In this last blog for 2016 we are featuring a small collection of artifacts from Southeast Asia in a home setting. We wish all of our customers a very happy New Year in 2017.
Asian Home Décor by sabai designs gallery
December 31st, 2016Asian Home Décor from sabai designs gallery
December 17th, 2015In our last post for the year we are featuring a selection of photographs of Asian antiques, artifacts and textiles from our gallery in an Asian home décor setting. We wish all of the visitors to our gallery a happy holiday season and offer our best wishes for 2016.
Friends Without A Border: 12th Annual Friends Gala in New York City
April 7th, 2014sabai designs gallery is very happy to be associated with Friends Without a Border and recently provided artifacts for auction at their 12th Annual Friends Gala. The event was held at The Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers, NYC on Thursday, April 3. The Gala, ‘Expanding the Dream’, raised funds to continue the mission from Cambodia to Laos in support of a healthier future for the children of Southeast Asia. Donations will support the construction of Lao Friends Hospital for Children as well as continued operations of Angkor Hospital for Children, and The Lake Clinic in Cambodia.
The Gala included cocktails and cuisine infused with Asian spices, auctions and a market offering exceptional artifacts from throughout Southeast Asia with live traditional music from Laos and Cambodia. Night views of the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River made for a spectacular backdrop to the night’s festivities. Below are images of the artifacts for auction from our gallery.
“Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the gala last night! It was a really fun evening, and we raised lots of money for children’s healthcare. It was so heartwarming to see all the hands raised in the air, pledging to help, during our live auction “fund-a-need”. We truly have some amazing friends out there”, Friends Without A Border.
Friends Without A Border is committed to care for, educate and support the destitute, abandoned, neglected, ill and dependent children and their families in Southeast Asia, starting in Cambodia and now in the process of building a pediatric hospital in Luang Prabang, Laos.
FWAB was first conceived when Kenro Izu visited Cambodia to photograph the famous Angkor temples in 1993, and witnessed firsthand the suffering of Cambodian children. By 1996, FWAB was officially founded and the next year Angkor Hospital for Children was built in cooperation with the Governor of Siem Reap and the Minister for Health. Since then the hospital has continued to expand its facilities and has become an official teaching hospital with the support of FWAB. In 2011, the Angkor Hospital for Children treated its one millionth patient and in 2013 a long anticipated goal of ‘a Cambodian hospital for Cambodians by Cambodians’ was reached when FWAB handed over operations to a local NGO (AHC International).
“We believe every child has the right to a healthy and loving life”, Friends without a Border
Asian Decor: Buddha Statues, Burmese Antiques & Textiles
December 4th, 2013We recently acquired some wonderful Asian antiques now listed in the gallery including Buddha statues, lacquerware, bronze bells, ceramics and textiles, mostly from Burma. Sometimes it’s difficult to fully appreciate pieces offered in the gallery without the opportunity of seeing them in a home setting so we are displaying them here to provide a sense of context.
Displayed here are an antique wood carving statue of the Buddha and a monk as well as an antique lacquerware vessel know in Burma as kun-it. Burmese artisans are well known for their expertise in wood carving. The tradition of lacquerware is centuries old in Burma and a great variety of vessels exist. They can be made from bamboo, rattan, or jackfruit wood which are then applied with several layers of natural and pigmented lacquer which is then decorated with an iron stylus using various motifs.
This entry incorporates both European and Asian influences without a conflict in aesthetics. With a little experimentation, Asian and European decor can complement and contrast one another beautifully.
This exotic dining room incorporates a cane dining setting decorated with a silk runner and 15thC Swanakhalok shipwreck jar. In the background are a decorated Burmese lacquered panel and sideboard upon which sits an antique bronze elephant bell, antique Burmese ox cart ornament and antique monk wood carving. And most precious of all, Lilly getting her beauty sleep.
