravitate towards the snuff bottles. Thank you so much @lichun.hu for the invitation 🖼️🏺 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #roseberys #roseberrysauction #auctionhouse #chineseart #chinesesnuffbottles #snuffbottle #snuffbottles #tangdynasty #cloisonné
My first time at the Hampstead branch of Affordable Art Fair this morning! I was so pleasantly surprised to see more contemporary Vietnamese art than ever, and more Asian art overall. Would highly recommend visiting this weekend, just being some sunscreen because it’s only going to get warmer 🖼️🏺🌞 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #hampstead #hampsteadheath #affordableat #affordableartfair #affordableartfairhampstead #hampsteadlondon #vietnameseart #vietnamese #vietnamesepainting
You don’t bring me flowers … any…more. But tonight they did. My taiko kids played incredibly, Chichibu Yatai Bayashi, a difficult and physically demanding piece. And gave me a bouquet which almost had me in tears. Such a softee. @utschools @utsalumniconnect @uts_music junior music night means last performance of the season. #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #taiko #wadaiko #bakudandaiko #utsbakudandaiko #utsalumni
Heaven is the whole of our hearts. UTS never ends. Hanging out with branching out mentee/ mento / younger monkey / still in Japan/ Artsies Rule @davidcwwang in Toronto East end hangouts @boxcar_social @prohibitionsocialhouse @terroni.to Love hanging out with this guy - keeps me young and in touch with Japan. @utschools @utsgrads2024 @utsalumniconnect #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #asianartdealersbehavingbadly #leslieville #torontoeateries #universityoftorontoschools
Staaaar wars, if they should Baaaar wars, please let these Staaaar wars…..stay. The cringiest of cringe SNL. Happy Asian art May the Fourth. Tauntaun Kirin and Sith Daimyo by Steve Bialik. I don’t know who did the Chinese folk art Darth. #maythe4thbewithyou #starwars #asianstarwars #japaneseart #chinesefolkart #chineseart #popculture #asianartresearch #asianartincanada
One of my favorite parts of last week’s AFDA tour was seeing the architectural board games at the Canadian Centre for Architecture 🏠🏛 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #canadianart #montrealcanada #canadianculture #notredamemontreal #canadiantourism #canadiancenterforarchitecture #canadianarchitecture
Some more highlights from last week’s AFDA tour at the Point-à-Callière museum. It’s so cool that the exhibition was built over an archaeological site that we could see!🏺🇨🇦 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #canadianart #montrealcanada #canadianculture #montrealtourism #montrealtourist #canadiantourism #canadianmuseum #canadianmuseums
Oh happy day (Oh happy day) Oh happy day-a-ay (oh happy day). Happy day for the seller and for @aldfryslan #veilinghuisaldfryslan auction house in Netherlands who sold this lovely #yongzheng #qing #qingdynasty ca 1730 #porcelain #chineseporcelain dish (could you imagine if they expected it to be used as a saucer but it’s the right size and shape for that in that period) with a pattern of a mother and children with an attendant maid set in a floral lozenge surrounded by gold clouds and cranes symbolizing longevity. Over the top decoration and elegant painting hand of the #famillerose #enamels. The exterior plain white without design further reinforces that this dish was for #export #chineseexport #chinatrade and probably part of a tea cup or bowl set. A healthy Euro 17,000 at the hammer just over $18,000 usd. #chineseart #chineseporcelainexport #chineseantiques #chinaforthewest #chineseexportporcelain #yongzhengporcelain #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #paintedporcelain #compagniedesindes
In all the excitement of last week, I forgot to mention some exciting updates to the ISA Antiques, Furniture, and Decorative Arts Committee! After planning a phenomenal conference in Montréal, @richesappraisals has passed the AFDA Chair baton to @sdaugherty28 and I will be starting as Secretary! Here is my favorite work from last week’s AFDA tour day, a collection of shipwrecked ceramic items elegantly displayed by artist Ève-Marine Basuyaux at the Point-à-Callière museum. More to come in the following days! #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #canadianart #montrealcanada #canadianculture #notredamemontreal #notredamemontréal #montrealtourism #montrealtourist #canadiantourism #pointacallière #montrealmuseumofarchaeologyandhistory
Take me to the river. Drop me in the water. Or I’d settle for this rather elegant #qing dynasty #kangxi period #fishbowl painted with enamel red carp (?). (I don’t know my fish well enough unless it’s cooked). @nadeausauction a few days ago a pair of #chineseporcelain bowls assuredly fishbowls but this design is not regularly found. Very simple for late Kangxi period ca 1720. Maybe should have bid higher. #kangxiporcelain #chinesestyle #qingstyle #qingdynasty #qingporcelain #chineseart #chineseantiques #fishinart #chinesefish #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #famillerose #familleroseporcelain #chinesepalaces
Squeezed in a quick visit to Montréal’s Notre Dame before my flight yesterday ⛪️🔔 Built from 1824-1829, this neo-gothic church was the first in Canada. It was a wonderful two weeks in North America, but it’s great to be back in London! 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #canadianart #montrealcanada #canadianculture #notredamemontreal #notredamemontréal #montrealtourism #montrealtourist #canadiantourism
One final evening in Montreal with the lovely ladies of ISA’s Antiques, Furniture, and Decorative Arts committee. We also visited Galerie Cosner at the Ritz, run by ISA’s Canadian chapter’s very own Sophie. After collaborating remotely with AFDA for nearly 3 years, it’s been so great to finally spend some time together in person! Au revoir, Montréal 🇨🇦🎨🖼️ #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #deltahotels #ritz #ritzcarlton #ritzgallery #canadianart #montrealcanada #canadianculture
Do you believe in magic, in a young girl’s heart? Would have loved to have a chance to see this work / these #paintings by Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) #norvalmorrisseau in #winnipeg @mayberryfineart - Shaman and Chela - (Chela is a student of a particular teaching …I had to look this up) so an image of teacher and disciple. But so dramatic and intense. Norval Morrisseau paintings of course have been incredibly controversial in recent cases and investigations with a complex business of forgeries (see the documentaries if interested) and questions raised about a lot of artworks out there with his name or attributed to him. But pictures speak louder and archive image of artist with the work is hard to argue. Thanks @shaunmayberry for his original posting on this masterpiece. #indigenous #indigenousart #indigenousartist #woodlandschool #copperthunderbird #anishinaabe #anishinaabekwe #anishinaabeart #canadianart #canadianartist #shaman #asianartincanada #asianartresearch
