Beautiful Japanese Wajima lacquer stand with gold maki-e painting on a nashi-ji (pear skin) background. The designs are scrolling vines with stylized chrysanthemums and paulonias, which are the crests of the emperor and empress. The style of sparkling nashiji lacquer work and the theme were popular in the Taisho period (1912-1926) to the beginning of the Showa era, sometime after the return of the throne to the emperor.

The stand was made for a Tokonoma as a base for a flower arrangement...

A stylish cloisonné beaker vase decorated with a yellow rose on a blue ground by Ando, a leading Japanese cloisonné maker since the beginning of Meiji period. Impressed Ando and 'jyun-gin' (pure silver) marks on the bottom rim, dated from 1950 to 1960. Original square black stand and pamphlet issued by Ando with some brief notes about the company and a photo of the famous enameled mirror discovered in Shoso-in. 11" tall (vase alone) and 7 1/2" in diameter at the opening. Absolutely no dam...

This is a lovely 18th century Japanese Arita (we think) blue and white porcelain plate, bearing a peach mark and surrounded by bats, good luck signs; decorated with bands of stylized cloud forms and flowers; rim chips; 7 3/8".

This is a 19th century Chinese shallow curved plate featuring a lively grouping of eight spotted blue and white horses, depicting a wedding story from Chinese mythology; unglazed footrim; greige coloration; a four-character mark on the underside; condition: several minor chips on the rim; SIZE: 5" diam.

Japanese cloisonne vase of globular form with elongated neck, beautiful light green color with design of 2 white herons in flight, minor cracks on bottom not visible from front, Meiji/Taisho Period (very early 20th century). 9 3/4" high x 4 1/4" wide.

Japanese hair comb and Kogai hair pin in a Wakasa-nuri Lacquer finish on wood, circa early 1900s. Wakasa-nuri lacquer is a unique urushi lacquer technique that uses stones (coarse to soft) to scrape and reveal different layers of lacquer coatings which are painted on wood using many different colors. The dimensions of the comb are 1 1/4 inches and 3 1/4 inches, pin 5 3/4 inches long.

Old Japanese Kogai, a hair pin made of tortoiseshell(bekko). It is 6 1/4 inches long, from the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Quality Japanese Hina Ningyo with unique faces. These Jyokan dolls are a part of the Hina doll set displayed for the Japanese Girls Day, Hina Matsuri Festival, also called the Peach Festival, held in every March. The peach blossoms are often associated with a woman’s beauty and inner strength. When the blossoms start to open by breaking through the snow from February to March, it is the announcement of the arrival of spring. Being a farming country until recently, it meant the beginning fo...

Beautiful antique Kanzashi, Kogai Japanese hair pin with gold maki-e on tortoiseshell with identical design on both sides, 5 1/4 inches long.

This is “kataginu” (shoulder cloth), only the upper part of kamishimo without a trouser. Kami-shimo simply means top and bottom in Japanese. It was a high ranking samurai’s formal attire when they attended official meetings at the Edo castle. It was worn over kosode (kimono with small sleeves) with trousers. The shoulders are arch shaped and this was the style that developed in the late Edo period (1603-1868). Longer trousers (approx. 1.5 times longer) were chosen for special occa...

Three Japanese Jyokan (ladies-in-waiting) hina dolls are a part of the hina doll set displayed for the Hina Matsuri Festival, Japanese Girls Day in March, also called the Peach Festival. This day is reserved for the girls of the family wishing for their well-being for the coming year. Late Meiji to Taisho period, early 1900’s.

When the peach blossoms start to open by breaking through the snow from February to March, it is the announcement of the arrival of spring. Plums are often asso...

Beautiful thick Kasuri cloth almost in new condition. Hand sewn with four panels, little cotton stuffing on reverse side. Dimensions: 51 inches x 62 inches

This is a Rikyu doll, one of the Hakata clay doll made in the Fukuoka, Japan. Rikyu (Sen Rikyu) is a 16th century influential tea master who perfected the Cha-no-yu, way of tea. He served two historically powerful figures, Nobunaga (Oda) and Hideyoshi (Toyotomi), and eventually being forced to commit Seppuku by Hideyoshi. Sen Rikyu is a given name by the Emperor. 10 inches tall.

The idea of a Fukusa gift cover comes from the old Japanese tradition of gift presentation. Fukusa began to be decorative as well as practical in the Edo period (1600 to 1868). The appropriate design was chosen for the occasion; for seasonal, ceremonial and later, time of grief when Japan started to face battles again, with the foreign countries this time. This delicate, indirect way of conveying feelings has been in Japanese culture, poems replacing words for occasions, reminiscent of the ...

Large Chinese Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) high-fired gray-black pottery bottle-form vase with geometric incised designs of unusually fine form. 11 1/2"H. Very good overall condition with minor wear. One thin old chip to the foot.

Large Chinese Jin Dynasty (1125-1234 AD) Honan brown glazed truncated meiping vase decorated with cut glaze concentric circular designs on the shoulders. Two strap handles flank both sides of the short neck. 11"H x 11 1/2" diameter. Very good overall condition. There are a few scattered small pit holes, which are original production imperfections (see enlargement 3). Some scratches in the glaze are evident as is typical for a piece of this age.