Mirrors bring light and depth into rooms, reflecting colour and art work , and creating shifting visual effects. Featured in this photo is a rare Shan Buddha statue carved from wood, lacquered and then gilded. Beside the Buddha are a monk and lacquer-ware box. On the wall hangs a painting by a Laotian artist and reflected in the mirror is an antique Lisu hill tribe silver necklace.
This photo shows a wider view of the dining room with the addition of a pink orchid. Orchids are surely one of the most exquisite members of the botanical world and lend themselves to creating a relaxing Eastern ambiance.
This living room features a collection of Burmese antiques and an etching by Thai artist, Vorakorn Metmanorom. The timber, furnishings and lighting used help create a warm atmosphere.
Another shot of the dining room with the concertina doors opened. Decorative pieces include a Burmese Chin runner, Burmese lacquer-ware, Buddha statue with attendant monks and Chinese overhanging gilded frame.
The decor items featured in these photos are available at the time of posting and represent just a small selection of the Asian antiques, art, silk and tribal textiles, as well as collectibles available in the gallery.
Asian Antiques from Laos
October 12th, 2012Asian antiques from Laos are amongst the most interesting artifacts to be found in SE Asia. With its diverse ethnicity, Laos has a rich tradition of fashioning objects of beauty, many with utilitarian value. The people of Laos enjoy a simple, slow paced lifestyle, and are known for their friendly nature. We always enjoy our trips there and have made some good friends over time, especially ‘Mrs Vong’, an antique dealer who is one of the sweetest and quirkiest people we’ve met in our travels. Here I will feature a few of the antiques that we returned with from our most recent trip there as well as a few silk textiles that, while not antique, embody an art form that draws on techniques and symbolism that are over a thousand years old.
This antique sword is commonly referred to as a dha, or daab and is one of the more ornate forms of this style of sword seen. The dha is common to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma and is thought to date back to as far as the 16th century. It has served for centuries as a key weapon in disputes between neighboring SE Asian countries and is to light handle, and very effective. We were told that this particular dha was not used as a military weapon but would most likely have been owned by a wealthy Laotian for personal use, indicated by the detailed bronze work found on the handle and scabbard. More commonly, the two bamboo pieces that form the scabbard were bound using rattan and sometimes resin. Read more about this dha
Elephant shaped opium weights are common to both Laos and Siam and are thought to have been in use from around the late 16th century. The elephant weights featured here are most likely from the 1800s and were popular amongst the Hmong minority hill tribe people to weigh opium. In contrast, animal weights from Burma which were in common use since the 14th century were used to weight a variety of materials including silver, gold, medicines and spices. We have seen genuine elephant weights in three sizes as featured here. Another les common variation is a mother elephant with baby, also available in the gallery. Read more about elephant opium weights
We’ve been looking for genuine antique opium pipes for some time now and were fortunate to find two excellent examples made by the Hmong on our last trip to Laos. The Hmong were the first hill tribe to successfully cultivate opium poppies in the region, most notably in the area known as the Golden Triangle that encompasses Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. Both pipes are from the late 19th century and each is unique – one with a deer horn mouthpiece and the other with a decorated bronze smoking bowl and bone mouthpiece. The other pipe featured is a very handsome tobacco pipe that we couldn’t resist and is decorated with ornate silver bindings, a ceramic bowl and bone mouthpiece. View our Antique Pipe Collection
The Hmong hill tribe people are famous for their love of silver jewelry and in the past fashioned beautiful, often flamboyant adornments by melting down French silver coins. Hmong silversmiths are recognized for their considerable skills and creative designs. Hmong women often wear several large pieces of jewelry including silver torques, bracelets, pendants and hairpins. Featured here are an antique silver torque, soul lock pendant, and hairpin from the Hmong of Laos. View our Antique Tribal Silver Jewelry Collection
With a population of just 6.5 million people, Laos is a small country with few exports. One of the most beautiful artistic traditions of Laos is their silk weaving, a tradition that has been handed down from mother to daughter for countless generations. It’s difficult to appreciate from photos alone the beauty of these woven works of art as it is the incredible skill, time and concentration that goes into weaving them. A complicated piece such as the first wall hanging featured here took over a month to complete. Woven into the textiles are deeply symbolic ancient motifs that are an integral part of Laotian culture.