Gudh se meetha, ishq ishq Imli se khatta, ishq ishq (Love is sweeter than cane sugar, more sour than tamarind) Me I’m just happy with a #tandoori and prawn #biryani brunch with my lovely wife. Woke up early to develop the skeleton of a series of art lectures for a university and exhausted by noon so we went out to @cuisine_indienne_curry in @villerepentigny #repentigny a local eatery I can highly recommend. A few hours comparing Rajasthan and Pahari miniatures and I need #naan and #mattarpaneer to bring me back to life. #asianartresearch #indianfood #cuisineofindia #indianbrunch #asianartincanada #asianartdealersbehavingbadly #taal #bollywoodlyrics
After many months of planning, it was so rewarding to finally hear Dr Chen’s talk on Trompe l’Oeil today! Always a pleasure to collaborate with a fellow SOAS alum 🎓📚 My first in-person ISA conference was a whirlwind and I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference in DC! 🇨🇦🏺 #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canadian #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #sculptures #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #deltahotels #trompeloeil #chineseceramics #exportceramics #chineseporcelain #chineseart
Day 1 of the ISA Assets Conference was packed with fascinating lectures and some quality time with the best appraisers around. Can’t wait for Dr Chen’s lecture tomorrow morning! @cechenasianart 🇨🇦🎨🖼️ #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canadian #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #religiousart #sculptures #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024 #montrealmusic #montrealjazz #montrealband #deltahotels
Everybody’s in the house tonight !!! Hamming it up and meeting up with friends and colleagues at @mbamtl vernissage opening of Asian art curator @lauravigo3126 ‘s exhibitions of a complete set of #hiroshige #53stationsofthetokaido series 53 Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi) a collection which the #museedesbeauxarts Musée des Beaux Arts de Montréal has not displayed for 20 years. Wonderful to be able to compare images side by side and this set is particularly good as groups of successive prints are in similar fine states of preservation suggesting portions were collected at the same time. Whoever put together the initial collection took care to match blue tones and quality of impression. With @anthonywuart @takesuea @heinee #japaneseart #ukiyoe #asianartinmontreal #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #montreal #montrealmuseumoffinearts #asianartdealersbehavingbadly
Visiting 4 museums in one day is definitely a personal record! I had so much fun hopping around with the AFDA crew today, seeing familiar faces and meeting some lovely new ones. Here we are this evening at the opening of the MMFA’s new Hiroshige exhibition, the first solely Japanese exhibition in Canada since 2016! 🇨🇦🎨🖼️ #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canadian #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #montrealmuseum #montrealmuseums #buddhistart #buddhism #buddhistsculpture #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #artmarket #artmarketresearch #isaassets2024
That’s a wrap on the first day of ISA’s Assets Conference in Montreal! 🇨🇦🎨🖼️ Today was the advanced appraisal methodology course. As an Asian art specialist, I find it so interesting to hear about case studies in very different areas from mine, such as sports memorabilia and comic books 🏒📚 And we even got some snow!❄️❄️❄️ #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canadian #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #artmarket #artmarketresearch #sportsmemorabilia #isaassets2024 #quebec #quebecoise #québec #canadianappraiser #canadianappraisers #quebectourism #canadiantourism
Lookin’ for love in all the wrong places… and some of the right ones. It’s getting rarer and rarer to find “junk store” treasures in the art business, but every now and then there are glimmers that prizes are still hidden. Picked up this #hirado #japanese vase painted so crisply with Chinese #daoist #immortals around the body for about the same price as an IKEA vase. Very happy. #japaneseantiques #japaneseart #meijiperiod #japaneseporcelain #porcelainvase #blueandwhite #blueandwhiteporcelain #kobijutsu #kottohin #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #gamasennin
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, cause you’re amazing… Amazing smile of a #chinese #mingdynasty #buddha probably #shakyamuni at the moment of Enlightenment Wonderful 16th century image though missing what was probably a large lotus base and possibly set on a pillar in an enclosed pool which was popular during the period. The main figure alone is already more than 32 cm suggesting the whole original might have been greater than 60 cm high. Maybe there’s a base out there waiting to make an amazing match. @heffelauction #heffelauction their upcoming Chinese and Asian art sale closing on April 25th. For more info contact @anthonywuart the specialist in charge. #buddhas #buddhism #giltbronze #bronzebuddha #buddhist #siddharthagauthama #chineseart #chineseantiques #chinesebuddha #mingstyle #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto #asianartresearch
Hold me now. Oh-oh hold my heart. Fantastic #bronze new finds from the summer of 2022 at pit 8 site at #sanxingdui in #sichuan province, China. I was there 8 years ago almost exactly and though the giant bronze masks, standing icons, massive bird flowering trees all in bronze some gold foil covered were breathtaking, apparently the discoveries continue. Discovered and excavated in 1986 the find set Chinese archeology on its head - a virtually unknown Bronze Age material culture in Sichuan with a style all of its own with dramatic imagery. The hundreds of bronze artifacts were interred in long pit “graves” (no bodies) as offerings perhaps covered in ochre and braced by elephant tusks in the 12-11th c bce. This new area of excavation pit 8 they were extremely careful in exposing as the pieces were laid one atop the other on many cases, so a floating platform was constructed so that archaeologists could position themselves over the dig and work from above the artifacts. This stand with palaquin carrying #caryatids is the base for a large bronze statue (still being conserved) but which you can see in the dig photo. The base also with small #demon #grotesques reminiscent of Shang period bound slave effigies in hard stone. I cannot wait to see further publication of the finds. #chinaarcheology #chinesearcheology #archeology #worldheritage #newarcheaologicalfinds #sanxingdui #asianartincanada #asianartresearch Photos - Xinhua news and Sanxingdui Museum
