Antique Japanese stoneware kame (wide mouthed bowl) from Shigaraki kiln. Made using the local sandy clay from the bed of Lake Biwa, Shigaraki ware is identified by the embedded granules of feldspar. Mineral and ash glaze is dribbled and spattered over the surface leaving long, uneven drips...

Ota Masamitsu (Ota Gako) (1892-1975)
Nakamura Tokizo III as Shizuka Gozen
No. 7 from the shin hanga series: Leading Figures of the Modern Stage in Their Most Famous Roles (Gendai Butai Geika).
Date: 1955.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Banchoro. Seal at bottom margin.
Printer: Miyake Koshodo. Seal at bottom margin.
Condition: Excellent.

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant chest) made of Keyaki (Zelkova) and Hinoki (Cypress) woods. Original wiped lacquer technique finish and hand made iron hardware. The lock knobs feature a Plum Blossom design and the design of the handles is a straight Gumbai. Sliding side by side doors open to a spacious area where once merchant books and records were stored.

A rare feature of this chest are the hidden compartments under the four bottom side by side drawers...

Small bamboo basket box with washi. The corners of the bamboo basket are rather breakable, so it has nice washi for reinforcement outside as well as inside. In good condition. The first half of the 20th century. 10.5cm x 16cm x 5.5cm (with a lid)

Perhaps you have already tried to find one of the rare pieces of Ando Minoru. I guess you did not find it on the free market. Today you will find it here. A quite spectacular vase made in the form of a dark iron glazed Tokoname pot inside a shattered crucible by multi-talented Ando Minoru enclosed in the original signed wooden box.

Intentional or not Ando is not talking. The vase certainly exudes the Japanese aesthetic of lack of intention...

Very Rare Antique Pottery Bowl with Kenzan Signature made by Kiyomizu Shichibei (1818–1891). Shichibei Kiyomizu was born in Kyoto in 1818 as the eldest son Takejiro of the second generation Rokubei Kiyomizu (1790-1860). Instead of taking over the family title, he founded his own kiln by 1839 with the name Kiyomizu Shichibei. It is not clear what was the reason behind that but it is known that Takejiro was a heavy drinker and was not allowed to use the same family name. His works are ofte...

An incredible monumental Japanese solid cast bronze Peace Bell custom iron stand with clapper. Inscription with dated, location and donor of bell. Bell is in excellent original condition with no repairs or damage...

Antique Japanese Bronze Temple Bell (Bonsho). Inscribed on body with name of location, temple and date...

Antique Japanese Shinto mask in the likeness of a fox (kitsune). Carved of wood and lacquered dark brown, this mask is made with a movable lower jaw operated by a wooden mouthpiece. Most likely used during ceremonial dance associated with Shinto religion.

Japanese folk lore tell of many variations of the role of the fox including those closely related to guardians of Shinto Shrines...

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant Chest) made of Hinoki (Cypress), Kirinoki (Paulownia) and Suginoki (Cryptomeria) woods. Original Shunkei Nuri (lacquer) on the front with a wiped lacquer technique on the top and sides which accentuates the beautiful grain pattern of the woods. The backs of all the drawers were made using very thick wood. The hand made iron hardware is also original including the stylized Gumbai handles and the bronze sliding door handles...

An antique Japanese 3 section Kimono Biraki Isho Tansu (stacking chest on chest with hinged doors) constructed entirely of Kirinoki (Paulownia) wood. Hinged doors open to 3 removable kimono trays. Spacious storage behind the sliding doors in the top section with 3 additional side by side storage drawers. Bottom section has 2 large drawers for additional storage space. Each section can be separated for use in different rooms of the home...

Antique Japanese carved boxwood jizai-okimono of a dragon. Literally meaning "decorative object, moves at will", this jizai-okimono is made up of many separately carved moving pieces. There are differing theories about why these articulated creatures came to be made, the most accepted being that the armorers who normally created suits started crafting jizai-okimono as a way to show off their skills to daimyos in hopes of being chosen next time their armor needed to be replaced...

Rare Japanese limited edition sosaku hanga woodblock print by Shizuma Uchida (1906-2001) titled "Chichibu Mountainous Region." The title and signature of the artist are in black ink at the lower right with the artist's red seal below. The bottom margin is pencil-signed "S. Uchida," titled in kanji, and numbered 6/20. Paper: 11 1/2" x 14 3/4" (image: 10 1/2" x 14"). This image is undated, but the artist was known to have been active as a printmaker in the 1930s. Very good overall condition...

Antique Japanese small bronze door latch in the form of a rabbit. The rabbit sits on a section of hollowed out log. The log is patinated green and the rabbit, a deep orange. With signed tomobako.

Age: Taisho/Showa Period (circa early 1900's)

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

I find this piece captivating, the golden thorns rupturing the rough and blank matte white clay. When I asked the artist about his concept, he explained the clay body is the individual formed by self-image, societal pressure, ego, all the things which constrict our actions and channel our emotions. The thorns are the true inner self bursting out of the surface, irrepressible, they pierce the shell and shine like the sun. Though the visible surface may be flat, rough-hewn, colorful, torn, mat...

Antique Japanese figure of seated Quan yin, made of carved cinnabar lacquer. She is seated on a lotus throne and holds a scroll in her hands. Her robes are carved all over with floral and Buddhist motifs. Her facial expression is serene, befitting her role as goddess of compassion.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 6 1/4" high x 3 1/2" wide x 3 1/4" deep

A long woman’s summer obi made of thin silk, woven in jacquard and openwork techniques with chrysanthemums or asters interlaced with fences of plaited bamboo leaves. On this, in Yuzen dye technique, imitating an ink drawing, several areas painted with cart wheels floating in waves.
The obi has been opened; a practice quite common in order to have the material cleaned. There is a paper (dry) cleaner’s tag on the obi.
Japan, ca. 1950s.
L ca. 13 ft, H ca. 13 inches

Fe...

A large Japanese wood okimono of a shishi with its puppy on a wooden base. Silk, enamel and glass eyes. Edo period 18th century Sizes: 37 x 50 x 30 cm Condition report: Good condition