Decorative Works of Art

We have been hard at work sourcing decorative works of art for several years now and we are excited to announce that we now have unique decorative accessories in the mix on our website. The offerings are one-of-a-kind pieces produced by some of our most talented artisans working in clay and bronze. The visionary creators include Arjan Deng and Athit Mingchua, who also goes by Lek Ohm, and some of the most actualized foundries producing bronze sculptures today.

Decorative Works of Art

Our intrepid guide who travels intensively to find the accessories we offer, Jean-Charles Chappuis, says of Deng’s work, “We love his versatility and the way he studies facial expressions and creates descriptive titles that capture the essence of those expressions! He is one of our most admired artists and we are so proud of our deep collaboration with him.” Deng, shown above in his studio, was born in the late 1950s, and he has devoted his adult life to arts and crafts. He is best known in Thailand as a painter, which has been the creative thread of his life; and though he has also worked with recycled metal and concrete, he now creates using clay, which is his newest passion.

About the Thai artist Lek Ohm, Jean-Charles notes, “He likes to project himself in an imaginary world full of flying elephants, happy gnomes, and singing Lutins (mischievous fairy-like creatures) that we all love. His sense of humor is endless and it brings happiness into homes.” Ohm has been realizing whimsical designs for more than twelve years, his love of the Japanese art scene and Manga Art reflected in his work. His sculptural pieces have faces with wide-eyed and mirthful expressions. There’s a poetic sense of color in the hues he chooses for each ceramic character that enhances its own unique charm. Although Manga Art has a long history, Japanese artists embraced the style heavily from the 1950s to the 1990s. For a Western audience who may not be aware of Manga Art, there is a strong influence from American cartoonists and illustrators, especially those created during the 1920s—Betty Boop is a good example, as is the early Disney character Bambi. These illustrate how clearly Disney cartoonists were influenced by their Japanese counterparts.

Also among the one-of-a-kind pieces are an array of bronzes. Looking to the experts to describe why sculptures made from this particular metal are so special, we share what the curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art have to say: “In ancient China, bronze vessels were emblems of ritual and power. A millennium later, in the period from 1100 to 1900, such vessels were rediscovered as embodiments of a long-lost golden age that was worthy of study and emulation. This ‘return to the past’ (fugu) was part of a widespread phenomenon across all the arts to reclaim the virtues of a classical tradition.” They add that an important aspect of this phenomenon was the revival of bronze casting as a major art form.

Curators also explain that later Chinese bronzes have been stigmatized as poor imitations of ancient bronzes rather than being seen as fundamentally new creations with their own aesthetic and functional character. They see in these pieces an artistic virtuosity and an innovative creativity, and believe it is time for the stigma to be removed. Among our offerings in this time-honored material are ancient wine jars, temple bells, temple oil vessels, figurative pitchers, and other vessels.

Artistry At Its Best

We have grouped all of the new one-of-a-kinds in one place on our website to make it easy to find them in one place. We’re proud to be supporting artists worldwide like these talented individuals and foundries, and we look forward to seeing the new artistic visionaries Jean-Charles will bring us in the future!