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Folk Art
Pg. 1 2 3 Fish Decoys Gourds
Pg. 1 Whirligigs Hoi An Hoard

Primitives
Pg. 1 2 Curios Folkart Buoys on Nautical pages Tramp Art Location

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Item #EA-04-TT3055 MASSAI CARVED GOURD c1930 SOLD
		Price: $108 US ($125 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: length 25”, maximum diameter 3 ¼” Description: A long slender gourd open at each end. Gourds like this were (are?) used for collecting blood and milk from cattle. In use there would be a wooden plug for each end. Approximately 3” at each end have a burnt, blackened pattern; between the ends are six bands of circumferential incising with five bands of incised diamonds etc, all picked out in black. The background color is a rich, aged, golden orange (somewhat more red than my pictures show). This was part of a private collection made by an army officer serving in Kenya in the 1930s. To the best of my knowledge it has never been put to its intended use. I shall be sorry to part with this beauty!	.

Item #EA-04-TT5231 KENYAN DECORATED BOWL c1930 SOLD
		Price: $91 US ($105 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: diameter 8”, depth 4” Description: This is an unusual bowl because it is decorated both inside and out. Externally there are several incised bands starting 1” below the rim, followed by a wide band of incised and blackened columns and triangles, then more incised bands. The bottom bears a circle with a cross-hatched diamond pattern, also blackened. Inside the bowl there are six incised lines near the rim and a blackened, incised design somewhat reminiscent of an insect. Condition: excellent. This bowl came from a private collection made in the 1930s and has been carefully protected from damage.	.

Item #EA-04-BCG PNG CRUSHED LIME GOURD c1950 SOLD
		Price: $82 US ($95 CDN) plus shipping and handling, Quantity: 1 Dimensions: length 8 ¼”, diameter 4 ¼” Description: Throughout Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya many people are addicted to chewing the mildly stimulating betel nut (which stains their mouths red and their teeth brown). Betel is chewed with crushed lime which is kept in special gourds. The lime gourd is one of your important personal possessions, sometimes plain, sometimes decorated. This lime gourd from the Middle Ramu area has a simple band of pitted white spots around the open end. Where the gourd narrows is a band of split cane with two small hoops to which a string is attached to hang on a belt. Condition: lovely patina, no damage, just all round excellent.	.

Item #EA-04-DS0973 CHINESE CRICKET CAGE, LATE 19^th C SOLD
		Price: $108 US ($125 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: length 4”, diameter 2 ¼” Description: During the Qing Dynasty (c1750 – 1910), small gourds were grown in special molds which dictated the final shape and surface ornamentation. Fitted with a rosewood cap these gourds were used as cages for pet crickets. Children collected the crickets by shaking them out of trees – not like our black ground crickets, these were more like our katydids. This particular cage, c1890, is a smooth bottle shape with an ink drawing showing a woman fishing from a bridge with trees in the background. The cap is of rosewood fitted with a coiled brass wire to keep the captive secure. Condition: excellent; the drawing is feint but distinguishable; there are some small spots of paint which I have left for fear of damaging the gorgeous, smooth, aged patina.	.

Item #EA-04-TT3523 KENYAN DECORATED BOWL c1930 SOLD
		Price: $100 US ($115 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: diameter 10”, depth 5 ¼” Description: Without internal decoration except for four incised bands at the rim, this bowl is finely decorated externally. There is a 1” putty colored band where the outer surface has been carved away. This band is adorned with alternating circles having cross-hatched centers and a cruciform figure. Below that is a complex array of incised bands and diamonds. The base is criss-crossed with lines dividing it into nine panels, each filled with lines, diamonds cane pattern, etc. The color is a rich, old blood red, unevenly worn to show the underlying red stained gourd surface. Condition: excellent. This bowl came from a private collection made in the 1930s and has been carefully protected from damage.	.

Item #EA-04-DS5796 18^th C CHINESE CRICKET CAGE SOLD
		Price: $195 US ($225 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: length 4 ½”, diameter 2 ¾” x 2” Description: This is an early Qing Dynasty cage for a pet cricket, grown in a mold so that the outer surface shows embossed faces, scenery and something that looks a bit like a dragon (not having seen one personally I am unsure about this). The figures and scenery are picked out in ink. The cap is of rosewood with seven apertures for ventilation. The color is a lovely tawny brown, a wonderful, lustrous patina from ages of handling. Condition: this is an outstanding and rather rare example of a gourd cage in absolutely perfect condition. A real gem.	.

Item #EA-04-TT5412 CARVED MASSAI GOURD c1930 SOLD
		Price: $108 US ($125 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: length 25½”, maximum diameter 2¾” Description: This handsomely carved Massai blood/milk gourd burnt decoration to both ends and intricately incised patterns of lines – some picked out in black. This is an unused gourd. The Massai used them for blood or milk, on special occasions both were mixed with honey and fermented in the gourd and consumed at a pre-hunt ritual. Heady stuff but perhaps not to the sophisticated taste of westerners. This gourd came from a private collection made in the 1930s and has been carefully protected from damage; the narrower end has been pierced for a string by which it could be hung as an ornament. This is a very fine folk art item.	.

Item #EA-04-TT4583 KENYAN DECORATED BOWL c1930 SOLD
		Price: $91 US ($105 CDN) plus shipping and handling Quantity: 1 Dimensions: diameter 10 ½”, depth 5 ½” Description: Decoration on this splendid bowl consists of a putty colored band at the rim where the outer surface of the gourd has been cut away. This is embellished with circles and crosses. Below that is a complex array of of incised bands and bands of diamonds, leading to the richly ornamented base. The base is divided by linear incisions into nine sectors, each decorated with diamonds, circles, lines and/or wiggles. The overall color is a light terra cotta with remnants of a darker red finish. The rim has been pierced so that this could be hung as a wall ornament. This bowl came from a private collection made in the 1930s and has been carefully protected from damage. Please note that this is an authentic piece of old folk art. It is most definitely NOT a piece of modern tourist schlock!	.

Folk Art Pg. 1 2 3	Fish Decoys	Gourds Pg. 1	Whirligigs	Hoi An Hoard
Primitives Pg. 1 2	Curios	*Folkart Buoys on Nautical* pages**	Tramp Art	Location