Never gonna get it, never gonna get it, never gonna get it… The sleeper (has awakened) - sleepers are usually what they call a lot at auction that the auction house didn’t describe well or at least recognize its importance or value and then it goes donkeybonkers at auction. Auction at a UK charity for this tiny “brass Buddha” started with an expectation of £200-300 then zoomed to over £ 11,000 $13k usd due to its rarity. Northeastern Indian in origin and 12th century Pala period #buddha with a very rare early #mandola or nimbus around it that though it might not be original to the piece is certainly close to its same age and was made for it as suggested by that tight fit. Not mine. Too bad. The image is the Historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama at the moment if #enlightenment with right hand in #bhumisparsamudra touching Earth to witness Nirvana. #indianart #buddhistart #buddhism #bronzebuddha #palaperiod #palabuddha #bronzesculpture #asianartincanada #aksobhya
I recently interviewed @cechenasianart in advance of the upcoming @internationalsocietyappraisers conference in Montreal and am so excited to share that the interview has been shared on the ISA website, Facebook, and Instagram. Head over to ISA’s link in bio to check it out! 🇨🇦🎨🖼️ #art #appraiser #artappraiser #asia #asian #appraisal #artappraisal #isa #internationalsocietyofappraisers #valuer #fineartvaluer #ashleyasianart #assetsconference #montreal #montrealart #canadian #canada #canadianart #asianartincanada #canadianasianart #montrealmuseum #montrealmuseums #buddhistart #buddhism #buddhistsculpture #artappraiser #fineartappraiser #religiousart #sculptures #artmarket #artmarketresearch
And you may say to yourself, “My G-d what have I done…???” (Many a day goes by..) That “What have I done feeling” after buying something kind of on a whim @igavelauctions #igavelauctions in New York, what by glaze and potting should be a #ming #mingdynasty 15 -16th century #celadon glazed #censer on tripod feet Zhejiang province possibly #longquan kilns but after buying I just don’t know what it is. No rim is odd. Six monster head ring handles is odd too. The #daoist bagua eight trigrams relief is common enough in censers from the Yuan 13-14th c onwards so no problem there - see the 14th c example in the #britishmuseum I added here. The shape kind of reminiscent of early tripod ritual vessels (black and white of Erlitou 13th c bce from Kaugusuo article 1995). And yet with all the heads there’s a kind of left over Tang -Liao taste to the piece which the later potters may have been evoking. Very piggish monster faces with bat ears. And yet crackle and potting all seem correct for Ming dynasty. So what have I done? Did I buy a unique rarity or a later pastiche? I still like it though. Gonna have to clean it up, sit and study for a while longer till I decide what is it !!! #chineseart #chineseantiques #chinesepottery #celadonwares #longquanceladon #mingceladon #celadonglaze #taotei #bagua #censers #incenseburners #archaistic #archaism #chinesetemples #asianartincanada #asianartresearch
Every time I see your face, it’s like Heaven opens up her gates… Faces of some of the major and minor works in the @metmuseum #metmuseum Some are old friends. Some I had not noticed before hidden amid other pieces in cabinets. Long discussions in recent days about my disagreement with a lot of earlier 20th century art history theory which basically places Western realism at the apex of sophistication for art. 1. Gandharan head of a Buddha 2. Florentine banker’s portrait by Domenico (Bigordi) Ghirlandaio ca 1488 3. Portrait of a Japanese monk, Muromachi period 4. Bronze Prakhon Chai head of a Bodhisattva 5. Wonderful Seljuk (Iran) stucco portrait of a royal female ca 11th c 6. Roman bronze satyr 7. Bronze Medusa 8. Marble bust of a youth. Roman Imperial (I think). Comment if you want further details of any of the pieces. I’ll see what I remember or can find. I might have more complete images I can DM if requested. #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #antiquities #antiques #portraits #ancientfaces #museums #newyorkmuseum #bronzesculpture #lacquersculpture #seljuk #muromachi #renaissanceart #faces #ancestors #gandhara
I see your true colours shining through. Just a few snuff bottles for a windy Saturday. Happy Easter. 1. Amber courtship romance 2. Natural Jadeite landscape 3. Ma Shaoxuan interior painted portrait of Opera singer Tan Xinpei 4. Famille rose enamelled porcelain figure of Daoist god Liu Hai 5. Porcelain glazed in imitation of Banded agate of Dragons in clouds. Comment on your favourite please. All are late 18th to 19th century late Qing dynasty in dating and from the Thompson Collections in the @agotoronto #artgalleryofontario in #toronto. #chineseart #chineseantiques #snuffbottles #snuffbottle #carvedstone #hardstone #hardstonecameo #lapidary #lapidaryart #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto #asianartresearch #qingdynasty #tabatières #tabatièreschinoises PS. If you’re looking at these on a regular cellphone they’re most just about life sized…
There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware it’s a small world after all…(2, 3, 4). I won’t sing it. Small treasures, a selection of pieces I liked from the MET museum de-accession of pieces at @bonhams1793 @bonhamschinese #bonhamsnewyork including - a Qing blue and white compressed bottle vase, a Qing #famillerose #porcelain #snuffbottle with scenes of #lotus viewing party, a turquoise and indigo #vase similar to one I own myself, a green glazed brush rest in the form of the Chinese character SHAN (mountain) and a #blueandwhite vase w #landscape. All sold rather high considering their size proving that size doesn’t matter. @asiaweekny #asiaweekny #asiaweekny2024 #chineseporcelain #chineseantiques #chineseart #qingdynasty #miniatureporcelain #asianartincanada #asianartresearch Which is your favourite?
