TWO HORSE PICTURES

Set of two votive Japanese folk-art wooden tablets offered at Shinto shrines, known as ema (literally “horse pictures”). Shōwa period (20th century). Approx. 23 × 17.5 × 1 cm (9.1 × 6.9 × 0.4 in). Condition as shown. As if an unconscious abstract paintings, quietly revealing the passage of time with its own natural sense of beauty.


selected by Pottari




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Japanese sword guard, known as a tsuba. The inscription on the tsuba reads "Mogarashi Nyudo Soten-sei" (藻柄子入道宗典製), meaning "made by Mogarashi Nyudo Soten". He was a master craftsman from Hikone in Goshu Province (modern-day Shiga Prefecture) during the mid-Edo period. The piece is made of iron and features intricate sukashi (openwork) and iroe-taka-zogan (raised inlay) in gold, silver, and copper. Perfect condition. 3” x 2 ¾ “. 7.5 x 7.2 sm

Japanese pipe case kiseruzutsu made of a stag antler. The case is finely carved in relief with a depiction of a rain dragons amid scrolling clouds. The cord attachment is formed by mushroom. Perfect condition. 7 ¾ ” x 1 ¼ ”. 19.7 x 3 sm

A spectacular vase coated in thick ash by Tanimoro Kei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Mentori Kabin. It is 26 x 9 x 29 cm (10-1/4 x 3-1/2 x 11-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Tanimoto Kei was born the son of Iga artist Tanimoto Kosei in 1948. In 1970 he apprenticed under Hineno Tatsuzo in Mino, and in his youth he experimented widely in many mediums, design, and even spent a few years in Paris learning the art of etching. He returned to Japn in 1977 to d...

A pair of cornet vases in bronze with a smooth black patina and a rather flared neck adorned with sparrows hanging on a cherry branch. In Asia, the sparrow is seen as a messenger from the ancestors, bringing news from the outer world. In Chinese folklore especially sparrows are important because they are thought to symbolize joy and happiness. In Buddhism, sparrows are often seen as a reference to spiritual liberty and the simple life of the monks. It reminds of the importance of liberating yo...

Elegant gold-lacquered wooden comb and hairpin decorated in maki-e with landscapes and animals. The comb is decorated on one side with pavilions in a landscape and on the other side with two swimming turtles. The decoration on the hairpin echoes the style of the comb, forming a coherent whole. The two ends of the hairpin are decorated on one side with pavilions in a landscape of mountains and trees and on the other side with three swimming turtles, two on one side, one large and one small, and ...

A quintessential work by Fukuda Kodojin dated 1910 exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2023, published P. 55 No. 10 The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin. Executed in Kodōjin’s distinctive blend of ink and pale mineral pigment, the composition rises dramatically from a foothill hermitage—two rustic pavilions nestled among tall pines—into a towering vertical world of mist-veiled peaks. His brushwork alternates between fluid washes and sharply calligraphic contour lines, evoking bot...

A stately ink image of a sencha Kyusu tea pot by Fukuda Kodojin signed by his Japanese Poetry name Haritsu mounted in the Chagake tea room style. Ink on silk, in a crushed paper border terminating in humble wooden rollers befitting the tea room. It is 46 x 110.5 cm (18 x 43-1/2 inches) and has been fully restored in excellent condition. It comes in a wooden box.
Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) was an eccentric self-taught artist, his status as a poet, calligrapher and literati artist has reache...

This epic hanging scroll reveals Kodōjin’s fully developed ink idiom: a vast, tiered mountain landscape composed of layered dotting, pooling, and wash, where the upper forms evoke Mi Fu–style cloud mountains, while the lower section dissolves into abstract zones of mist and bamboo groves. The brush alternates between densely scored vertical strokes suggesting rocky strata and freely scattered ink dots. The result is an oscillation between solid and void, structure and vapor, conveying the D...

An incredible tower of porcelain covered in silver and gold mist droplets featuring a solid blue glass element intercalated between the porcelain tiers mounted on a metal base and enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 38.5 cm (15 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kondo Takahiro (b. 1958) was born the grandson of Living National Treasure Kondo Yuzo. However, he graduated Hosei University not with a degree in sculpture or crafts, but in Literature. From there he studied a...

Elegant rectangular kobako decorated in nashiji lacquer on a black ground. The lid features a delicate landscape scene depicting a pavilion—possibly a small castle—set beside a river winding through karstic formations. Executed in gold lacquer with subtle relief effects, the decoration reflects the refined craftsmanship characteristic of the Meiji period, known for its technical virtuosity and meticulous sense of detail. On two of the side panels, the front and the left, unfolds a second ri...

Kobako en laque Wajima de couleur grise orné de rayure de laque or représentant un coquillage bivalve. L’intérieur en laque nashiji sur fond noir. La laque de Wajima, l'une des plus prestigieuses du Japon, est originaire de la ville de Wajima, nichée au nord-ouest de la péninsule de Noto. Cet artisanat prestigieux, florissant depuis l'époque d'Edo (1603-1868), se distingue par la richesse de ses fondations et de ses ornements décoratifs, gage d'excellence tant esthétique que fonction...

Imposing kobako in nashiji lacquer on a black ground, decorated with a motif imitating wood grain. The lid is adorned with an ikebana basket (hanakago) containing a bouquet of remarkable harmony despite its complexity. The level of detail achieved by the lacquer artist allows several plants in the floral composition to be clearly identified. The chrysanthemum (kiku), first of all, is not only the heraldic emblem of the Japanese imperial family but also a flower with a long and complex history in...

Impressive suzuribako writing box decorated in gold and tin maki-e lacquer on a nashiji ground. The lid is adorned with a composition depicting a pine and a plum tree whose trunks intertwine, with young bamboo shoots growing at their base. The branches and blossoms of both trees fill the entire surface, except for two fan-shaped reserves. The choice to depict these two symbolically powerful species in such an entwined manner is deliberate, as both the pine and the plum carry deep cultural meani...

Suzuribako (writing box) in black lacquer, rectangular in shape, with a gold lacquer (maki-e) decoration of a pavilion by the edge of a waterfall and a mountain river surrounded by vegetation. The trees and the waterfall are in takamaki-e. The decoration itself covers the entire piece, continuing from the lid to each of the sides. One can see the use of kirigane creating a multitude of gold flakes of various sizes and shapes used in the sky, occupying a significant part of the cover, also to sug...

An old suzuribako, or writing box, in black lacquer with a faceted lid and featuring, as its sole decoration in the lower left section, a moonlight scene emerging from tall grasses. The moon is rendered through the addition of metallic salts such as iron, silver, or oxidized tin, sprinkled onto the fresh lacquer. The grasses are depicted with great delicacy using hira maki-e gold lacquer, which time has barely worn away. The tall grasses appear to be miscanthus, a grass commonly found in Japan a...

This small hexagonal kobako presents a rich scene featuring two roosters perched on a pine tree, set within an abundant natural landscape. The sides of the composition are adorned with peonies and chrysanthemums, each element rich in symbolic significance. In the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), Japan’s oldest mythological chronicle, the rooster plays a pivotal role in luring the sun goddess Amaterasu out of her cave using its crow and a magical mirror. The surrounding vegetation also car...

Suzuribako, or writing box, of rectangular shape, decorated with an imposing architecture realized in hira maki-e lacquer, probably a palatial structure, situated beside a waterfall and a mountain river. On its lid alone, this piece combines various lacquer techniques, making it an excellent example of the skill and versatility of lacquer craftsmanship of the end of the Edo period. First, a nashiji background is applied across the entire piece—this technique involves sprinkling fine metallic...