Circa 1890-1910, pair of red cinnabar lacquer lamped vases with shades. The vases feature expertly carved scholarly garden scenes on the front and back sides. Mounted as table lamps with pierced hardwood stands, hardwood neck blocks, along with all updated brass hardware and electrical, they are home ready.

The bird-faced Kami (god) Doryo Daigongen strikes a powerful pose astride the back of a mischievous white fox. Doryo is purported to have been an ascetic monk who turned himself into a Tengu when he vowed on his deathbed to protect the Mountain Temple Complex of Daiyuzen in modern day Kanagawa prefecture. This legend inspired a cult which rose to great prominence in the Edo period. To this cult the figure was the ward of Budo (martial arts). Originally this figure would have had feathered wi...

A beautifully formed earthen flask from the Bizen region, the fire-buffed side still gleaming softly while opposite it has absorbed time into the porous clay. It comes enclosed in a box titled Ko Bizen Kaijo Ko-Tokkuri, inside the lid is annotated the dimensions and the dating Momoyama Jidai no Saku (Made in the Momoyama period) signed by the great Bizen connoisseur Katsura Matasaburo. It is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, 13.5 cm (5-1/4 inches) tall and in overall fine condition.
Bizen b...

The Chinese god of longevity is depicted standing holding a peach branch laden with fruit in his left hand. The peach is the symbol of immortality. The artist has represented Shoulao slightly bent by the weight of his years, his gait is hesitant and his step seems reduced and slow. The left arm rests on the kidneys to relieve the pain. The details are finely sculpted, the hairs of the beard are precisely incised. The facial expression is well rendered. The hair is pulled back into a bun covered ...

Antique Chinese wooden box lacquered red and gold with designs of palace life. Noble figures and scholars stroll through gardens with fine pavilions and trees. The lid lifts to reveal a continuation of the theme.

Dimensions: 2 1/2" high x 13 1/4" long x 7 1/2" wide

Antique Chinese gilt bronze figure of a bodhisattva standing on a lotus. Flowing drapery and high hair style with crown. Hands in Gyan Mudra (knowledge). Downcast eyes and compassionate expression. Overall patina.

Age: 19th century

Dimensions: 14 3/4" high x 5" wide x 5" deep

Antique Japanese bronze usubata in the shape of a boat. Held up by little waves, it seems to float along on the water. Made for ikebana flower arranging. Signature on the bottom in a raised cartouche.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 5 1/4" high x 9" long x 5 1/4" wide

Japanese antique woodblock print by Utamaro (1753-1806) of a young nobleman on horseback holding a hunting falcon. Surrounding his horse are three beautiful female attendants and a young boy holding another falcon. In the background, Mt Fuji rises from the mist.

Utamaro is most famous for his bijin-ga (pictures of beauties). He was taught by Sekien and heavily influence by Kiyonaga. Utamaro is considered one of the great masters of Japanese woodblock printing.

Signed: Utama...

Japanese antique woodblock print by Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769-1825) of a woman and boy. The lady holds a bamboo branch festooned with decorations possibly for the Tanabata Festival. In the upper left is a blossoming branch hung with paper strips of writing (tanzaku). During Tanabata this writing would be wishes.
Toyokuni I started work in the studio of Toyoharu at the age of 14. He was heavily influenced by the print artist, Utamaro. Toyokuni I later became one of the most influential p...

Hemp bag with age, Meiji 24 (1892) and the owner's name, Sahiko (佐彦）、whose warps and wefts are hand-plied. It has very well-done mending and reinforcement stitches, and also a mending patch. It has letters "25 sheets", but it is not clear what was put in. It is from Niigata prefecture. In good condition. W:29.5cm, L:52cm

Bag made of one kind of hemp, probably imported one, such as jute or sisal, which is used for coins. It has many mending patches. Late 19th to early 20th century. W:38.5cm, L:70cm

Inro with 4 squares decorated with Toba riding his mule, on the reverse a rooster under a bamboo. Toba, the rooster and the bamboo are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and lacquered with gold powder on a background of red lacquer in slight relief. The mule is inlaid with pewter. This style of inlay is from Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuo) who was active in Japan at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th. Interesting detail, the kirikane inlays are in pewter which is unusual, usually they a...

These polylobed wooden cups covered with a thick layer of sculpted cinnabar red lacquer were to be used as planters. The interiors and undersides are lacquered in black. It is very likely that the interiors were lined with gilded copper or tin containers, in order to protect the lacquer from permanent humidity, the black lacquered backgrounds suffered from this humidity.A fractured place reveals a piece of textile. Some scholars affirm that the use of textile to reinforce the lacquers would no l...

A skeleton sits among the dried grasses, alone and forgotten, perhaps reflecting on his life in this earie painting by Buddhist priest Higuchi Ryuon dated Meiji 6 (1873). Ink on paper, it is 41.5 x 179.5 cm (16-1/4 x 70-1/2 inches) and is in fine condition; completely remounted in a border of two subtle shades of black with colorful piping and features black lacquered rollers with mother of pearl flakes. It comes in a kiri-wood box.
Higuchi Ryuon (1800－1885) was a priest of the Jodo s...

A set of three spouted nesting bowls decorated in the traditional Mugiwara pattern of alternating stripes of russet red, pale blue and orange emanating like rays from the center. The larger bowl is 9.5 cm (just under 4 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (2 inches) tall. The smallest is roughly 7.5 diameter, 4.5 cm tall and all 3 are in excellent condition, enclosed in an old kiri-wood box.
This traditional pattern is called ``Mugiwarade'' because its vertical stripes resemble ears of wheat. It has ...

A set of 8 small dishes dating from the later 19th century known as Mame-zara (bean plates) covered in cream colored crackled glaze decorated in the traditional Mugiwarade pattern of alternating stripes of russet red, pale blue and orange emanating like rays from the center. Each plate is roughly 8.5 diameter and all are in excellent condition, enclosed in a modern, black-lacquered wooden box.
This traditional pattern is called ``Mugiwarade'' because its vertical stripes resemble ears o...

A Dojin licking Dango-treats dances in erratic dashes of soft wet lines and swift dark strokes of flying white on this vertical presentation by Edo period eccentric Doi Goga. Ink on paper it is 43 x 184.5 cm (17 x 72-1/2 inches) and has been completely remounted in dark silk with bone rollers. The creature clutches the raku-in stamp in his upper hand, the other stamps seem to follow his feet like footsteps. It comes enclosed in an age darkened wooden box. Known as the “Mad monk” Goga had...

One of my favorite potters, here is an exquisite yellow tinged vase like the dilapidated bamboo vase in the tea room by Sakata Keizo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hagi Takegata Hanaire. The clay is thick and heavy, giving the ephemeral form strength and juxtaposed sense of permanence. It is 32.5 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Sakata Keizo (1949-2004) was born into the traditional Hagi pottery family of Sakata Deika. After graduating from university, h...