ORIGINAL INTRO:
I propose to put the readership to work.
From time to time I will post stuff from my late-mother’s house (my house now). She was a bit of a pack rat and she also did a lot of artsy-craftsy things, some of which she could regularly sell at art fairs, etc.
My experience is that you readers know a LOT about a LOT. Hence, I want to tap your knowledge. And if you see something you want, let me know.
Help! I am a bit overwhelmed with it all.
31 July A few more things.
This one has a perfume bottle with liquid in it, top left.
I’m finding stacks of ribbons from fairs.
I did some research on some.
These…
These are a matched pair of Chinese paintings of elegant women executed on a woven silk or silk-like textile and mounted with brocade borders in gilt faux-bamboo frames.
The inscriptions appear to read:
“Plucking plum blossoms in winter snow. Painted in Shanghai by the woman artist Yijiang.”
“Reading the Book of Changes in an autumn grove. Painted in Shanghai by the woman artist Yijiang.”
Here Yijiang, literally “lady historian,” is a traditional honorific for a cultivated female writer or painter.“Yijiang” appears to be a sobriquet or studio name rather than an artist readily identifiable in standard auction records.
The seasonal titles strongly suggest that these were originally part of a Four Seasons set, probably with corresponding spring and summer subjects. The first woman gathers or admires winter plum blossoms. The second reads the Yijing, or Book of Changes, beneath autumn foliage.
Probable date and origin: China, Shanghai, approximately 1930–1960, perhaps somewhat later. There are some horizontal and vertical creasing or fold lines are visible in both works. The winter picture has some discoloration and unevenness in the upper field.
The creases should not be flattened by pressure or moisture at home. Silk paintings can fracture or shed pigment when handled improperly. Maybe $250
These…
These are a matched set of four Chinese export bird-and-flower wall panels, probably made during the 1960s or 1970s. They are hand-painted in polychrome over a metallic gold ground, with black-lacquered wooden borders decorated with floral scrollwork. A virtually identical set is currently described as Chinese, circa 1970s, measuring approximately 36 × 12 inches per panel, with hand-painted decoration over visible gold-leaf seams and original export-style hanging hardware. These are in the bird-and-flower tradition. Small songbirds fly among bamboo and flowering branches. The large branch extending through the third and fourth panels appears to be flowering plum or peach. Stylized blue-green garden rocks occupy the lower register. The black borders carry painted vines and blossoms. The composition is Chinese in vocabulary, although it was simplified and brightened for Western decorative interiors. These panels were particularly compatible with the Hollywood Regency and mid-century taste for chinoiserie. They are not an antique coromandel screen. China, Chinese export production, circa 1965–1980.
They have some wear but they are structurally sound and retain their matching hanging hardware. A similar four-panel gold-ground Chinese bird-and-bamboo set is priced at $299.99 on eBay.
This is a Chinese black-lacquer two-door storage cabinet, 1970–1990. It has brass or brass-colored hardware, painted geometric key-fret borders, decoration of peonies, flowering branches and birds. The principal door decoration may be entirely hand-painted, although portions appear slightly raised and could be applied composition, resin or inexpensive carved stone. The gold characters read “The beauty of spring delights the heart” or “Spring scenery gives pleasure.” It is in fair to good decorative condition. $450
20 July I have a bunch more photos of things mom either made or had.
Made things first. There are various frames, one at least one an award. And some … christmasy trees? … and some crosses… one of then is a guitar, as you will see, which I think was made by a friend. She and a whole bunch of gals would get together and make stuff.
Here’s an interesting one. Mom, in her police work, belonged to international associations which took her a couple times to the former Soviet Union… good will and all that… she got a lot of pins, it seems. Maybe some she acquired here, dunno. This is the result. And that’s my mother.
24 June…
A friend with some legal know how is visiting. We’ve been getting insurance quotes, investigating possible car buyers, organizing the clean out of Mom’s garage (which might need the diverting of a river).
However, my friend and I stopped at an antique/consignment “mall” – simply VAST. The contents of each little internal booth or shop reminded me of Mom’s house. In any event, we spotted some things made from seashells not unlike things my mother made. They had price tags which gives me at least a sense of what that people thought about value.
I think that my mother’s stuff is a little better.
This is in my mother’s house.
Anyone want to buy a house?
ORIGINALLY POSTED 17 June 2026
Anyone know what these are? Polished rocks on stands, sure. Anything more than that?
She made this. A frame for a mirror, maybe?
That’s what this is.
She also found uses for tchotchkes… of which she has very many…. for gluing purposes.
She didn’t make this.
Then there are the furniture pieces. Any thoughts?
So, this is an experiment. I’ve got this stuff now and I’d prefer not to simply dumpsterize it. But my time is precious.
Anneliese on Vatican official “fed” Pachamama during ritual while in Peru: “According to Anthony Stine at Return to Tradition, there was an earthquake in that area after this pagan event.”
