Sometime around the year 1600 the first Takatori kiln was constructed at the foot of Mt Takatori in Fukuoka. This tradition was based on styles created by Korean potters brought to the shores of Japan during its colonial expansionism of the late 16th century. A favorite of the Kuroda lords of the time, its production and use was closely guarded until later in the 19th century when the domain system was abolished, freeing it up to be more widely used. Though Takatori-ware has been admired by many...

Before styles such as Raku, Hagi, Karatsu, etc came into fashion for use in the tearoom in early Edo, it was commonplace in cultured society to use tea-ware imported from China. In fact, some pottery styles uniquely Japanese (such as Shino) are thought to have been born out of unsuccessful attempts to emulate these extremely high-quality and refined ceramics. The number of such pieces imported was so great that today it is not uncommon for Chinese collectors to visit Japan in search of authentic...

From our Chinese Polychrome Collection, a magnificent eight-panel gilt lacquer export screen, 19th century, exquisitely painted in finely detailed gilding on a black lacquer ground, depicting a wide array of festive scenes with figures in elaborate garden pavilions and riverside pagodas, with rolling mountains and hills in the distance, all set inside a floral and key-fret scroll border. The scenes portrayed exhibit a wonderful range from courtship scenes to musical ensembles to riverboat rides...

This elegant work of Karatsu pottery has an unglazed foot, showing the rich ferrous clay from which it is constructed, and displays splashes of ferrous pigment on a backdrop of ashen glaze with a milky white overglaze. The triangular shape and large proportions make for a very distinctive work of e-Karatsu or “painted” Karatsu.

Like many pottery traditions in Japan, Karatsu takes its name from the city where it originated. As early as the 15th century, Korean potters...

From our Chinese Blue and White Collection, an elegant 19th century porcelain baluster jar with cover, decorated with figures in a fenced garden setting with scholar’s rocks, butterflies, and floral sprays.

Some collectors tend to be a bit haughty when it comes to 19th century blue and white wares, as it is generally recognized that these blue and white pieces tend to fall off in quality as we get late into this period. As afficionados of Transitional Period through Qianlong Period war...

Description: An elegant Chinese scholar box was made of a whole block of Suan-Zhi wood, simple and plain but with beautiful aged patina. Date: Late 18th century Condition is Good but with some cracks inside the bottom due to age.

A handsome Republic or Qing era celadon vase

Description:

An old stone box was beautifully carved on the cover with a five-clawed swirling Dragon and with cloud pattern at the basin.
By a well rendered craftsmanship, the covered box was in a magnificent mood by its astonishing image.
Kept in perfect condition and darken patina, there’re only minor defects found at the whiskeys and at one of the corners of the cover.

Date: Qing Dynasty(18th/19th Century),

Dimensions: 9.2cm x 9cm x 8.5cm.

According to Kei Wakao, the artist who crafted this extraordinary work, it took him years of trial-and-error to perfect the unique rice-porcelain glaze covering this finely shaped tea vessel. Not only was it a challenge to achieve the demure milky translucence of the glaze—similar to the appearance of a grain of rice when held to the light—but also to get the right flowing consistency and pooling effect around the base.

Born in 1974 as the eldest son to a well-established kiln i...

Appearing to capture an ocean inside a tea bowl, this particular work has been given the very fitting poetic name “Nami” or wave. Masterfully crafted by veteran potter Hideo Torazawa, the inside is painted with a special glaze known as heki-yu—prized for its pure aquamarine character with accents of sapphire and azure depending on the light.

Born in Gifu prefecture in 1935, Hideo Torazawa has enjoyed a long and productive career as a potter and has mastered a number of diffic...

A Neolithic Jade Ring was found in nice type.
It can be easily used as a pendant.

Width:5.5cm

From our Early Chinese Collection, an excellent neolithic tripod (Li) pottery vessel from the Xiajiadian Culture of either Inner Mongolia or Liaoning Province, circa 2500-1500 BC. These strange, other-worldly looking vessels belie their true age, which is an astonishing 3500 to 4500 years old. Constructed of a buff colored earthenware with partially hollowed-out udder-shaped legs, it has a slender and well-burnished body that flares out to a wide rim. This particular piece has signs of root grow...

Description : A Houtian jade Bead was in slender olival shape.
Used as a hanging piece, the jade piece was in elegant form with obvious incursions on the surface caused by age.

這件玉器雖為小件，但是氣質簡雅。 器型修長，比例合宜。 為通心穿孔，可見原本即為飾品之用。 玉質為典型荔枝白，為和闐玉中最受藏家所喜愛鑒賞的。 玉表面受沁，為老件自然現象，更顯其年代風味。 從玉質與器型上看，�...

The pottery style know as “nerikomi” or sometimes “neriage” in Japan is a technique where various colors and consistencies of clay are stacked together and then cut through to reveal a unique pattern. Here we see a beautiful execution of this approach by potter Wakasugi Naomi (b. 1974) who spent many years perfecting the technique. Wakasugi typically uses Shigaraki clay and porcelain clay from Kyoto in her works and says that when she first started out very few people were ma...

Descriptions:
A Song Duan Inkstone was well preserved from excavation.

Date :Song Dynasty, 12th century.

Length :14cm, Wider Width:8cm.

Appearing to be from a 2006 excavation site in Tokyo known to be a former residence of the Owari Tokugawa clan—the most senior contingent of the Tokugawa clan that united Japan under one rule—this lovely Mishima tea bowl is one of just two I have seen appear on the Japanese art market over the years. The previous bowl also listed on our site had a large portion reconstructed with a gold repair. This piece meanwhile is entirely intact and even has its original box. Details about t...

From a 2006 excavation site in Tokyo known to be occupied by the Owari Tokugawa clan—the most senior contingent of the Tokugawa clan that united Japan under one rule—this lovely Mishima tea bowl has been given a new lease on life with a gorgeous and detailed kintsugi repair with maki-e gold painting. Known to have been devoted patrons to cultural institutions, the Tokugawa’s governance and policies contributed greatly to the flourishing of arts, literature, theater, and urban ...

Oribe is a visual style named after the late-16th-century tea master Furuta Oribe (1544-1615). Typically, black or green glazes are applied to the bodies of these works and light-colored windows are created using feldspar. These high-contrast areas then act as a canvas upon which abstract, minimalistic, and often naturalistic themes are painted.

This piece is quite unique for its brown color which may have been produced using a copper glaze under very specific conditions. Typical o...