It’s just a jump to the left. And a step to the right. Put your hands on your hips. And pull your knees in tight … let’s do the time warp again!!!! I kinda feel like Nagaraja and I could have been best buds if he wasn’t about 575 years older than me. He’s disarming (ahahahaha). Pre-reception Selfie with a #giltbronze fragmentary statue from the Densatil monastery friezes / complex of a Serpent lord #nagaraja originally in a wide pose with arm stretched out and possibly with offerings originally. Early Earth and animal spirits of Northern India got enfolded into the #buddhist pantheon very early on and Nagaraja is definitely among these early adoptions of local culture. @christiesinc #christiesnewyork @asiaweekny #asiaweekny2024 #nepaleseart #tibetanart #himalayanart #buddhistart #buddhism #densatil #buddha #asianartresearch #asianartincanada #bronzebuddha #bronzebuddhas #indianculture #tibetan #buddhistsculpture
I am the eye in the sky looking at you, I can read your mind. Tenmoku or temmoku in Japanese (eye of heaven) is the nickname tea masters (Chajin ) gave to this type of Chinese Song dynasty 12-13th c stoneware dark glaze with distinct conical form. Temmoku have since the 13th century and codification of tea ceremony in Japan been used for the most formal forms with a wood or lacquer stand - kinindai, or honored persons stand. The glaze colours steak in firing into the well causing interesting lines nicknamed “hares fur”. This one @christiesinc #christiesnewyork has just enough stoppage in streaking to come off looking like a wolf’s eye or an eye in the sky. #temmoku #jian ware #jianbowl #songdynasty #temmokuchawan #chanoyu #chineseart #chinesepottery #chineseantiques #teaceremony @asiaweekny #asiaweekny #asianartincanada #asianartresearch
One love. One Heart. Let’s get together and feel all right. Today it seems everyone got together @christiesinc #christiesnewyork for the first day of their previews - so great to see tons of familiar faces. And some new ones. Lots of show stopper pieces but I got drawn by chance to this #amber plaque of Liu Hai a #daoist deity of good fortune usually shown with strings of copper cash and his buddy a three legged toad. After 7 hours of walking and viewing I kind of think I know what a three legged toad might feel like. Qing dynasty 18th c. #chineseart #chineseantiques #carvedamber #inflatable chinesedesign #chinesejewellery #qing #qingdynasty #asiaweekny #asiaweek2024 #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #daoism #chinesesymbols
Sweet you rock And sweet you roll Lost for you I’m so lost for you You come crash, into me A meeting of wrathful deities with a wrathful dealer. Absolutely gorgeous Hrdaya Kapaladhara Hevajra with eight heads and 16 arms encompassing many #tantric and #hindu #buddhist beings all rolled into an enlightened form and in sakti with his consort Nairatmya. This huge #gilt #bronze statue has the size to make every detail of the complex iconography clear including garlands of heads and skulls, animals in every hand set in lotus bases, different expressions in all the faces. Some of the animals are missing and I wonder if a very lucky kid somewhere has a toy barnyard of early #mingdynasty 14th c gilt bronze beasts. @sothebys #sothebysnewyork Starting off #asiaweekny @asiaweekny with a definite bang. #chineseart #chineseantiques #chinesebronze #buddhism #buddhistart #chinesebuddha #tantra #vajrayana #tibetanart #bronzebuddha #giltbronze #hevajra #yidam You can have the gold one for $3- 5,000,000 usd or me for far far less. #asianartincanada Thanks for the photo @anthonywuart
The look of love, is in, your eyes… but if you check really closely, there are no eyes! The gaze of a #japanese #lacquer and wood processional mask of a #buddha or #bodhisattva from a museum deaccession and datable to #muromachi period 15-16th c. #buddhist processional traditions I would think developed from the bugaku and gagaku dance traditions in Japan - particularly at #taimadera Taima temple where masked monks circumambulate the temple grounds in a rare purification ritual called Gyodo #gyodo reenacting the descent of Amida Butsu #amida (Buddha of the Western Paradise) in the Pure Land tradition Jodoshinshu. #buddhism #japaneseart #japanesebuddhism #jodoshinshu #buddhism #japanesemask #buddhist #buddhisttraditions #buddhistceremonies #buddhistceremoniesinjapan #amidabutsu #namuamidabutsu #japanesehistory #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto
Goes to my head-ed-ead #asianartdealersbehavingbadly Pre- #asiaweekny get together in Toronto w asian art friends and colleagues. Might need another bottle or two. Gotta get back to the cooking. #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto
Caroline laughs and it’s raining all day. She loves to be one of the girls. (Isn’t she….) Pretty in PINK. I’d never seen this #pink version of the moon flask designed by Christopher Dresser for Minton ca 1870-1880. @stairgalleries #stairgalleries and Ex the Ann and Gordon Getty collection. I’d only ever seen the blue version of this faux #cloisonné #porcelain #vase before. Stunning. And really Pink. #chinoiserie #minton #mintonporcelain #christopherdresser #prettyinpink #chinesestyle #aestheticperiod #englishporcelain #englishdesign #asianartincanada #asianartinnewyork #moonflask #gettycollections
