This specialty shop features a range of labor-intensive Chinese artisan-made fine art objects,…read morejewelry, and crafts. In terms of volume, the most significant proportion of this store's goods are made of ivory, in a range of prices, ages, and provenances, some by known collectible Chinese artists. I don't know any specific artists, but the manager, David, totally knows his stuff: he gave me a tour of the various cases, starting with antique (over 100 years old), vintage (over 50 years old to the 1990s), and contemporary pieces. CITES animal-rights legislation prohibits the importation of various types of ivory after a certain date, and they're not sketchy about this here; everything is labeled and dated, and they give out a necessary item identification certificate to buyers. And the artworks are beautiful. Huge, intricately-carved elephant, mammoth, hippo, and other teeth tower over the many smaller carved pieces. There's a section of composite (bone dust mixed with a binder), plastic/resin, as well as bone.
They have a nice jade selection, and most of it is paired with gold. There's a marked difference between vintage imported Chinese enameled vases and contemporary examples, most of which is expressed in the visible level of detail and skill. These arts, these crafts, take a long time to learn and the demand for these handmade, more obscure art forms is lower nowadays, so there are fewer and fewer pieces made by fewer and fewer artists. Many of the items found at Wai Hing would be difficult to source elsewhere, because of this confluence of circumstances. I wasn't turned on by their cinnabar, and the porcelain selection would definitely do it for some folks but that's not really my thing. The store is small, but not tiny, and not cramped; everything is carefully organized and displayed beautifully. Taken in together, the visual effect is stunning.
New animal product legislation in California, combined with the economic pressures of a rapidly-changing San Francisco, mean that Wai Hing may not be around for very much longer. In a year, it would not delight me or surprise me to learn that the owners had retired. The time to visit this Grant Avenue storefront gallery is now.