Please email us info@sabaidesignsgallery.com if you have any questions about any of the items featured here.
Asian Antiques
January 29th, 2012Asian Antiques
We recently added a few interesting Asian antiques to the gallery after a brief trip to Burma that I would like to feature in this blog including an early 20thC lacquer ware container, an antique Burmese sculpture in the form of a Royal Court dancer and three rare opium weights, one dating back to the 1500s. I’ve written about several of the artistic traditions of Burma including opium weights and bronze bells but thought I would provide some background on what is one of the most important crafts in Burma, that of lacquer ware.
Burmese Lacquerware
The lacquer containers featured below echo a tradition that dates back some 3,000 years. Though it appears that the Burmese originally learned the craft from neighbouring states, Burma (or Myanmar) quickly became the exemplar of this important craft. One of the oldest existing examples of a lacquer object has been dated to 1284AD and was exhibited in Rangoon in 1918. It is said that the art of lacquer making did not reach its zenith until the Kon-baung Dynasty (1752-1885) when a wide variety of lacquer vessels were in production in the city of Bagan, also spelled Pagan. To this day the best specimens of lacquer ware are said to come from Bagan.
Lacquer ware is known as yun in Burma and the process is remarkably demanding both in terms of the skill and the investment of time required to complete a single piece. Lacquerware begins with the construction of the basic object either in bamboo or soft wood; often jackfruit wood. Once the base is made the object is sealed with a layer of paste made from sawdust mixed with lacquer and left in an underground brick cellar to dry and harden for up to 10 days. The object is then polished on a primitive lathe using the dried leaf of the dahat tree, which has an emery-paper like surface. A second layer of sifted sawdust and lacquer is then applied and the object is returned to the cellar. This process is repeated several times with progressively finer coats of lacquer and sawdust, eventually replaced with ash to be mixed with the lacquer until a final coat of the highest quality lacquer is applied offering a deep black lustrous surface.
Lacquer, called thit-si in Burma is a sap from the Melanorrhoea Usitata, a tree that grows wild in Burma, mostly in the Shan States. Naturally black, other colours are achieved using additional pigments such as cinnabar (red) from China, orpiment (yellow) from the Shan states and green by combining the two. Blue comes from Indigo, usually obtained from India. The art of achieving just the right colour, particularly red/orange is a closely guarded secret by those with expert knowledge on the subject and it is said that the secret of the composition is passed down only from father to his most trusted son.
The surface embellishment of lacquer ware turns an everyday object into an artwork and the method used by the Burmese became renowned. The surface of the lacquer is engraved using a sharp iron stylus and the incisions filled with coloured pigment (first red/orange) to begin a design of which there are many.
The object is again left to dry in the cellar and any excess material is removed using paddy husks and water. The engraving is then sealed with resin and the second colour, usually green is added and so on. A complex piece will often have 3-4 colours as seen here and requires a great deal of time to complete, especially when traditional motifs cover the entire object.
Lacquerware takes an incredible variety of forms from simple everyday objects of utility to artworks of religious significance and provides a deep insight into Burmese social life and culture. One of the most ubiquitous items is known as kun-it, a cylindrical box consisting of several shallow trays for holding the ingredients to make a quid of betel to be chewed, which provides a mildly intoxicating effect. Two lovely examples of kun-it offered in the gallery are featured above.
A less common form of lacquer ware is the pyi-daung, a large vessel without trays that is used for carrying rice to the Buddhist temple where monks reside in their quest for enlightenment. This vessel would have taken several months to complete and features decoration referred to as let-taik-let-kya, which typically includes buildings alternating with human and animal figures, in this case dancers and forest dwelling deer.