Purple rain purple ra-a-ain…. I miss Prince (or the artist formally known as). Lovely to see a lovely Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) designed butter tub and rare original base dish with #parasol ladies “Dame au Parasol” #chineseporcelain #chineseexportporcelain #eastindiacompany design in Chinese Imari style. I’d only previously seen the tub and cover, never the whole set. @thomastonplace #thomastonplaceauctiongalleries hammered a bit too much for me- would have gone higher if cover was not broken. Cornelis Pronk was a designer in the Netherlands and commissioned to design porcelains for the Dutch East India company in the mid 18th c. This is from the original designs but the motif was so popular “knock-offs” were made even in the 19th century in China and Japan continuing the same figures. #chineseart #chineseantiques #exportporcelain #chineseimari #ostindiaporslin #chinoiserie #asianartincanada #chinatrade #18thcentury #eleganttable
Take me to the River. Drop me in the water. #montreal is a city of rivers and I was back recently to the @mbamtl #museedesbeauxartsdemontreal Museum of Fine Art to see a lot of old friends not seen for a few years including this elegant #carved #cinnabar #lacquer 18th c box with #carp carved in relief in waves. Not only a symbol of wealth and new year, the carp swimming in torrential rivers up a waterfall is a metaphor for scholars rising up through the imperial examinations of classical #china towards the #dragon ie higher government office closer and closer to the throne. The material is painted lacquer built up by painting another layer every day or so for months or more in the best quality pieces forming several cm thickness eventually which can be carved easily lacking any grain as you’d find in wood. #chineseart #chineseantiques #chineselacquer #carvedlacquer #qingdynasty #asianartincanada #asianartinmontreal #fishinart
The boys are back in town… (boys are back in town). Actually I cannot remember much of the lyrics other than that. @clarsauctiongallery #clarsauction just acquired this sweet group of #japanese boys dressed in #heian period (9-12th c) carved wood group which I first assumed were attendants of #shotoku Tashi who made #buddhism the state religion in #japan in the 6th c. (See the early painting of him and two attendants from the treasury at Kakurinji). But dress and hair wise I am leaning more to it being an image of Zennishi Doji - the scion of Bishamonten (Lokapala guardian of the North) and Kisshoten the Buddhism emanation of the Hindu goddess Svaraswati. (See him lower right in Bishamonten scroll from @princetonu_artmuseum #princetonartmuseum dated Kamakura 13th c). What remains undeciphered is the other attendant boys. Hmmmm? Keep researching. And I’m going to enjoy this nice stand someone had made for this group. #japaneseart #japaneseantique #japanesesculpture #buddhism #japanesebuddhism #buddhistart #buddha #buddhist #bukyō #butsuzo #zennishidoji #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto
An enchanted moment And it sees me through It’s enough for this restless warrior Just to be with you. Happy Valentines Day, my love. Ooh this is an older photo by @nathankona @gabinwu in #singapore #singaporebotanicgardens over 10 years ago now. I think we must have been a little jet lagged to boot. BTW miss you guys. And miss Singapore. There’s a curry puff in the hawker centre in Tanjong Pagar I daydream about sometimes and recreate in my head. And a Christmas fish head curry. #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada #tourismsingapore #visitsingapore
Time keeps on slipping (slipping slipping) into the future. About 30 years ago when I lived in #japan (and was into a more rustic style of dressing) at #nagoyacastle #nagoyacastle🏯 which though dramatic looking is a ferro-concrete recreation of the original 1615 wood structure built by #tokugawaieyasu but was lost in WWII. #japanesesightseeing #japanesearchitecture #tokugawaperiod #edoperiod #sengokujidai #asianartincanada
I don’t like spiders and snakes, but that ain’t what it takes to love me - like I wanna be loved by you. I’ll have to love him from afar. A nice #carved #woodsculpture from #japan of En no Gyoja, a #buddhist #ascetic of the 7th century usually shown with #demon acolytes and associated with #yamabushi mountain ascetic #buddhism and #acalanatha / #fudomyoo the Vidyaraja guardian king of light. There’s a small typed old sticker on the back stating it’s #kamakura but I couldn’t be sure and was not going to bid strongly at @helmuthstone #helmuthstonegallery so it sold to another for $2,250 usd today. Ah well. #ennogyouja #japaneseart #buddhistart #buddhistsculpture #asianartincanada
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now … Dragon folding space (or is that my Dune anticipation?). From a #kesi slit weave #silk #tapestry roundel from a #mingdynasty court #robe 15-16th c @christiesinc #christieslondon I’m thinking @asianartinlondon 2018 perhaps. So excited for #chinesenewyear - cleaning, cooking, looking at dragons and I spent our entire month’s grocery budget at @tt_supermarket @tinalee_tnt the Canadian Asian grocery chain yesterday. I think 1/2 the Chinese-Canadian population of Montreal was shopping at the same time. Happy Lunar New Year !!! #chineseart #chineseantiques #chinesetextiles #hanfu #dragon #dragons #chinesedragons #historyoftextiles #asianartincanada
Starships were meant to fly Hands up and touch the sky Can’t stop ‘cause we’re so high In a natural and positive drug free way, ahem. Wishing you and yours Happy Lunar New Year of the Dragon. A Healthy, Safe, Prosperous, Joyous and Peaceful 2024 for all of us. This 19th century #chinese architectural or furniture mount Wood #dragon has been on my walls for decades now. Fragile and missing a few toes here and there she/he is a welcome member of the family. #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada #chineseart #chineseantiques #chineselacquer #chinesesculpture #dragons #chinesedragons #qingdynasty #chinesenewyear #chinesenewyear2024 #chinesenewyear2024🐉🐲🏮🧨🧧🇨🇳🎎🏯㊙️
