Gorgeous handmade Cat carving with Batik

Measures: 12.5 cm (5 ") high (at top of tail) x 6.4 cm (2 1/2") base x 3.3 cm (1 1/3") in thickness (of the tummy)

Made from : wood, hand carved and batik decorated

Weight: 45 g

photo of actual item

This is a hand made cat carving from Central Java. It is decorated by the batik technique – wax resistance dyeing. You may be familiar with batik cloths, and this is the same process applied directly on to the wood, a new variation of Batik Art started in 1989. Each dot is hand dotted – it is a meticulous, very labour intensive and very beautiful art form. (We've put two photos in of the wax 'drawing' part of the process before dyeing. If you'd like to find out more about traditional batik, please click the link.)

Beautifully made, this decorative cat looks great just anywhere! The pose is so feline - alert and so cute with that tail in the air! Just perfect for those with Eastern influenced décor or those who simply love cats … And also make a wonderful gift for others.

The cat is a small size: 12.5 cm in height (from tip of tail) x 6.4 cm base x 3.3 cm in thickness (at the tummy). It is rather light, weighing 45 g, as it is made of a light wood the Javanese call "Pole" (pron: polei) wood, a little bit like our Balsa wood. (Unfortunately there are no hard woods left on the island of Java, the most densely populated place on this Earth ...)

This product is made in Yogyakarta in the southern hills district which relies on their handicrafts for a living as the soil is dry and unproductive. We buy direct from the makers as we used to live there and have many family connections – resulting in fantastic prices for you!

Just add $2 per additional item for combined postage within Australia (after the heaviest/most expensive item)! It goes without saying that we carefully package these beautiful handicrafts well in strong boxes to safely post to you…

Please check out our other auctions and store items, as we love to give big postal reductions with combined shipping (within 14 days)!

Thanks for looking, and good luck with the bidding!

Lovely Carved Two Turtle Coconut Shell Hairpin/Barrette!

Measures: 6 cm (2 1/3'') high x 9.7 cm (3 3/4'') long, pin 12.1 cm (4 3/4 '') long

Made from : coconut shell, wooden pin, hand made

Weight: 10 g
Photo of actual item

This is a hand made barrette from Bali.

Beautifully made, this decorative barrette looks exquisite as well as being functional. The twin turtle design is gorgeous, like two little hearts ajoined! The natural coconut shell is variegated in colour and hand carved! A lovely pin for those who like unusual natural things, and they also make a wonderful gift for others.

The hairpin measures 6 cm high x 9.7 cm long, the pin 12.1 cm long and weighs 10 gms. It is made from coconut shell, a wonderful and very useful and prolific natural resource in both Java and Bali!

This product is made in Tegalalang, a little town in the centre of Bali near Ubud. We first spotted some of these lovely hairpins in Yogyakarta and bought some there, and by an amazing coincidence we met the maker while traveling home via Bali as well as this supplier. We buy direct from the makers– resulting in fantastic prices for you!

Just add $2 per additional item for combined postage within Australia (after the heaviest/most expensive item)! It goes without saying that we carefully package these beautiful handicrafts well in strong boxes to safely post to you…

Please check out our other auctions and store items, as we love to give big postal reductions with combined shipping (within 14 days)!

Thanks for looking and good luck with the bidding!

TWILIGHT
Amber, Jet, and Silver Jewelry

Sunlight captured, time frozen, life suspended... amber offers a view of an extinct world, the ancient remains of conifers whose resin once flowed to be exposed to the outside elements, to trap light and life in it's sticky embrace, and whose memory still washes up on the shores of the Baltic sea after a storm...

We've gathered some fine examples of jewelry being produced with Baltic amber, jet, and sterling silver. More jewelry can be expected and the availability will always be shifting. We tend to pick unique cuts and designs with Nordic and Celtic themes. What you see is what currently is in stock, and in most cases there is only one piece available of each style. The prices are loosely based on weight, with workmanship, uniqueness, and aesthetics all affecting them. Furthermore, all of these prices are set at wholesale levels for all customers to bring these amazing pieces to you in the most affordable way possible.

