Asian Antiques from Burma and Thailand

February 23rd, 2011

It’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.

Antique Burmese Lacquerware
Antique Burmese Lacquerware

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

Burmese Opium Weights
Burmese Opium Weights

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

Antique Bronze Bells
Antique Bronze Bells

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

Antique Bronze Buddha Statues

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

Antique Thai Ceramics
Antique Thai Ceramics

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.

Antique Buddhist Manuscript Box
Antique Buddhist Manuscript Box
Antique Elephant Bell, Burmese Kinnara, Monk Wood Carving
Antique Elephant Bell, Burmese Kinnara, Monk Wood Carving
Antique Buddhist Gilded Wood Carving
Antique Buddhist Gilded Wood Carving

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

Buddhist Art – An Extraordinary Exhibition

May 17th, 2009

‘Gleaning just a hint of of the realms of Buddhism is like looking into the stunning infinity of the night sky, recognizing in such a scale of things the absurdity of that most privileged yet tortured species, the human animal, but seeing at the same time the extraordinary power and uniqueness of our species.’ Edmund Capon, Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales.

In 2001 the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia began an initiative to promote the understanding and appreciation of Asian art and culture through exhibitions, publications and programs. One such extraordinary exhibition was Buddha: Radiant Awakening. Exhibited was some of the most important Buddhist Art in existence, on loan from the world’s most prestigious museums as well as private collections. The exhibition was broadly conceived around three concepts; firstly the life the Buddha; secondly the radiance of both the ideals and the image of the Buddha manifest in so many different ways and means; and thirdly the worlds into which those manifold Buddhas are projected.  Jackie Menzies, Head Curator of Asian Art assisted by Adrian Snodgrass, distinguished scholar of Buddhism, did an amazing job in organizing an exhibition of such immense challenges.

I have included a few images from the exhibition for those who didn’t have the good fortune of seeing it. It is a mere glimpse of the remarkable works of Buddhist art presented.