Summer summer summer… it turns me upside down. Actually it’s about -4C out there, sunny but cold and @christiesinc #christieslondon #christies announcement of #davidhockey Painting 1968 California had me thinking about #summer and the #pool. Thinking also of these ridiculously expensive #versace #swimmingtrunks and maybe a @cbc #cbc #vintage cabana set made from 1976 olympics broadcaster uniform. The Hockney has been in a private collection the last 40 years and I think has never come to auction before - coming up in London in March. Maybe I’ll have to make do with summer outfits and no summer painting. Sad. #britishart #modernart #20thcenturyart #modernpainting #modernpaintings #gianniversace #versaceuomo #chineseporcelain #graphicdesign #canadianicons #vintagecanada #asianartincanada
I want the world to know. Got to let it show! A reposting of images from @national_palace_museum #nationalpalacemuseum of the most modern not modern design I’ve seen in years, the interlocking vase motif around the reign mark noting this Canton enamel imperial presentation or tribute tray was made during Kangxi period 1662-1722. Even before I read the caption I could tell there was a strong influence of the #herbalist #botanicalprints of the 16th and 17th century that were being brought to China by #jesuits as a means of discussing science and nature at the Qing court. The interior interlocking #florals is just as intriguing as the #vases I think. Mesmerizing. #chineseart #chineseantiques #asianartincanada #taipei #cantonenamel #chinesedesign #qingaesthetics #moderndesign #chinesevases
Dragons (dragons, the policeman knew) are supposed to breathe Fire (to breathe fire). A very obscure 80’s song. Previewing at @arnaudsauctions over the weekend and just decided to take images of #dragon #dragons. The green tomb figure is actually a dragon Ming #mingdynasty official (he has horns but they’re hard to see). And I was successful in adding him to the collection. Maybe good luck for #chinesenewyear #chinesenewyear2024 which brings us back to Dragon year. #chineseantiques #chineseart #dragonsinart #chinesedragons #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada #chinesedecorativeart
The Greatest Chinese Sculpture I’ve never seen. More than 30 years ago @sothebys #sothebysnewyork they sold this 41” (1 metre) tall #giltbronze #masterpiece #mingdynasty 15th c #sculpture #bronze of a Dharmapala with three heads, eight arms and riding a flaming wheel like #nezha. I have no idea who bought it and I don’t think it’s ever come back to the market. I would love for all those bronze foundries in China that make the fake #buddhas to copy this piece. Even in 3D extruded plastic if it looked anywhere near this good I think I’d buy it. In 1993 it sold for $710,000 usd!!! Not surprising. #chineseart #chineseantiques #buddhism #buddha #buddhistart #mingbronze #chenghua #yongle #giltbronze #sothebyschineseart #asianartincanada Doing a ton of catalogue research and this is one of the old catalogues I needed to go through - stopped my research to share it. If you are interested further the sale is Sotheby’s New York 29 and 30 NOV1993 lot 172
🌟🌟 IReposted from @asianartcanada feel for you, I think I love you. But I couldn’t get you today… @litchfieldauctions #litchfieldauctions auctioned today and sold for usd $26,000, what I suspect is a Yuan-early Ming dynasty 14th c #sancai #glazed pottery #bodhisattva which has seen better days. I think the head cracked at neck in the firing and braids and crown all missing parts, but still has a wonderful presence and majesty even missing a hand. Few of these survive and very few outside China. I even love the heavy wood lotus base the last owners had carved for it like an upturned capital. I’m sure we’ll see this one again in the market and at much heftier asking price. #chineseart #buddha #buddhism #pusa #buddhistart #buddhistsculpture #chinesesculpture #chineseantiques #rajalilasana #asianartincanada #asianart #art #chineseart #japaneseart #contemporaryart #painting #modernart #artgallery #artist #artwork #japan #antiques #asianartist #interiordesign #auction #artcollector #gallery
You’re so far away from me So far I just can’t see You’re so far away from me Brothers from the same(?) mother? One’s in Canada. The bigger brother in Yulin Museum, Guangxi China. It’s normal in art history to date Chinese antiques to specific dynasties eg Ming (1368-1644) a short 276 years. At times we can date to a reign - in this case Wanli Emperor a period from 1563-1620. But the Yulin Museum example has a date cast to the underside corresponding to a cyclical date of 1584. So for my #bronze #censer I can safely suggest a dating of ca 1584. Also the Yulin Museum example is local and mine has a cast inscription for Huangyan 黃岩 in Zhejiang province. I’ll need more research to figure out (if I can) the foundry location of the two. So much fun detective work. #chinesebronze #mingbronze #chineseart #chineseantiques #mingdynasty #chinesetemples #incenseburner #bronzecenser #censer #chinesehistory #yulinmuseum #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada
I try to discover a little something to make me sweeter… this pair of #famillerose #vases might help. Pre Previewing at @ahwilkens #ahwilkens auction in #toronto and a lecture on silver. I am loving a lapis and #ormolu late 18th century table and a Tosa school #japanese #byobu #screen of #gagaku players and dancers. #chineseart #japaneseart #japaneseantiques #chineseantiques #chineseporcelain #asianartintoronto #asianartincanada. NB. Auction previews Sunday and Monday this weekend.