The tradition of lacquerware making continues in Burma today and Bagan remains the most important centre for this craft. While quality pieces continue to be produced in Burma, there is a certain charisma that emanates from antique lacquerware that harks back to a different time and bears the marks of use in the context of Burmese society. We hope to add further antique lacquerware pieces to the gallery over the coming months of the year.
Antique Opium Weights from Burma
We would also like to the feature three fine opium weights still available from a handful that we recently returned with from Burma. There are noticeably fewer genuine opium weights being offered on each subsequent trip to Burma, especially the rarer styles. The oldest is a 10 tical beast weight also known as to-naya and is dated mid-late 16thC. It is in very good condition. I personally find this styling very charming. The second is another style of weight that is becoming exceedingly difficult to locate and is referred to as a ‘Mon Duck’ or ‘Sleeping Duck’ and is dated early 18thC. The third weight in the series is often referred to as a ‘Golden Hamsa’ and is dated late 17thC by Hartmut Mollat in his essay, ‘A Model Chronology of the Animal Weights of Burma’.
Antique Burmese Woodcarving – Royal Court Dancer
This sculpture of a dancer from Burma was a lovely find and exudes a jubilant mood. In Burma, sculptors using teak wood command a great deal of respect as artisans and this is a fine example of their work. It has been spared any damage – the fingers which are vulnerable have often been broken at the tips with older pieces. There are expected cracks in the paint in places but otherwise the image is in excellent condition and without repairs. It stands 23 inches tall and lends a joyous ambiance to a room.
Asian Decor & Home Decorating Ideas
June 9th, 2011Asian home decor has been recognized in the West as one of the most inspiring styles of interior design. Asian decor evokes a sense of serenity and at the same time stirs the soul . The Eastern aesthetic draws on thousands of years of history and is profoundly influenced by religious beliefs based on the ideal of absolute freedom. In Southeast Asia, Buddhism is a major source of inspiration for artistic expression and has produced wonderful works of art.
A few well chosen pieces of Asian art, artefacts or textiles can transform the ambiance of a room, rendering it a place of sanctuary and a respite from the cacophony of the world and its many demands. Unlike factory produced furnishings, Asian art, antiques and artefacts echo age old artistic traditions and have a certain indefinable ‘chi’ or energy that is tacitly felt.
Given that we spend much of our life in the home, it’s important to create an interior environment that is soothing and enlivens one’s imagination. A considered investment in Asian home decor can be one of the most rewarding in terms of home decorating. Conversely, it can lead to some of the gaudiest home decor when cheap and tacky decorations are chosen over the genuine article.
Featured below is a small collection of photos featuring art, antiques, tribal artefacts and textiles offered in our gallery.
Asian Antiques from Burma and Thailand
February 23rd, 2011It’s no secret that authentic Asian antiques are becoming increasingly difficult to locate. Older antique dealers in Thailand often reminisce about times long gone by when you could buy Burmese opium weights in kilo bags for a song and old Burmese lacquerware was stacked up to the ceiling in their shops. The popularity of Asian antiques in America and Europe over the past few decades has led to a steady decline in supply in the region. Rare styles of opium weights, antique bronze bells, larger antique bronze sculptures and artefacts in general are all requiring a little more time and effort to track down. That being said, we recently returned from a trip during which we acquired several impressive new items from Burma and Thailand that we would like to feature.
Featured here are two large Burmese lacquerware vessels known as pyi-daung that were once used to carry offerings of rice to Buddhist temples and in the middle, a rare antique gold gilded Buddhist manuscript known as kammavaca that was presented to the Buddhist temple when a young monk ordained. View our Lacquerware Collection
Here are three rare forms of Burmese ‘opium weights’ dating back to the 1600s. These bronze zoomorphic figurines were used to weigh a variety of materials including precious metals, spices and medicines. They have become popular collectibles and represent a bygone era in Burmese history with production ceasing during the 1800s while under British rule. View our Opium Weight Collection
Three antique bells from the 19th century- the spherical bell is an elephant bell while the other two are pastoral bells, once used to help locate grazing livestock. Like virtually all Burmese utilitarian objects, they were created with mindfulness towards aesthetics. View our Bronze Bell Collection
The three Buddha statues seen here are from Thailand and all are seated in the ‘earth witnessing posture’ representing the moment of the Buddha’s enlightenment when he touched the ground to bear witness to his awakening to Absolute Reality. The first two statues are in the Chiang Saen style of northern Siam while the third is in the Sukhothai style, characterized by the flame-like halo. View our Buddhist Art Collection
The antique ceramic pieces here are from Thailand – the blue glaze pieces are in La Na style (former northern kingdom) while the celadon plate is from 16th century Sukhothai, which was a major hub of ceramic production at the time.
