Our catalogue > Cabinet of Curiosities

We don't sell objects so much as stories with an object attached. So here are some of the more unusual, quirky objects that we have with interesting stories.

Each piece has been sourced from within the UK, often from old, colonial-era collections.

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9733

Large, Rare Tibetan Tortoiseshell Plaque Carved with Manjushri

Tibet
circa 18th century

height: 20.5cm, width: 17.4cm, weight: 225g

Provenance

private collection, Spain/England

8887

Rare Pair of Moroccan Iron Prick Horse Spurs Overlaid with Gold

Morocco
19th century

length of spur: 27.7cm, combined weight of spurs: 818g

Provenance

private collection, UK.

9566

Indian Cast & Chiselled Brass Erotic Maithuna Betel Cutter

West India, probably Maharashtra
18th-19th century

length: 9.7cm, width: 6.2cm, weight: 229g

Provenance

UK art market

5212

Burmese Tattoo Needle & Weight

Burma (Myanmar)
19th century

length: 33.1cm, weight: 158g

Provenance

UK art market

5573

Burmese Tattoo Needle & Weight

Burma (Myanmar)
19th century

length: 45.8cm weight: 281g

Provenance

UK art market

5574

Burmese Tattoo Needle & Weight

Burma (Myanmar)
19th century

length: 45cm, width: 5.1cm, weight: 500g

9444

Indian Fine, Silver-Inlaid Betel Cutter

North-West India, probably Rajasthan
19th century

length: 16.4cm, width: 5.7cm, weight: 121g

Provenance

UK art market

9534

Sino-Tibetan Conch Shell Trumpet with Gilded Copper Mounts

Sino-Tibetan
18th century - most probably Qianlong period (1736-1795)

length: 22.2cm, width: approximately 13.5cm, weight: 1,129g

Provenance

Derek Wright (1927-2022) collection, Fritham Grange, Hampshire., UK. Acquired by the previous owner from Gerard Hawthorn Ltd Oriental Art, London, June 2004.

9502

Maori Greenstone Pendant in the form of a Native Bat (Pekapeka)

Maori people, New Zealand
19th century

width: 7.2cm, length: 4.8cm, weight: 38g

Provenance

UK art market

9495

Pair of Tibet Fire Offering (Homa) Ladles of Iron Overlaid with Gold & Silver

Derge, Tibet
15th-16th century

length: 78.2 and 86.2cm, combined weight: 1,983g

Provenance

UK art market

9363

Javanese Islamic Wooden Circumcision Chair

Java, Indonesia
18th-19th century

height: 61.5cm, width: 65cm, depth: 43cm

Reserved
9245

Vietnamese Ceremonial Trident (Dinh-ba)

Vietnam
Nguyen Dynasty, 19th century

length: 46.3cm, width: 23.8cm, weight: 571g

Provenance

French art market

9282

Ottoman Woman’s Embossed, Silver-Clad Hammam Clogs (Qabqab)

Ottoman Turkey
19th century

length: 22.8cm, width: 8.3cm, height (including strap): 11.3cm, combined weight: 643g

Provenance

UK art market

9374

African Dogon Cast Brass Pendant of a Seated, Bound Female Slave

Dogon People, Mali
19th century or earlier

height: 6.7cm, weight: 134g

Provenance

UK art market

9079

Mongo Currency Anklet

Mongo People, central Congo
19th-early 20th century

width: approximately 14.2cm, height: 11.7cm, weight: 4,038g

Provenance

UK art market

8965

Rare, Inscribed, Shaivite 22-Spout Water Vessel or Lota

South India
18th-19th century

height: approximately 27.5cm, width: approximately 33cm, weight: 2,503g

Provenance

private collection, England.

8920

Indian Cast Brass Finials to Decorate the Horns of a Bullock

Central or Southern India
18th-19th century

height: 10.6cm, width: 3.7cm, combined weight: 314g

Provenance

UK art market; private UK collection.