Ride, come on baby Ride. Let me make your dreams.... come.... true.... High-Ho-Silver! Checking through Galerie Zacke's @galeriezackevienna massive Asian art sale this morning and came across this great and odd painting of Shoki (Zhongkuei) the Demon Queller / King of Demons which struck me mainly due to the great colouration of the horse and horse trappings. I love red tassels. Shoki is a model of loyalty and bravery after he volunteered to enter the King's nightmares to battle the demons that were plaguing His Majesty's sleep. The horse's eyes are intense, but it's a tiny horse - his sword is almost bigger! Japanese, probably mid to late Edo period, 18-early 19th c. #japaneseart #japanesepainting #shoki #zhongkui #demonqueller #demons #kingofdemons #ukiyoe #edoperiod #watercolour #inkpainting #japanesestyle #galeriezacke #asianartincanada
Silver threads and golden needles cannot mend this heart of mine. Flashback to 2017. Gustav Klimt at @natgallerycan #nationalgalleryofcanada on loan from a private collection in 2017 / 2018 in #ottawa where 3 #klimt paintings were together in one room. #portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ca 1915 - interesting to me especially as the seat is draped in blue what might have been Chinese #kesi slit weave silk tapestry of #lions and the background of #embroidery figures from Chinese opera and genre scenes of the late #qing dynasty in a portrait of a Viennese lady. Lederer’s story is unusual as she was able to hide her Jewish heritage during the war by having her mother swear that her father was in fact Gustav Klimt and the authorities accepted the lie. Sadly Lederer died in 1944 during the war. #austrianart #secessionistart #gustavklimt #belleepoque #belleépoque #viennese #elisabethlederer #modernism #klimt #asianartincanada #chinoiserie #chinesemotifs #chinesetextiles
Don’t worry about a thing, cause ev’ry-little-thing’s gonna be alright… And the year starts out softly with first acquisition- a quiet,cheery jar / vase #wucai #familleverte #chineseporcelain with #lions and a lot of foliage from the early #qingdynasty #shunzhi period 1644-1662. Old. And unusually large at 15” (38 cm). Shape compares really nicely with similar dates jar in the #butlercollection catalogue. Hoping it’ll be a good year for porcelain treasures. #chineseart #chineseantiques #antiqueporcelain #qingporcelain #enamelpainting #enamelledporcelain #shunzhiporcelain #exportporcelain #chineseexportporcelain #asianartincanada #asianartresearch
Welcoming the New Year with super jacked #manekineko - just happened to be in a semi- matching T. Wishing you all a safe, happy, prosperous 2024. #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto #japanesecrafts 2024 New adventures beckon.
Underneath the Mistletoe... Well not quite, but red and festive all the same. Wishing all our friends, family, colleagues, contacts, followers, even competitors (do I have rivals and enemies?) - All the Best of the Holiday Season, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hoping to see you in 2024. On the terraces of the beautifully restored Palazzo of the Princes of Butera in Palermo. @palazzobutera #palermo #asianartincanada #asianartresearch #merrychristmas
A chicken ain’t nothing but a bird … or so said Mistah Calloway. Who knew #chicken cups came in a variety of sizes? Time for a Holiday sake party I think. Don’t worry about dropping these priceless #chenghua #imperialporcelain #chickencups because THEY’RE FAKE. modern copies a friend brought back from #jingdezhen the porcelain centre of #china. An original would be …. Well let’s just say the record stands at $36 million usd or 18 million buckets of kfc or 180 million pieces of fried chicken! In truth the real ones are the apogee of perfection in firing porcelain, and though later developments could make porcelain faster, more efficiently, more elaborate, different colours, the quality did not get better than the original (extremely rare) imperial cups. Thanks @lichun.hu - love them. They’re hilarious. #chineseporcelain #porcelain #chenghuachickencups #chineseart #chineseantiques #asianartincanada #asianartintoronto #asianartdealersbehavingbadly
Sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody. This terracotta head of a mitred priestess or priest has been overlooking my life from above the cabinets for more than 20 years now. #japanese from the #kofun era 3-6th c bce and likely from the #osaka #sakai area where #terracotta figures of warriors, horses, priests, divinities and others in their thousands were placed surrounding the tiers of enormous “keyhole” shaped tomb mound complexes the largest covering several football stadia in area, some with larger footprints than the great pyramid at Gizeh. The tombs have never been excavated and are technically off limits as being connected to the Japanese imperial family. How this head and hundreds of others found their way out of Japan is just as mysterious. #haniwa #ancientjapan #kofunera #archaeology #archeology #japaneseart #japaneseantiques #antiquities #tombsculpture #earlyjapan #mysteriesofjapan #kofunjidai #japanesesculpture #japaneseceramics #japaneseceramic #japan #japanese #imagesofjapan #asianartincanada
Ya rayah win msafar trouh taaya wa twali Chhal nadmou laabad el ghaflin qablak ou qabli Which basically translates to - Hey, immigrant, where are you going? Sooner or later you will come back exhausted. Many ignorant people regretted this before you and me… **From my current favourite Arabic song Ya Rayah (have a listen if you have 5 min sometime). I thought it kind of suits a very well travelled #amphora #vase of Hispano Moresque design in what is generally termed Spanish Lustreware but which I feel needs further geographical and stylistic subcategories. This one in @palazzoabatellis #palazzoabatellis #palermo is stunning in its condition and impact about 130 cm / 4 ft of beautiful patterning and a wide band of #arabic script around the centre. From #malaga #spain around 13-14th century and kept in the treasury of a church in Mazzara until entering the museum in the early 20th century. Immigrated to Sicily and stayed. #islamicart #spanishart #spanishceramics #lustreware #manises #islamicceramics #arabicart #islamicantiques #islamicartinsicily #historiadesicilia #sicilia #siciliaaraba #asianartincanada #gazellesvase Compare with the most famous of this style, Grenada, the so-called Alhambra Vase which is later in dating.
