Wooden netsuke representing a frog whose eyes are inlaid with horn. It is lying on a water lily folded on itself.

The frog (kaeru) is associated with luck and wealth. Kaeru means both "frog" and "coming home" in Japanese. This extension of meaning is due to the ability of the frog to return each year to the pond of its birth...

Wooden netsuke representing two frogs with horn eyes. They are hanging on a round water lily, on and under it.

The frog (kaeru) is associated with luck and wealth. Kaeru means both "frog" and "coming home" in Japanese. This extension of meaning is due to the ability of the frog to return each year to the pond of its birth...

The mark of the potter is stamped in the middle of foot ring.

Konyu was born the eldest son of his predecessor Raku XI Keinyu. He succeeded his father at the young age of 15, was succeeded by his son Seinyu and retired at 63 and died at the age of 76. He was a mild-mannered man, and is said to have dedicated himself to the continuation of the Raku family and its legacy...

An antique Japanese low chest called Isho Tansu made of Kiri (Paulownia) wood. All original hand forged iron hardware including the Warabite handles. Added custom iron base to elevate chest for modern form and function. Constructed using straight dovetail joinery and hardened wooden nails.

Age: Meiji period (1880-1890)

Dimensions: 36 1/2" Wide by 25 3/4" High by 16 3/8" Deep

Ohara Shoson (Koson)
White-fronted Geese Flying in Front of a Full Moon
Size: 15.0 x 6.75 inches.
Date: 1930s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
First edition.
Shoson signature and seal lower right.
Reference: S11.7 in Crows, Cranes, and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very slight wave in paper at upper right corner. Back edges have mounting residue.

Antique Japanese carved bamboo kakehana, wall vase for flowers. This section of bamboo has been carved with the figure of Quanyin (Kannon). The Goddess of Mercy is seen floating amidst storm clouds, ribbons of lightening streaking across the sky around her. There is a small rectangular hole in the back of the vase so it can hang from a hook or nail in the wall.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 8" high x 2" wide

A chawan decorated with dramatic geometrics by Shigemori Yoko enclosed in a signed wooden box titled Square Triangle Circle Chawan. The brushwork is clearly spontaneous, as the best of the Zen artists of centuries past. Lines scored into the surface are improviso, the entire impulsive without being overbearing, freehand and spur of the moment. There is no sense of premeditation. The bowl is 14.5 cm diameter, 8 cm tall and in excellent condition enclosed in a box annotated by her nephew...

A sculpted large blue chawan buy Sugitani Keizo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 13.5 x 14 x 10 cm and in excellent condition, directly from the artist this summer.
Sugitani Keizo was born in Osaka in 1959. In 1982 he graduated the Ceramic Art Institute of the Tekisui Museum of Art. He has selected for a number of group exhibitions including the International Ceramics Competition Mino and the Asahi Art exhibition, where he has been awarded...

Earthen-toned glaze covers the fissured surface of this unusual small vase by Sugitani Keizo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is roughly 6 inches (15.5 cm) diameter and in excellent condition, directly from the artist this summer.
Sugitani Keizo was born in Osaka in 1959. In 1982 he graduated the Ceramic Art Institute of the Tekisui Museum of Art...

Japanese Contemporary Ceramic, Progressive Ceramic Art Form. Watanabe Taichiro. Painstakingly built by small bits of clay added to core, the piece is than burnt in the autumn in the nearby fields under a stack of rice straw. He is carefully checking the process as the sculptures must not get over burned, they have to get the right, natural, earthy ash color that change for each piece of artwork. H 16,5 x 15 x 15 cm circa. From 2015...

Wall vase of irregular cylindrical shape. Middle brown stoneware with irregular natural ash glaze dripping decoration. Metal eye at the back for hanging. Marked with 3 dots at bottom, which is the mark of the Karatsu potter Nakazato Toraemon XII Muan. Japan, around 1960s/1970s.

H ca 7 in., W at foot 4 ¼ in.

Mint condition. The piece does not come with a box.

Nakazato Muan (1895-1985) inherited the artist name Taroemon XII, in 1927, following his father who was Taroemon XI...

A shop sign carved from a block of knotted wood in the shape of a tea leaf jar engraved on both sides with the character Cha (Tea) originally gilded which still reflects light from the correct angle. A large knot making up one shoulder has split apart in the center, while the outside edge remains intact...

A cigarette case made of iron, partially damascened in different golds and silver, inspired by the famous sculpture of the American artist James Earle Fraser (1876-1953) "End of the Trail", which he designed in the late 19th C. The interior with the Otojiro's mark with dragonfly. Condition: traces of usage, two tiny retouches, tiny scratches, elastic band tired, not perfectly closing, interior with left below corner slightly corroded (last photo). Dimension closed: c. 8.6 x 8.1 cm.

Two prints placed under glass, representing two young women, one feeding her little pet, a rat and the other practicing Ikebana, composing a bouquet of irises which will be presented in the vase placed next to her. The hairstyle is typical of women drawn by Suzuki Harunobu, but also by other artists of this period. As it would seem that the Chinese characters simply describe the scenes represented and not the name of the artist, only specialists will be able to know who it is. This is a small pr...

ZEN ZEBRA

Upside-down Japanese bamboo ikebana vase painted in black and white calligraphy, attached with aluminum plate on the top and pink corrugated urethane foam at lower part, made by Dai Okumura (@dai_okumura), 2023, H 74.5 x W 40 x D 30cm (29.33 x 15.74 x 11.81in)

This is a form of 'Bi No Yo' (lit. 'Usage Of Beauty' - Adaptation from perfection) as a counter for the recognition of art called ‘Yo No Bi’ (lit. 'Beauty Of Usage' - Beauty in eve...

A large antique Japanese Kotansu made of Kiri (Paulownia) and Sugi (Cryptomeria) woods. Two sliding doors open to a spacious storage area with two small drawers to the side and two full width drawers below. Unusual size that would make the perfect night stand or side cabinet in any room decor.

Age: Taisho Era (1912-1920)

Dimensions: 35 5/8" Wide by 24 5/8" High by 15 1/2" Deep

The androgynous Kannon sits in meditation under climbing rocks and tumbling waves deeply carved into the side of this bamboo incense container dating from the early 20th century (late Meiji to Taisho period). It is 34 cm long (13-1/2 inches) long and in excellent condition, a superb example of the genre. This would have been used to hold incense sticks.

Small cast iron tea-pot. One side is decorated with lotus flowers, the other side is without any decoration. The spout is doubled in bronze, the handle is in copper as well as the lid which has a decoration of small rounds in light relief of different patina, perhaps formerly gilded. The grip button is in silver plated copper and shakudo. It is likely that this type of jug was also used for alcohol as specified on the invoice issued by the seller in Kyoto which dates it to 1850. Good condition, ...