Pair of Japanese sliding door handles. They are made of a copper alloy finely chiseled with scrolls and stylized flowers on a nanako background, alternately there are shakudo plates (an alloy of copper and gold, shibuichi or silvered sentoku. They are excessively heavy and of the best quality. The size is much larger than for a normal door handle (double in size) which implies very high and wide doors. It is not a usual rich house that can accommodate doors of this size...

Seated Amida triad comprising Amida Buddha, Kannon Bosatsu, and Seishi Bosatsu sculpted in wood and finished in lacquer and gilt, encased in a high-quality lacquered-wood zushi with paintings on silk on each door of the Pure Land Buddhist sect founder Honen Shonin and his Chinese counterpart, Shan-tao. Mid-Edo Period ca. 1750. Minor old loss and professional repairs.

Exterior height of zushi: 35 cm
Width: 30.5 cm
Depth: 24.5 cm.

An entrancing, highly decorative piece. Uncommon.

Kawase Hasui
Lake Shoji
Size: Koban. Approximately 7.875 x 5.25 inches.
Date: 1930s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Hasui seal lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei Hp-14.
Condition: Excellent. Pencil note on back.

Antique Japanese large bronze sculpture of a hawk perched on a gnarled pine branch with wings extended. Beautiful and dramatic with lovely attention to detail. In two sections.

Age: Taisho Period (1912-1925)

Dimensions: 25 1/2" high x 22" wide x 12" deep.

Kawase Hasui
Arakawa
Date: 1930s-50s. This edition ca. 1957.
Publisher: Likely Doi Eiichi. Publisher's seal lower left.
Artist's seal lower right.
Condition: Excellent.
A rarely seen design.

Kawase Hasui
Springtime Forest
Date: 1930s.
Size: Koban. Approximately 7.875 x 5.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: Hotei Hp-18.
Condition: Excellent.

This Edo period scroll depicts Meota Iwa—a famous Japanese landmark in Mie. Symbolizing the union between two divine deities, Izanagi (said to be the larger rock, though there is no consensus on this point) and his wife Izanami, the two are joined by a shimenawa (heavy straw rope used in Japanese Shinto ceremonies). This straw rope is quite massive and must be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony...

Pair of seated Rakan (Skt. Arhat; Ch. Lohan), one Rakan sculpted in ichiboku-zukuri from a single piece of wood and the other sculpted from four pieces of wood. Early-Edo Period ca. 1650. Old loss and traces of polychrome.

Height of Rakan with mandorla: 34 cm
Width: 67 cm
Depth: 8 cm

Height of Rakan without mandorla: 25 cm
Width: 81 cm
Depth: 8 cm

This pair originally was included in a complete set of 16 Rakan (Jp...

An eccentric crusty bowl, very different, by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Raku Yaki Yohen Chawan. Unlike his normal burnished and color ridden surfaces, this bowl is ominous, matte, shot through with pin-hole-textures and rivulets streaming from the rim. It is like something from deep within the universe, an ancient traveler which has been charred and scarred on its way through the atmosphere...

Peerless Mount Fuji
Unsigned. Artist not identified.
Date: 1934.
Size: Oban. Approximately 13.75 x 10 inches.
Origin: Issued as a folded insert to an N.Y.K. Line publication called, "Glimpses of the East". The folds are vertical.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: A faint foxing spot at the upper left.
The composition of this print is reminiscent of the Fuji views of Tsuchiya Koitsu.

Seated Jizo Bosatsu, a hoju (sacred jewel) held in the left hand, sculpted from wood in two parts, i.e., the upper body and lap. Originally part of a grouping including 10 similarly sized and styled Ju-O (Kings of Hell), of which one example is featured in our stock #933 listing. Muromachi Period ca. 1500. Minor old loss, with traces of polychrome and overall patination.

Height: 35 cm
Width: 36 cm
Depth: 14 cm

Seated Ju-O (King of Hell), originally part of a grouping of 10 Ju-O plus one Jizo Bosatsu, sculpted from wood in two parts, i.e., the upper body and lap. Muromachi Period ca. 1500. Minor old loss, with traces of polychrome and desirable patination overall.

Height: 38 cm
Width: 37 cm
Depth: 16 cm

Crackled green glass pools in the center of this humble tea bowl by Ezaki Issei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Chawan. The works of Issei personify the humble virtues of the tea ceremony. They are imbued with a sense of Musakui (Lack of intention), a bowl that has come to be, rather than a bowl that was created. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (2-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Polychrome celadon ceramic four-lobed tray with two fish yôkai dressed in yukata, a light kimono worn in summer. The yôkai are supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore. Most of the ceramic is glazed, except for the brown skin of yôkai which has a matte finish.
Unidentified mark.

Japan - Taishô era (1912-1926)
Height: 1.2 in. (3.4 cm) - diameter: 6.3 in. (16.3 cm)

Okimono of a Chinese cabbage made in woodbox. The texture and veins have been delicately detailed. Native from China, it is an herbaceous plant of the Brassicaceae family. It is eaten in many ways in Asia: in soup, in salads, stir-fried, in ravioli of filled patties. Japon – Meiji era (1868-1912) Height: 2.4 in. (6.5 cm) – Diameter : 1.6 in. (4.5 cm)

Ivory okimono of a toad carrying an orchestra of five monkeys.
Four monkeys is playing instruments such as the shamisen (long-necked lute with three strings), the shime-daiko (small drum) and the flute. The fifth monkey is larger and is singing while holding a book in his left hand and plugging his ear with the other...

Long suzuribako (calligraphy box) with nashiji lacquer background, plum tree decoration in a lake landscape in takamaki-e, kôrin maki-e and kirigane. The plum tree (ume), which blooms at the beginning of the year, announces spring. Its flower is a symbol of protection against demons. On the inner lid, decoration with seven flying birds near a coast with clouds...

Ivory netsuke of a human skull.

Japon – Meiji era (1868-1912)
Height 1.2 in (3 cm) – length 1.4 in (3.5 cm) – width 1 in (2.5 cm)