A magnificent set of five wooden bowls lacquered red with a net design enclosed in the original wooden box titled Shu-nuri Amime Hashiaraiwan dating from the first half of the 20th century. Excluding the lid each is 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall, roughly the same diameter at the rim, and all are in excellent condition. Repeated use of lacquer tends to see the black acquire a brown tinge. These remain jet black, and it is likely they have been virtually unused for the better part of a century...

A large wood tray in red and black urushi (lacquer ware). Generally in good condition, but minor hairline in the surface and some parts where urushi came off and wear in the back. 20th century. Diameter:40cm, H:4cm

Three boxes inrô in black lacquer and gold hiramaki-e, maki bokashi, kirigane and mother-of-pearl (raden) inlay depicting peasants planting rice seedlings in a rice field.
Nashi-ji lacquer interior with the inscription ソカウアン (sokauan) at the top of each boxe.
Rice is the staple food in Japan...

Brush box (fudebako) made of wood and lacquer. On the lid, lacquer decoration representing sagittarius, a flower inlaid with ceramic and a leaf inlaid with mother-of-pearl (raden).
Interior and base of the box in nashi-ji lacquer.

Taisho Era (1912-1926)
Height: 1.4 in. (3.5 cm) - width: 2.8 in. (7.2 cm) - depth: 9.4 in. (23.9 cm)

Four-square inrô in hiramaki-e lacquer, maki-bokashii and mother-of-pearl inlay (raden) in the form of a man sailing on a boat, against a mountain background. On the back side, bamboos are in the foreground.

Horn netsuke of a man resting against a stone, a fan in his right hand.
Ojime in stone painted with white carnations.
Sold in a box which is not original.
Small boxes formed of interlocking compartments, inrō (印籠) are traditional Japanese clothing items...

An antique Japanese Zushi (portable altar) with standing Amida Buddha within. Urushi lacquer over wood. Original bronze ornamentation features a large clasp with stylized arabesque Lotus blossoms on either side and the Dharma wheel above and below. Makie lacquer crossed feathers Mon (family crest). Opening the doors of the altar reveals the Buddha in its original patina and a hand painted upper apron with lotus blossoms...

Japanese antique black and gold lacquered kanban (shop sign). Decorated with unusually beautiful calligraphy advertising cosmetics with words like 艶 tsuya "luster/gloss/sheen" and 白粉 Oshiroi which literally means "white powder"; the powder foundation worn by kabuki actors and especially by geisha and their maiko apprentices...

A very modern and sleek interpretation of the classic lacquer sake warmer otherwise known as a “chōshi” in Japanese. The author of this piece, Kado Isaburō, was born in the town of Wajima in Ishikawa in 1940. Born into a crafting family, he learned the family trade from a young age from both his mother and father and would later go on to do an apprenticeship under Hashimoto Tetsuhiro...

BLACK AND RED LACQURED CONTAINER

Old wooden lidded container for storing food like vegetables, lacqured up in the refined two tones of black (for surface) and red (for inside), once used among the middle class or richer in the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan, D 35 x H 26cm (13.77 x 10.23in). Some lacqure-peelings due to aging as is...

Dark brown natural wood suzuribako (writing set) with polychrome takamaki-e lacquer decoration of toys, with a rabbit on its cushion and a horse head to ride with its cover.

Interior in negoro-nuri lacquer. This is an ancient technique, developed in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at the Negoro temple in the ancient province of Kii (now Wakayama prefecture). It is characterized by its vermilion color, made from cinnabar and showing natural brush marks...

Mini suzuribako (writing set) in black and gold hiramaki-e lacquer with water plantain (Alisma plantago-acquatica) decoration and non-identified kanji. Interior in nashi-ji lacquer, with a rectangular water cup and a retractable brush.

Japan – Meiji era (1868-1912)
Height: 1.06 in. (2.7 cm) – width: 2.44 in. (6.2 cm) – depth: 3.94 in. (10 cm)

Black and gold lacquer suzuribako (writing set) in takamaki-e on a nashi-ji background representing two tigers near rocks, bamboos and plum blossoms in a night landscape. Inside of the lid with a lake landscape.

The interior of the suzuribako is composed with an inkstone, topped by a copper water bucket in the shape of a chrysanthemum on the left side, with a brush and a small knife...

A rare stacking Bento (picnic) box in the shape of a tea leaf storage jar decorated in a realistic fashion with black, silver and gold maki-e lacquer. It consists of four pieces, stacked they are 28 cm (11 inches) tall, and all are in excellent condition.

A beautiful tall 3 section Mikuni Kimono Tansu made of Keyaki (Zelkova) and Kiri (Paulownia) woods. All original hand forged iron hardware with Hikute handles and natural Urushi lacquer finish. Upper section has 2 sliding doors with 3 side by side drawers below. The center section has 3 full width drawers and the bottom section has 1 full width drawer, a partial width drawer and a hinged security door protecting 2 small drawers...

A pair of wood and lacquered Niō, guardians of Buddhist temples, finely carved in polychromy with the muscles in evidence and the veins in relief. The Niō (Jp. = benevolent kings) are a pair of protectors – Agyō and Ungyō – who stand guard outside the gate of Japanese Buddhist temples, one on either side of the entrance...

Antique Japanese small, round, lidded box. Made with metal body covered with lacquer and decorated with a gold lacquer scene of a bridge and a weeping willow tree. Intricate raised machi-e details of waves and willow leaves. Delicate nashiji on the ground around the tree.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 3 1/4" wide x 7/8" high

Antique Japanese gold lacquer inro with a scene of a waterfall on one side and a sage on the other. The water crashes around rocks where chrysanthemums blossom. On the reverse, a sage sits among the flowers at the base of the falls. The inro case has 4 compartments with interiors covered in a dense nashiji lacquer. The ojime is made of red lacquer and is carved with a dragon. The netsuke is made of boxwood and carved in the shape of a seed pod...

Wooden suzuribako decorated with two hares with red eyes in gold and silver lacquer surrounded by grass.

The interior is made of negoro-nuri lacquer. This is an ancient technique, developed in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) at the Negoro temple in the ancient province of Kii (now Wakayama prefecture). It is characterized by vermilion color, made from cinnabar and showing natural brush marks. These irregular patterns are typical of the wabi-sabi aesthetic which relies on simplicity ...