Our latest acquistions are showcased over on our new page for at least a month before they make it over here. We also have a page for our other goodies that contains various pendants and necklaces with different themes than what you'll find here.
Thanks!

We have a page just for bracelets, in materials such as amber, stone, cloisonee, cinnabar, and wood.
Many of the types of designs that would normally appear on this page, as well as some that appeared on our other goodies or new pages, will now only live on this bracelet page.
Examples include: amber bracelets with oval shaped chunks of amber, each one including an insect, a good amount of faceted amber bracelets set on elastic string, cognac and green amber cabochon and silver bracelets, and silver knotwork patterned cuffs.

Ethnic and Tribal Jewelry
Sold pieces that we may be able to acquire again!

Old Dayak earweights

Old Dayak earweights are available occasionally-mostly pear shapes (aka gasing, spinning tops).
Please click on the above thumbnail images to view the pieces at actual size.
These antique pieces are for both wearing and collecting alike-very few examples of traditional Borneo earweights are still available. I feel the best way to honor old jewelry like this is to continue it's use and the artisan's intentions by wearing them.
The detail and heaviness of these weights speak from a period when time flowed a bit more slowly...
These are getting harder to find, and also more expensive. Please call for a price quote.
As an example, the above pear shapes were $225/pair, though they would be at least $300/pair now.
We can get very old pairs from collectors for around $600/pair and up.

New Dayak earweights

New bronze Dayak earweights from Borneo, as shown in the top two rows, were only $40/pair!
All styles are currently sold out, but you can ask to be put on a wait list for when we get more - most likely when I travel to SE Asia again. Please click on these thumbnail images to view ones at real size.

In the top row are thorny aso's, black and blonde large aso's;
the middle row has dragons, single aso, and double aso. Aso is the Dayak term for the mythical dragon/dog beast that is prevalent in their carvings, paintings, and tattoos.

The copper coils on the bottom left are old, but are singles, and went for $20/each.
Pairs of copper coils are much more than double that amount.
Pairs of bronze coils and C-shaped are very hard to find and quite expensive.
The silver sets of weights on the bottom right are old Dayak girls' sets
and were $20 (only a few rings) to $80/set as pictured - prices now may be considerably higher.

Here we show another pair of new Dayak bronze earweights,
in a large version of the enigmatic bird/elephant design.
These went for $60/pair. SOLD

New Silver and Bronze Jewelry

These fox earweights are made to be worn either with the entire torso through the lobe for the best distribution of weight (at 9/16" in diameter, needing a hole size of at least 11/16" to fit them in) or with just the tail section in the lobe for those with smaller holes (at around 2ga in diameter, requiring a hole size of just under 00ga to fit them in).

They are very heavy as far as the typical range of earweights are concerned-and must be worn with extreme caution. These are on a similar par to the very heavy weights that Dayak ladies from Borneo wear. I personally find them to be comfortable for everyday wear, without strenuous activity, if one is used to and likes a good weighty feel; however, these will be far too heavy for most people. The weights are the same for both ears-no lefty and righty twist. The foxes can stand up on their feet...

• Bronze foxies measure approximately 107 grams (3.8 ounces)/each and are $95/pair wholesale;
• Silver foxes are approximately 133 grams (4.7ounces)/each piece
  and were $225/pair minimum (current high silver prices necessitate that the price will go up, perhaps $300)
  (making them the same price for retail or wholesale customers).
• Keep in mind that a quarter pound is 4 ounces, making the bronze ones just under, and the silver ones just over, a quarter pound each! Thus, these must be used only with extreme caution.
• While we have enjoyed these for a few years now, there is a chance we may not produce more...
• We do not have any pairs currently in stock, and are taking names for our waitlist.

