Oriental Art

Information may not be reliable

Atlanta knows Sally Woo in so many ways.
In 1966, she was one of the first women graduates in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech.
Life magazine featured her and her husband, Robert, in 1967 when their son, Bobby, was born at Crawford Long Hospital, "the 200 millionth American."
And just ask any decorator: Her 30-year-old business in Sandy Springs, Oriental Art, is one of the metro area's best sources for art and decorative accessories from Asia.

In a converted house on Roswell Road, Woo sells antiques, new furniture, paintings, prints, lamps, ikebana containers, porcelain, throw pillows, baskets, figurines, pottery and mah-jongg sets.

"It started as a hobby," Woo explains. "When my children were young, I really didn't want to take a 9-to-5 job. This was a way to work and be with my children."

Today, she and Robert, a retired CPA, work side by side, greeting customers and offering an encyclopedic knowledge of their inventory.

Oriental Art is perhaps best known for its collection of hand-painted silk screens and a wide assortment of wooden stands and easels for pots and art. Woo says she carries more of the highly coveted screens than most of the better-known art dealers in the country.

The stands are crafted of solid rosewood or teak; many are hand-carved. Styles range from ornate Chinese to the more spare but nonetheless elegant Japanese, and sizes go from little bigger than a milk-jug cap to a few feet in width.

Silk scrolls from Shanghai hang near a Korean step Tansu chest. Antique blue-and-white Chinese porcelains elbow up to more rustic, tall urns from Thailand and woven baskets from the Philippines. Yet another shelf holds Japanese Imari and Kutani porcelains.