Just two of us, we can make it if we try, just the two of us, you and I. One thing a lot of people newly in the Chinese antiques business miss in their studies is the amount of control and perfection in the best of the best Chinese Imperial porcelain. Not only government officials from the court directing what went on at the official kilns, the Qianlong emperor himself would sign off on some orders of vases and vessels - with annotated notes in the vermilion ink only he was allowed to use. This #celadon masterpiece coming up at @christiesasia #christieshongkong may have been one such approved commision - perhaps only two of these were ever made - this one being offered in a few days and it's pair sold in 2007 at Sotheby's HK for equivalent of $1.7 million USD. I have not seen this vase in person, but I can offer a personal photo of a comparable vase with Lotus motif in the Art Institute of Chicago, in which you can really see the play of colours in the glaze. Using techniques which were already almost a millennium old, the decorative motives are carved in low relief raised from the surface. Where you see white-ish colour, the almost clear #celadon glaze is thinnest and deeper green where it pools almost as if the colour came from the minute bubbles in the glaze - more bubbles, more green colour reflected. Hoping Christie's dragon version ends up in a museum some day... #chineseart #chineseporcelain #imperialporcelain #jingdezhen #artinstituteofchicago @artinstitutechi #chinesevase #chinesedragons #dragons #asianartincanada #asianartinchicago #asianartatauction #dragonvase
I've never been closer I've tried to understand That certain feeling Carved by another's hand (Obscure 80’s song but the cloister photo gives it away). Last #palermo #church #lamagione is fitting as it’s the last #norman period church finished around 1191. From the side the original #mosque upon which the Basilica della Santa Trinita was built still informs the design, and #kufic Arabic inscriptions on some re-used Roman period pillars attest to former structures on the site. Sadly, given over to the Cistercian order in the 1190’s who were strict about imagery in holy places -all the mosaic interior would have been removed -only to be given over to the Teutonic knights in 1197. Heartbreaking for the mosaic artists I’m sure. On a double pillar from the #cloister Norman decorative patterns are evident. Solemn and dark it’s still lovely and the three flights of pillars flanking the altar were a first to see. #churchesofpalermo #normansicily #siculoarab #chieseditalia #chiesedipalermo #sicilia #sicilysightseeing #quartierekalsa #asianartincanada #islamicartinitaly #islamicarchitecturesaroundtheworld
Greece is the word (is the word that you heard) It’s got move It’s got feeling…. OK. Wrong spelling. Sorry. A long and tiring day out to see the #doric #temples of #magnagrecia the #ancient Greek city / temple complex of #akragas ca 430. The Temple of Concordia is considered the most complete Doric temple. They’re 25 years younger than the #parthenon structures in Athens. And you can see the #mediterranean from here. #antiquity #ancientgreece #ancientsicily #agrigento #valledeitempli #sicilia #vecchiasicilia #antiquities #ancientgreekarchitecture #architecture #ancientarchitecture #archaeology #archaeological #asianartincanada
Libiamo, libiamo ne'lieti calici che la belleza infiora. La dolce far niente. (Sweetness of doing nothing). A very busy Thursday of exploring a local Baroque church for an hour, an hour in a cafe and a few hours of lunch at @alivaru_dacarlo in #quartierekalsa - talking about life, friends, food and what to do next… maybe relax. Sgambro- marinated mackerel, octopus ragù and GG’s veal cooked to perfection. #asianartdealersbehavingbadly #asianartincanada #palermo #sicily #osteriaalivaru #dolcefarniente #sicilyvacation Auctions, appraisals and museum work seem so so far away….
When I see you baby, I go out of my head, and I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough. I couldn’t get close enough to this vase in the Norman Palace / Sicilian Parliament offices, but I think even in the dark room and from behind the velvet ropes - it’s a #kangxi #famillerose and one of a nice pair on separate console tables in the King’s apartments, 12th century. Added images of a similar w much wider neck #yenyenvase or phoenix tail vase, export style ca 1700 in Bonhams London and another similar but w landscape body in Sotheby’s New York. Lovely to find hidden treasures in historic monuments. #chineseart #chineseantiques #chineseporcelain #chinesevase #kangxiporcelain #chinatradeporcelain #asianartinpalermo #asianartincanada #chinesevases #qingdynasty #bonhams @bonhamschinese #sothebys @sothebys @museitaliani
Like a virgin. Eh! Touched for the very first time! My first real Sicilian #siciliani #cannolo #cannolosiciliano and it was a religious experience - crispy shell and they fill a-la-minute from a machine at one end of a ridiculously long pastry counter. Bits of chocolate, pistachio, essence of different nuts, candied orange and smooth sugared ricotta. The essence of the Mediterranean and Arab culture intermingling all in a few messy bites. No wonder the Normans wanted to be here so badly. Heavenly. #palermo #sicilian #cannolisiciliani #quartierekalsa #italiancafe #asianartincanada
Boooooooooo! Happy Halloween. Found this #japanese #noh Noh theatre fan in a Chicago estate years ago and have kept it ever since as I love the #spider #spiders motif. I am not sure, but I believe it’s a prop from a play called Tsuchigumo - Earth Spider, a fantasy and lay built on an older warrior drama called Heike Tsuruginomaki. Spiders are symbolic of forlornness decay and past glory which works well with the #zen ideals of classical Noh drama. In Japanese - mono no aware, a kind of melancholy / transience / fleeting nature and spiders making #webs in the halls of former mansions and palaces speak of time and abandon. Like haunted houses. #halloween #spidersinart #japaneseart #japanesepaintings #sensu #foldingfans #japanesefans #japanesefan #cobwebs #japaneseantiques #asianartincanada
I see your true colours your true colours… and they’re gorgeous. Another @bonhams1793 @bonhamschinese #bonhamslondon a hanging scroll of a #bodhisattva possibly #guanyin #guanshiyin #avalokitesvara but curiously in the #crown or #tiara where and image of #amitabha #amitayus #buddha of the western paradise should be is a #portrait of a #tulku or #lama with #mongol cap and the winter robes associated with Tibetan monasteries. Signed Wu Daozi, a Tang period (7th c) #painter but in his style only though always the possibility of a copy / version of a long lost original. #chinesepainting #chinesepaintings #chineseart #watercolour #buddhism #buddhistart #asianartinlondon #asianartinlondon2023 #asianartincanada #buddhistpaintings #wishgrantingjewel #wudaozigallery
Touch you once, touch you twice. I won’t let go at any price. This #monkey will never drop your #katana #sword. I know it’s not a super old #japanese #antique but I’m in love with this sword stand #katanakake at @bonhamsjapanese @bonhams1793 #bonhamslondon a carved wood and #lacquer #chimp with welcoming arms and #grumpy face. So cute. Early Japanese #kawaii but I fear a lot of sword collectors will interested as he’s kind of unique, cute and functional and the shipping will be painful I assume. @asianartinlondon #asianartinlondon #asianartinlondon2023 #japaneseswords #bushido #samurai #japaneseart #japaneseantiques #kottohin #kobijutsu #asianartincanada #hugme #monkeysinart