Horn and Bone

Horn and bone body jewelry is here! Please note that water buffalo horn is black (or occasionally creamy medium tan, or brown rootbeer-like and translucent) and bone is white. Horn is made primarily of keratin, a fibrous protein, similar to that found in quills, claws, nails, hooves, feathers, wool, and hair, and is a very different material than bone, which is largely composed of the mineral calcium carbonate and the protein collagen. Please note that most horn (over 90%) is black, and very little (less than 10%) is brown; these variations occur randomly within each shape and size category, and usually sell quickly, thus will often be unavailable.

We do not sell horn that is reddish-orange in color; this color of horn does not occur naturally and has been achieved through bleaching which denatures the protein, causing permanent problems including softening, dull finish, increased texture and even stickiness, crazing, cracking, and other inappropriate problems for a material intended to be used for body piercing jewelry.

Please request current catalog pages to see the newest pricing and current inventory, or download this list via page 3 of our online catalog. We only sell what we currently have in stock and no custom orders can be taken, though you can ask to be placed on a wait list if what you need is not currently in stock.
This jewelry is made by carvers who work in millimeters, so may not necessarily match exact gauges or fractional inches. This also means we have plenty of inbetween sizes, so feel free to ask!
You may order it in any measuring unit and we'll do our best to match exactly what you're looking for.

We do not use item numbers, so a basic description of what you are interested in will suffice...
(for example: a pair of 00ga hollow horn saddles with dots along the rim, in brown horn if possible).
In the case of engravings, inlays, and silver caps, you can simply describe how a design looks...
(for example: 1" black horn plugs with inlaid white bone open star with pie wedges between the points).
Labels with the specific names of many of our designs are shown below and on page 3 of the catalog.
You could also refer to how far down the page a specific image appears, and which piece within that image... (for example: in the third image down, the fourth plug shown on the bottom row, an 8-petaled Borneo flower, in 5/8").

The material comes from domestic Indonesian water buffalo horn (Bubalus bubalis) and cow or buffalo bone; both are used as draft animals (for example, to plow muddy rice paddies) and are consumed as food. They are highly valued and are not dispatched only for their horns or bones; these have an incredibly small value compared with that of a living animal. Water buffalo horn and bone are obtained after death, and since the cultures from which they are attained believe in utilizing the whole animal, nothing goes to waste, and thus the animal is honored more fully. Scroll down this page for a quote...

Images shown represent a fair cross-section of the types of shapes, angles, sizes, colors, hues, engravings, etc., that occur within the given styles of horn and bone jewelry available. Variations will always occur as all of these pieces are hand made by humans out of naturally-occurring, non-homogenous materials. If you need clarification about any of these factors, please ask before placing an order.

Amber

Amber is a fossilized/polymerized resin, exuded from extinct trees related to modern day conifers (and some flowering tree species) over 20 million years ago. It is primarily found in the Baltic regions, but also appears in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Burma, Italy, Romania, Borneo, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Middle East, Alaska, Canada, and even in the United States.
Clear, white, yellow, orange, red, brown, black, and even blue or green hues are all possible, while opacity can range from translucent, clear, or spotted, to milky or dark with inclusions.
There are many plastics and younger resins (copals) which can emulate amber. There are some tests that are available to distinguish between the materials; one simple test is friction: amber is an easy conductor of static electricity. Another can be done with a black light; genuine amber fluoresces an amazing green-blue under UV light.

Amber is a gorgeous material used from antiquity as body jewelry, in the form of pendants, amulets, and for piercings. Amber seems to capture sunlight and allow it through the body. Burmese hilltribe women such as the Kachin wear long, crayon shaped pieces of the unique dark orange-red burmite amber found there. The Aztecs utilized amber for incense and body jewelry (earplugs and labrets). They even had a word for an amber ear plug: apozonalnacochtli (after apozonalli: amber; and nacochtli: ear pendant, ear plug)