W150xH150mm, Thailand
This is a gold hairpin to be worn by the bride in a Thai wedding. During Thong Mun, the engagement ceremony (which sometimes is on the same day as the wedding), the groom will present gold sindod (dowry) to the bride. The ceremony will be attended also by friends and relatives.
DIA360xH110, China
Bamboo basket (tray like) used to be a common household item; in the days when refrigerator is not so common, the weaving of the bamboo strips avoid trap moisture and made the vegetable and fruit stored last longer. Apart from the everyday use, the bamboo tray basket also feature on the wedding day, when the bride leaves her parents home a respected female of the family will use the bamboo basket to shield the bride from the sun.
DIA260xH480mm, China
This lacquered water bucket is part of the bridal dowry of a Chinese wedding. The basic dowry list for bucket section would include a foot a water bucket, a foot washing basin and a chamber pot. The list for a well off family would go up to more than 20 items. All these items have in common is that they are all lacquered in red and structurally formed like a barrel, segments of circular planks tightened together by a piece of metal. The bucket artisan used to be a very popular trade, making every day use items, repairs and of course the dowry items, but as China became industrialized now there is only a handful of old artisan left.
Mountain Folkcraft 