Featured Chinese or Japanese arcitectural piece #3

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by Kevin Meade, Oct 20, 2018.

  1. Kevin Meade

    Kevin Meade Well-Known Member

    Hi Folks,
    Wasn't sure what sub forum to list these in so came to the discussion area. Went to a estate sale that was full of Asian items. This was the second sale of this particular estate. The first sale was for inside the house only items and this second sale was for the outside items and left over inside items.
    The outside was just one massive Zen garden. There were buddhas and cherubs and fountains everywhere. Old stone urns and iron benches. It was quite the place to see at one time I am sure. It hadn't been properly taken care of for a long time. You could tell by the amount of work that went into it that it was some ones pride and joy until they couldn't take care of it anymore.
    Many items were very old and just as many were newish as well. I thought all of them were very classy though. It was a fun sale to attend and I was able to come away with some very interesting things. My wife loves the big and heavy stuff , so I ended up with 3 truckloads of back damaging goodies.:wideyed::rolleyes:
    Several pieces are architectural but I am unsure of exactly what they are. Anyway , I am going to start a few threads here to feature a few of the pieces to see if I can get some help to I.D. them. The prices were so fair that the estate was empty in no time at all. There was 4 cherub garden statues with plinth's that I wanted to get but someone beat me to them. You just gotta brush it off and refocus and go get the other stuff at that point.
    So without any more rambling , here is piece #3.
    It appears to be possibly the top to a door trim? Maybe just a piece of trim to something else? Very ornate and about 43" long. At $10 I just had to bring it home.
    Thanks in advance for any and all help.
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  2. Pat P

    Pat P Well-Known Member

    That's lovely... I love items like this that have some character. Maybe originally it was at the top of a tall chest?
     
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  3. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    that's a nice one !!
     
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  4. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    In, over, under my firplace mantel. !! Love it!
     
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  5. Rayo56

    Rayo56 Well-Known Member

    This, as well as the other 2 you posted are made from what type of wood? Seems they have been kept outside for a period of time as the glue joints are coming apart, so not made from a single piece of wood but glued together pieces.
    The woodworker in me would want to get all that paint off, see what type of wood it was made from, then if not pine but a nice hardwood, I'de reglue, clamp it back together, then coat with a clear urethane.
     
  6. Pat P

    Pat P Well-Known Member

    I like the carving, too, but for me the paint gives it it's charm. I'd be happy to display it just the way it is as long as it wouldn't fall apart. :)
     
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  7. Rayo56

    Rayo56 Well-Known Member

    Yes , if pine i'de leave the paint!
     
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  8. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    I'd leave the paint period; that's a chunk of Chinese woodwork and the money's probably in the paint. It looks like a piece of someone's house, probably an old one.
     
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  9. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    It is beautiful Kevin. I agree, for $10 you had to bring it home.:)
    But why Chinese or Japanese? Gilding on a red ground are generally East Asian, it is not definitive for Chinese, and certainly not Japanese.

    It looks Indonesian to me. Scrolling and cross-hatching (top centre decoration) are very Indonesian.
    Java and Madura are the likely suspects imo, but I wouldn't rule out other islands with Majapahit influenced (courtly) regions. Majapahit was a medieval East Javanese kingdom which ruled a great part of SE Asia for a while. It is called a 'thalassocracy', which I will add as wotd.;)

    Woodcarving on 'gender' from Javanese gamelan orchestras:
    [​IMG]
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    It could have been over a door or gate, or any other architectural carving, or even part of a state/wedding bed.
    Please, please, please don't touch the paint. If you don't know what to do with it, send it to me.:hilarious:
    The wood could be teak.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2018
  10. Kevin Meade

    Kevin Meade Well-Known Member

    Thank AJ.
    I don't plan to mess with it at all. The charm is in all the old paint and detail. If I keep it I will just hang it and admire it.
    As for the Chinese or Japanese item , that was just me misrepresenting what I thought it might be because of the bulk of items I saw at the sale. I still have much to learn.
    I did find out that the man that owned all the items was a professor of Asian history at the local college. I wish I would have known the man. He had a wonderful collection and likely a wonderful personality.
     
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  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    That usually goes together.;) He certainly sounds interesting.
     
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  12. AuDragon

    AuDragon Well-Known Member

    Hi Kevin,
    I'm thinking Chinese and probably late 19th or early 20th Century. Examples like these were sometimes used in the construction of beds and wedding cabinets. It also could have been part of a doorway or a larger wall panel used to divide rooms. I saw a beautiful example in the Blue House Mansion in George Town Penang Malaysia which is the last photo.

    I don't think yours is just decorative because of the way the ends have been rough finished. It's clearly been used as a wall hanging at some time by a past owner with the eye hook. The Chinese are very good at copying these types of items, but yours seems to have genuine age to it. I think its gorgeous and I love the worn and aged gilt and red patina. Keep it the way it is. ;)

    Can't wait to see your other bargains! :)

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  13. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Stylistically it is more Javanese/Indonesian than Chinese.There is a close cultural connection between the different East Asian arts, but there are differences.
    Chinese usually manage to add some delightful scenes from history or mythology somewhere in the carving, or Buddhist symbols.
    Scrolling and cross-hatching, floral designs without people in it, are very Javanese/Madurese. The Javanese do add a central mask sometimes, but most of the time they don't. Madurese is usually without a mask.
     
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