Fireman's hanten made of thick cotton and hand-stitched sashiko (quilting). It has hand painted "Edo Machi Hikeshi" (town fireman) with "Matoi" which was hold by fireman to show his own "Kumi", brigade. It also has hand painted birds and waves design inside. 19th century. In good condition. W:118cm, L:91cm

Chinese hinged triple snuff or medicine bottle made of silver. One side depicting immortals, the reverse with Chinese characters. The stoppers worked en suite, two bottles with spoon. All bases with silvermark. Condition: traces of usage. Dimension: c. 4.2 cm high, total width: c. 6 cm, weight: c. 47 g.

An antique Chinese Coromandel screen in 3 parts made of hardwood with lacquer and hardstones. Depicts a pair of nursemaids watching over the Imperial children at play.

Made for export for the European market possibly for use as a fireplace screen.

Age: Early Republic Period (1910-1920)

Dimensions: Overall 38 3/4" Wide by 34 3/4" High

An antique Hindu/Buddhist temple bell cast of bronze. Exquisite detailing with 4 surrounding dieties and a 4 prong Vajra finial. Striking nodes on four sides with a beautiful clear resonating sound when struck.

Age: 1920's-1930

Dimensions: 36" High by 18" Diameter

An antique Japanese Buddhist family altar called Butsudan in 2 sections. All lacquer finish with gilt lacquer interior. Exterior doors open to inner sanctum doors. Upper transom was hand carved with religious figures meditating in a wooded forest. The altar features a centerpiece dragon with 3 flying Phoenix birds above each compartment. Hanging ornaments on each side. With front slide out tray, sliding doors hiding a storage compartment and 2 drawers where Buddhist accoutrements were kept...

Antique Chinese cabinet made of jumu (elm) wood with natural finish. The two doors open to a large compartment with a shelf. The interior has traces of original deep red lacquer finish. Nice patina and beautiful wood grain over all.

Age: 19th century

Dimensions: 44 1/2" high x 38" wide x 18" deep

Antique Japanese Butsudan, Buddhist shrine for a home. This butsudan is in two sections. The top section has four folding doors that open to a shrine interior: An multilevel altar with carved details, gold leafed silk and columns. There is a small storage compartment closed by carved sliding panels. The bottom section has two storage drawers. The doors of the butsudan are carved with a round pierced filigree design of chrysanthemums.

Age: Taisho Period (1912-1926)

Dimens...

Antique Japanese tansu with original deep-red lacquer finish. The top portion of the chest has three full-width drawers and locking bar. The lower portion of the chest has two medium sized drawers with a locking bar on the left hand side, a safe box on the right. The safe box door has heavy iron work and opens to reveal 3 small interior drawers. Other iron hardware includes warabite drawer pulls, extensive corner bracing and handles for carrying. The sides and back of the tansu are reinforc...

Two Chinese Qing dynasty hardwood carved panels with tabs at the top and bottom indicating they likely were originally inset into a larger piece of furniture. Each panel features a bat above a central double-happiness symbol flanked on both sides by ruyi forms. Gourds hang from vines. The slightly smaller panel includes a deer at the center bottom. The backs are flat. The smaller panel is mounted for hanging. They measure about 15 1/4" high (including tabs) x 10 3/4” wide and 14 1/2” h...

Beautiful Chinese antique vase, 18th century (Kangxi Period, 1662-1722). It is sculpted in double gourd shape and painted with various scholar scenes and glazed in white and blue. Continuous scenes depicting figures in a landscape are a common motif in Transitional porcelain, they often referenced popular plays, histories or poems.

Very fine Kangxi mark on the bottom.

PROVENANCE

A Private German Collection, acquired in the 1930's in Japan.

Dimension...

Enamelled copper dish. Decor, in the center, of a palace scene painted in enamels of the "Famille Rose", surrounded by a deep Sèvres blue on which Chinese emblems stand out in gold and in silver armfuls of flowers which have lost their shine, silver having oxidized over the centuries. On the margin are represented in gold on a blue background dormouses feasting on grapes, this theme was very popular around 1800.  The white reverse clearly shows the stains of the old restorations which have yel...

Kawase Hasui
Dawn Over Lake Shoji
Size: Approximately 8.75 x 7 inches.
Date: 1935. First and only edition.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo for a calendar commissioned by Japan Government Railways. Please see the included original Japanese Government Railways tag.
Reference: Hotei #370.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margins trimmed. Back has areas of paper residue and slight thinning.
Note: Not many examples of this woodblock print have survive...

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Redstarts on Flowering Cherry Branch
Size: O-tanzaku. 13.5 x 7.25 inches.
Date: 1910s
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Daikokuya.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: K26.5 in Koson catalog.
Condition: Top back corners have paper residue.
- This print features lovely woodgrain.

A Japanese Porcelain Figure of Guan Yin/ Kannon. Signed Aoki, Mokubei (木米), Circa, 19th Century. Aoki Mokubei 青木木米 (1767-1833). Aoki Mokubei was born in the Gion district of Kyoto as Aoki Sahei. From childhood, he was a disciple of the well known artist and Confucianist Kou Fuyou, who had a strong influence on his upbringing. When he visited Kimura Kenkadou of Osaka, he found among his book collection a book written by the Chinese Shuryuutei called “Guide to Ceramics”, whi...

Traditional Japanese art tends to be timeless and inspiring in form, however, occasionally lacking in diversity and innovation. That is why artists who can incorporate centuries of experiential knowledge and technique into producing new and interesting forms are oh so valued. Though this Bizen jar fits into the category of mizusashi, a vessel central to tea ceremony that holds fresh water, it seems to transcend this narrow category and stands as an independent art object all its own....

Japanese inlay ceramics (zōgan) are created by making incisions on the surface of a clay body which are then filled with various colored clays, creating a pattern. After the pattern is finalized, an overglaze is applied and the piece is sent to the kiln to be fired. As can be seen here, the results are quite striking and produce unique patterns that cannot be replicated through painting alone. Inlaying as a technique is thought to have originally derived from practices in metal and ...

Written on the box in Japanese script are the words “Awai Sakura Yu” translating to English as “Pale Cherry Blossom Glaze”—amply describing the appearance of this unique and frankly stunning work of Kutani pottery by artist Nakata Kazuo. Reminiscent of pieces by well-known artist Ōno Hakuko, there are striated lines of silver leaf running vertical below the surface of the glaze, interrupted in places, allowing the eye to wander across the entire surface. Soft and inviting,...

Bashofu kimono hand-woven of ito-basho, which is a family of banana tree, for both wefts and warps. The blue stripe yarn is dyed with Ryukyu-ai, vegetable indigo in Okinawa. Bashofu has been woven in many Islands in Okinawa from old days, for everyday kimono or work wear. The first half of the 20th century. In good condition except for a few brownish stains. W:120cm, L:117cm