8694

Balinese Double-Ikat Geringsing Cawat Ding Ding Si Gading Cloth

Tenganan Pegeringsingan, South-East Bali, Indonesia
19th century

folded length: 105cm (full length: 210cm), width: 42.5cm

Provenance

private collection, UK; believed to have been collected in Bali in the 1920s

8751

Hittite Silver Model of a Long-Horned Bull

Hittite people, (likely) Anatolia, Central Turkey
1750-1200 BC

height: 8.5cm, length: 8.5cm, width: 3.5cm, weight: 136g

Provenance

UK art market

7325

Rare, Nepalese Inscribed & Gilded Copper Buddha’s Footprints Buddhapada Portable Mandala Plaque

Nepal
17th-18th century

diameter: approximately 27cm, weight: 669g

Provenance

UK art market

6521

Andaman Islands Man’s Dance Regalia

Andaman Islands, possibly from the Jarawa Tribe, South Andaman
circa 1900

indicative length of headdress (band & tassels): 49cm

Provenance

private collection, London. UK; previously, Charles Wilfred Hext (b.1880-1919)

7207

Fine, Dayak Brass Helmet Ornament

Dayak People, Borneo, Malaysia/Indonesia
19th century

width: 10.6cm, height: approximately 17.5cm, weight: 93g

Provenance

UK art market

7055

Qajar Bird Hunting Whistle & Carved Wooden Gem-Set Case

Persia (Iran)
19th century

length: 16.5cm, weight: 58g

Provenance

Oliver Hoare, London; Christie's, London, Indian and Islamic Works of Art, 20 Apr 2007.

7054

Qajar Bird Hunting Whistle & Carved Ebony Gem-Set Case

Persia (Iran)
19th century

length: 14.8cm, weight: 71g

Provenance

Oliver Hoare, London; Christie's, London, Indian and Islamic Works of Art, 20 Apr 2007.

7005

Early Indian Terracotta Mother Goddess

Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, Northern India
200-300BC

height: 18.2cm, width: 8.6cm, weight: 420g

Provenance

UK art market

6524

Mongo Woman’s Woven Buttock Shield (Bakonga)

Mongo People, Congo
early 20th century

length: approximately 88cm, width: 8.3cm, weight: 157g

Provenance

private collection, London, UK.

6846

Parsi Ritual Silver Ses or Sace Cone (Soparo)

Northern India
dated 1933

diameter: 17.3cm, height: 34.5cm, weight: 787g

Provenance

UK art market

4115

Exceptional Collection of 18 Aztec Black-Clay, Tubular, Ear Plugs or Spools

Aztec Civilisation, Capilco, Mexico
14th-15th century

diameter: 2.1cm (smallest), 3.1cm (biggest)

Provenance

UK art market, prior to that Madrid, Spain from before 1974

6523

Mongo Woman’s Beaded & Woven Buttock Shield (Bakonga)

Mongo People, Congo
early 20th century

length: approximately 98cm, width of pompom: 12cm, weight: 292g

Provenance

private collection, London, UK.

5969

Burmese Bronze Rice-Noodle Maker

Burma
19th century

height: 15.4cm, width: 22.5cm, depth: 11.4cm, weight: 2,410g

Provenance

European art market

6386

Burmese Royal Silk Achiek Cloth Sutra Cover

Burma (Myanmar)
19th century

70cm x 78cm

6144

Colonial Spanish Powder Flask (Yesquero)

Colonial Spanish, Argentina
19th century

length: 7cm (not taking into account the curve), weight: 27.59g

Provenance

UK art market

3466

English Tavern or Publican House Willow Nine-Pin Skittles Set

West Country, England
19th century

heights (approx.) 30cm each, and 40cm for the king pin

Provenance

UK private collection

4676

Rare, Brass Toad-Shaped Flask

Tibet
18th century and perhaps earlier

height (with stopper): 37cm

Provenance

UK art market

3933

Dayak Man’s Ear Ornament (Sabau) of Carved Hornbill Casque (Beak)

Kenyah/Kayan Dayak People, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
19th-early 20th century

height: 4.6cm, length: 10cm, width: 4.2cm, weight: 26.36g

Provenance

Acquired in the UK, from the estate collection of Dr George Yuille Caldwell (1924-2016). Dr Caldwell, an English-born physician moved to Singapore in the 1950s, from where he built up a collection of mostly Borneo-related textiles and other ethnographica.

5089

Rare Indian Coco-de-Mer Ewer

India
Circa 17th century

height: 45cm, width: 25cm, thickness: 18cm, weight: 3,070g

Provenance

UK art market

4313

Eshu Dance Wrist Pendant

Yoruba People, Southern Egbado, Nigeria
19th century

height: 10.2cm

Provenance

private collection, London.

4274

Woman’s Iron Pubic Cover (Cache Sexe)

Kirdi and Matakam People, North Cameroon
19th-early 20th century

length: 37.5cm

Provenance

private collection, UK