Featured Fan and Dagger

My wife collected these before we met mostly sharing but comments welcome.

Ivory carved fan

 

The Dagger

 

both stunning pieces, big wow on the daggar !!!!

 

OMG! Look at the delicately carved crustaceans!!!!

 

The fan is known as a 'mandarin fan', or a 'fan of a hundred faces'. It was made for export in the Canton region ca 1860. It is a very nice one.

The other item is not a dagger but a ceremonial stake called a 'phurba'. It is associated with exorcism (among others), and can transform negative energy to positive.
Yours is a decorative one though, never used in ceremony. It was made in the Himalayas and set with beautiful semi-precious stones and possibly some glass or resin. The small reddish stones are usually rubies.
I hope the whitish material is not ivory, because this is a recent piece.

 

I can’t speak to either of them, but I do know both came from private collections. I did look at a lot of examples on google just now of the phurba and there is a big difference in not only craftsmanship and quality of materials but the examples on google appear small (skinny) in the hands this one is more robust.

I’ve held this one and don’t believe it is all that recent, the turquoise, lapis and other gemstones look natural and untreated

I did send pictures to I think it was heritage who immediately wrote this off as an inexpensive tourists item, my wife laughed at their comment.

 

In the USA it is much more difficult to evaluate anything, in China my wife has direct access to experts and she is good friends with the managers/Directors of the state run auction houses.

Around 12 years ago I spent 3 or 4 weeks driving the manager of the Shanghai auction house around Saratoga and Los Gatos, CA while he was looking for a home to rent.

 

The fan too, this is a nice example and of the age range but the carving can’t begin to compare.

 

Yes, they range from very basic wooden ones to highly decorated metal ones.
Most wooden ones are genuine, used in ritual. Metal phurba that were made for use in ritual often have meteorite blades, though not always.

By recent I mean post-1970, although I think this is later than that. One of the signs is the verdigris, which only became popular with replicas of ritual items in the late 90s.
So post-Cites, which is why I hope it isn't ivory. This is one of the issues when you've been told that something is old/antique, but it isn't. But you have found us now, so now you can always ask before you buy.

Himalayan craftspeople rarely use treated stones. Access is one thing, but also a natural stone has a connection with creation, so that is preferred, even in a decorative phurba.

 

Yes, I said it is a very nice one. Not just the carving, but more importantly the figures.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the faces are ivory as well, and the jackets are silk. I can't tell if they are on your fan, but I've never seen one where this was not the case. And I've seen hundreds over the years and own two.

 

Tourist yes, inexpensive depends on what you're used to. I wouldn't call it inexpensive.
It is a beautiful quality, but purely decorative.

 

Well, like I said I can’t say one way or the other I’m not knowledgeable on these things, but just because this technique was used recently as decoration on these ritual items made as reproductions doesn’t necessarily condom it being used earlier, the materials, carving even the verdigris on this example I think is not guilt but gold of unknown karat wire would make this to costly to reproduce as a tourist item. There are endless examples in China of artworks crafted for wealthy customers through the ages that are not going to fit the norms these one off examples reside in the private collection out of public view.

I would take this and have the materials tested, but both of these are stored in Shanghai where I’m sure they have been evaluated.

 

I don’t believe the white material is ivory the texture of ivory is different. Yes the faces on the fan are very thin slices of ivory it gives a beautiful silky skin tone.

 

It has been over 10 years since I looked at this phurba, I think my wife said the stone is white turquoise, if memory serves me.

 

Desertau, this is one of those instances where I can't follow you.
But whatever you mean, you have my opinion above, based on ca 60 years of experience. The experience began because of my own tradition and because of my love for such items, and my opinion is yours to do with as you please.

 

Stunning Phurba.......... but does it bite ???

 

or can it fly ???

 

well… I guess we disagree and I know you are very experienced and know how smart you are so I’m uncomfortable because I rely on others not on my own ability, I’m not sure how many years experience her friends have but it’s what they do for the museums and auctions their word is the final word in China in most cases. They are all good friends in her network. My wife’s greatest strength is he talent at networking and she has been building this her entire life, starting at a time when China was very controlled, but she helped a lot of powerful people at at time when they needed help when things they needed were not accessible out of kindness not for profit, They call her sister where ever we go in China we are family, no reason for her to guess over there… here in the US not so much, she has to bring things over to China, pictures are not reliable.

 

Yow, that would leave a mark!

 

Wowzers that is one heck of a nice fan! I’d bet having horses on it would give it even more value than a similar one without horses. Sure would love to find one that nice someday at a price I could stomach.