The Soma-Da school invented this style at the beginning of the 18th century. The color of the lacquer and the energetic design of the horses lead us to date this inro to the end of the 18th century. Below is glued a label referring to the prestigious collection of Doctor Mène which was dispersed in 1913 in Paris. This collection created around 1880 contained only exceptional objects...

Antique Japanese scroll painting of a tiger crouching on a rocky outcropping. The tiger, who represents the wind and the West looks up into the sky at the gathering storm clouds. Large paws grip the rocks and the tip of it's tail peeks out from under the mossy overhanging. Painted in sumi-e ink on silk. Signed by the artist. With kiri wood tomobako.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: Total: 66 1/2" high x 20" wide (22 1/4" wide including rollers)...

Kohiki glaze tea bowl made by Living National Treasure Arakawa Toyozo (1894-1985) The mark of the potter is painted on base...

A Japanese drop-shaped bronze vase worked with a remarkable depth that transforms the work into a breathtaking three-dimensional scene with a majestic bear in relief in the center as it stands powerfully on a rock. The bear is portrayed with a precision that does justice to its majesty. The details of its fur, its powerful paws and the expression of its face give an extraordinary life to the animal...

Contemporary Japanese Rhinoceros (kabutomushi) horned beetle. Hand molded high grade leather over resign form. Highly detailed, supple leather. Artist specializing in making one example of all types of insects.

Contemporary Japanese

Dimensions: 7 1/2" wide x 4 1/2" high x 14" deep

Contemporary Japanese praying mantis. Hand molded high grade leather over resin. Upright in a boxing position, head alert with watchful eyes. Well detailed.
The stealth movements of the praying mantis have made it a symbol of meditation and contemplation. In China, the insect has long been honored for its mindful movements. It never makes a move unless it is certain that is the right thing to do...

Invisible from the top, glimmering stones catch the light in the raw cracked clay on the outside of this dark earthen bowl by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yami to Sei (Darkness and Stars) Chawan. A beautiful bowl showing the artists fascination with the combination of smooth crystalline surfaces and raw matte clay. The interior is glazed, while the outside is raw clay...

This playful image of a Japanese raccoon dog (tanuki) enjoying a flask of saké was done by one of the most renowned and loved waka poets of the 19th century, Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875).

Born into a Samurai family but soon after adopted by the Ōtagaki family, from the age of seven to sixteen Rengetsu was a lady in waiting at Kameoka castle where she was trained in the arts and courtly graces...

Ohara Koson
Hare and Moon
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1900s-1923.
Bears Koson seal.
Publisher: Daikokuya (56)
Reference: K41.16 and plate 102 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent. A small, linear indentation below the cloud. Pencil number on back.
Provenance: The Bedford, NY estate of Eleanor Jay and Arthur Iselin...

Antique Japanese pair of boxwood okimono Nio. The Nio are guardians to Buddhist temples, and enforcers of physical confrontation to fight back against evil. Nio are typically placed on either side of a temple door. One statue, named Misshaku Kongo or Agyo, has an open mouth to represent the first sound in the Sanskrit language "a", symbolizing birth and overt violence...

Antique Japanese lacquer suzuribako (calligraphy box) decorated with young pine shoots and a fruiting tachibana (wild orange) tree near a small stream. Gold maki-e lacquer on a dense gold nishiji ground. The underside of the lid has a continuing scene of the stream winding through rocks with sprouting bamboo in gold maki-e lacquer on a spars nishiji on black lacquer ground...

Woodblock print "Face" 1978 signed Tomio Kinoshita, printing 1/50, three oval heads over cylindrical necks with faint rounded shoulders, each inscribed with interior lines over a quite orange/gray, exterior surrounded by a dark somber color.
Tomio Kinoshita has a distinct contemporary stye of abstract heads done in line images of angular, square, and oval shapes. He was born 1923in the Mie Prefecture, Japan...

An antique Japanese Mizuya Tansu (kitchen chest) made of Keyaki (Zelkova), Hinoki (Cypress) and Sugi (Cryptomeria) woods...

An antique Japanese Kansai Daiku Tansu (carpenter chest for tools and hardware) made of Hinoki (Cypress) and Sugi (Cryptomeria) woods. 14 drawers of various sizes used to store tools and hardware used by a Japanese wood craftsman. Japanese woodworking techniques used in making this chest include through mortise and tenon joinery and hardened wood nails. Original hand forged iron hardware including the Kakute handles. Originates from the Kansai region of Japan.

Age: Early Meiji Era (...

An antique Japanese Two-Section Kaidan Tansu (stair chest) made of Keyaki (Zelkova) and Suginoki (Cryptomeria) woods. Original hand forged iron hardware including the Hirute handles. Made in two sections allowing for easier placement through a door or entrance. Drawers of varying sizes for organizing with a large hinged door with spacious storage behind and a lift out door on the top step with two wooden hooks where security keys were kept. Wear to the edge of the steps is a testament to its ...

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant chest) from the Nihon Matsu region of Japan made entirely of Kiri (Paulownia) wood. All original hand forged iron hardware including the Warabite style handles. Lock plates have double pine tree design to symbolize longevity and good luck. 6 drawers of various sizes for organizing and storage. A pair of sliding doors behind which a split level shelf kept merchant records and books. Side handles to each side for carrying tansu from place to place. Bea...

Kawase Hasui
Senjogahara, Nikko (Senjo Plain Nikko)
Date: 1937. First edition
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe F seal (used 1934-41) at right margin.
Size: Oban. 16 x 11 inches.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #410.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Pencil note at bottom back margin "artist - Hasui".

This Edo-period bronze quail incense burner is a stunning piece of Japanese craftsmanship. The lifelike form of the quail, intricately detailed and gracefully curved, showcases the artistry of the era. With a beautifully patinated bronze surface and intricate feather patterns, it is both a functional incense burner and a work of art, capturing the essence of the aesthetics of the day.

According to an inscription on the underside of the lid, in the year 1861 this piece wa...