Raised designs in slip decorate the yellow glaze of this deep bowl by Kawai Kanjiro enclosed in a kiriwood box titled O-yu Tsutsugaki-mon Wan annotated by Kawai Toshitaka, current head of the Kawai Kanjiro Museum. This piece dates from later in the artists illustrious career, 1950s-1960s. It is 4 inches (10 cm) diameter, 3-1/4 inches (5 cm) tall and in excellent condition...

A signature work by Kiyomizu Rokubei VI enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Golden light shines through the silhouette of iron colored trees on the tapering cylinder. It was a design technique developed by this generation. The original rosewood stand is included. The vase is 31 cm (12 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
The Kiyomizu family potters managed one of the most productive workshops in Kyoto’s Gojozaka district throughout the second half of the Edo period...

A beautiful example of a Hakeme style bowl, this one quite rare as it was made around 200 years ago by the son of the founder of the Dohachi line of potters. Traditionally decorated using a brush made from rice straw, a white slip is applied to the darker clay body with a wide sweeping stroke to achieve the effect seen here...

Birds take shelter for the coming of night as the mist rolls in on the bare branches of a stand of trees huddled along a stream, all dyed with the colors of late autumn in this exceptional work by Hashimoto Kansetsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Seen in silhouette against the moon, are these crows, the stalwart creatures which hunker down through winter, or are they Sagi (herons) harbingers of the cold to come? This painting is a superb example of his mature style...

Japanese circular jingasa with a gradual pointed top and curved rim in the front. Lacquered black with a crest in gold. The underside is lacquered red.

Jingasa ("war hat", a type of kasa commonly worn by samurai and ashigaru.
In the Edo period, the politics of display of sankin kôtai and other ceremonial occasions led to jingasa becoming more decorative in appearance, as was also the case for many other items of samurai arms, armor, and clothing...

Japanese conical ichimonji gasa (military jingasa) with a gradually pointing top and unusual, wavy brim mimicking cloth material. Lacquered a deep brownish black with areas of red lacquer showing through in a negoro lacquer effect. The raised red lacquer mon is that of either the Katakura or the Matsukura Clan. The underside is lacquered in the same manner as the top except for a round red lacquer circle in the center...

An antique Japanese Kyoto Todana Tansu made of Hinoki (Cypress) and Sugi (Cryptomeria) woods. Two large sliding doors open to a spacious storage area with a center shelf. Horizontal wooden slats on the doors and the sides allow for visual aesthetics and strength of the chest...

Antique Japanese uma-jirushi, flag standard for battle. This uma-jirushi is a large inverted gourd surrounded by smaller gourds. The great daimyo, Hideyoshi Toyotomi (famous for being the second unifier of Japan) made the upside down gourd his uma-jirushi symbol. A large upside down gourd was placed on top of his flag pole and smaller gourds were added around it with each victory. Called "Sen nari hisago" or "thousand gourds"...

Stunning Antique Japanese moon handle basket for ikebana flower arranging. Made of split bamboo that has been twisted into rope and woven tightly together along with criss-crossing whole bamboo stalks. The deep reddish color of the split bamboo contrasts dramatically with the light color bamboo stalks. The wildness of the weaving highlights the tidiness of the overall form of the basket...

A late 16th.century Azushi-Momoyama Period (1573–1600) vase in elegantly-shaped meiping form, with a gradual outward curve on the shoulder, with short-knopped neck, incised beneath the greenish-yellow / olive glaze.

The vase is decorated with kanji letters...

Silver damask iron box, gold details. Japanese work of the Edo period bearing the coat of arms of the Saka-I clan. I once read that this clan was responsible for security in Edo in the 18th century (to be checked). The essential feature of this box is the finesse of the iron that makes it. The blacksmith managed to hammer a wall as thin as paper...

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant chest) in a rare two section design made of Kiri (Paulownia) wood. All original hand forged iron hardware with full moon style locking plates and Warabite handles. Two sliding doors open to a storage area where merchant books and business records were kept. Recessed side handles on the tops of each section.

Merchant chests provided two important key elements for the store owner. The first was its functionality as a chest to consolidate the shop...

Antique Japanese netsuke in the form of a fudog. Carved of boxwood, the fudog leans on a ball. With eyes wide and mouth open, his mane flows down his back. He curls his body around the ball, gripping it in three paws while balancing on his back leg. Age and use have added an appealing smooth quality of the netsuke.

Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)

Dimensions: 1 3/8" high x 1 1/4" wide x 1 1/2" long

According to Kei Wakao, the artist who crafted this extraordinary work, it took him years of trial-and-error to perfect the unique rice-porcelain glaze covering this finely shaped vase. Not only was it a challenge to achieve the demure milky translucence of the glaze—similar to the appearance of a grain of rice when held to the light—but also to get the right flowing consistency and pooling effect in desired areas.

Born in 1974 as the eldest son to a well-established kiln in th...

Incense burner in lacquer, hexagonal and curved shaped, decorated with hira and takamaki-e in gold and silver lacquer on a nashi-ji background, peonies along the banks of a river and a mount. The lid has a cruciform opening.
A mon is affixed to one side of the diffuser. It is the mon of the family Ōkubo (大久保氏)a family belonging to the Fudai-Daimyo house (the vassals of the Tokugawa family).
The head of the family was created Daimyo by the Tokugawa family in 1684. From 1725...

Fan-shaped kobako in lacquer. The kobako is decorated with autumn plants on sequined silver and gold. The inside and the circumference are in nashi-ji lacquer.

Kobako (“little boxes”) are often adorned with harmonious decors and sceneries inspired by Japanese fauna and flora. Japanese artists play with shapes and materials with accuracy and thoroughness akin to silverware.

Japan, Edo period (1603-1868)

Length 3.75 in (9,5 cm) – Height 1.6 in ...

Created by Living National Treasure Isezaki Jun, Bizen pieces like the one seen here originated in Okayama (south-western Japan) and have a long history that is closely intertwined with that of tea culture. Known for employing a natural-ash glazing techniques that require extremely long firing times (7-14 days) at very high temperatures, constant attention is required to ensure good results. Here Isezaki can be seen pushing the bounds of tradition Bizen orthodoxies in interesting and creative wa...

Kuro-Raku Chawan by the 11th generation Keinyu Kichizaemon (1817-1902) enclosed in its originally signed and sealed wooden box.

This Raku chawan is particularly endowed with a structural power deriving from simple composition of features of a bowl - another reminiscence of the earlier generations of this unique family of artists.

Apart from being expertly formed and bestowed with symbolic imagery, this piece has the added distinction of being created by Raku XI Keinyu, the...