Please click on the photos to be redirected to the listing with further details. The items featured in this blog represent just a few of the antiques from Burma and Thailand listed in our gallery so browse our collections and if there is anything of particular interest to you please email us at info@sabaidesignsgallery.com
Opium Weights, Burmese Lacquerware, Sukhothai Ceramics, Bronze Bells
October 5th, 2009New Items in the Gallery
Antique Burmese lacquer containers, opium weights dating from as early as the 15th century, celadon ceramics from 15-16th Sukhothai and antique bronze bells are among the items that we recently returned with from an overland trip to Sukhothai and Burma. Below are a few photos from the trip and of some of items that we recently listed in the gallery. Very soon we will be listing more antique bronze bells from Burma. If there are particular items from this region that visitors to the gallery are interested in that are not currently featured, please let us know and we will endeavor to find them.
Antique Bronze Bells from Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia
May 27th, 2009Antique bronze bells have become one of the most popular items offered in our gallery. Most of our bells are from Burma, but some are from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and India. The bells of old are generally far more beautiful than bells crafted today. They were cast in bronze and bear a range of attractive designs and often interesting inscriptions. In Burma the tradition of blacksmithing has always been an honoured occupation associated with courage, strength and integrity.
Temple bells donated to the Sangha (order of monks) are held in high esteem. They are sounded three times at the conclusion of personal devotions as an invitation to all sentient beings to share the merit accumulated by their spiritual practices. Onlookers may respond with the congratulatory refrain- thadu, thadu, thadu– well done, well done, well done. The casting of large bells is a major event which takes place with an air of great ceremony and rejoicing. Sweetness of tone is very important for the temple bell. Unlike bronze Buddha images, the bronze was normally composed of 83% copper and 17% tin. In some cases, lead or even silver was added. The smaller temple bells with clappers are often found suspended on the eves of pavilions around temples and are said to attract the attention of the deva of the Tavatimsa Heaven. The gentle tinkling ring serves as a reminder of the Buddha’s endless compassion and deep wisdom. Small temple bells are also used to signal various activities to monks and nuns including the time to rise, meditate, chant, eat and rest.
Our pastoral bells worn by cattle or buffalo are called hka-lauk in Burmese. They are normally trapezoidal or semi-circular in shape with closed rings at the top so that the bell can be suspended around the animal’s neck with a cord.The clapper is held in place with wire entering through two small holes made in the upper surface of the bell. They are often decorated with very handsome scrolling or geometric designs on the surface. When travelling, the animals would follow the sound of the bell worn by the lead animal. The sound would also warn travellers of their presence on narrow mountain passes. The bells are also said to scare off predatory animals as well as help farmers locate their animals after being set free to graze.
The spherical elephant bells known in Burma as chu are similarly decorated and would help the mahout locate his elephant after being set free to forage in the jungle. Though popularly referred to as elephant bells, we are told by our Burmese friends that these bells were also worn by other animals including ponies and oxen.
Bronze bells often have interesting inscriptions including the seal or name of the maker, information about historical towns and their economic situation, customs of the people and the orthography of the period in which the bell was cast. For example, bells may bear the names of kings, queens or members of the aristocracy as well as high ranking military officers. The value of a bell depends on age, quality of bronze and patina, decoration and condition. Each bell has its own individual physical characteristics, ring tone, and story to tell.
