This is a handsome Kyo-Yaki chawan – tea bowl – that is covered in a thick enamel design of irises. The irises are dark purple and white on golden enamel crackle glazed ground and are further highlighted with bright emerald green leaves. The piece measures 4 ¾” diameter at the top and is 3 5/8” high and is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. There is an incised mark on the base that translates as “Kutani Toho”. We date it to any time between 1910 and the 1950s. A striking colorful pi ...click for details
This is an unusual small Hirado kogo because the main decoration is a lightly glazed low relief portrait of Daruma. The figure of Daruma is very nicely detailed and is surrounded with a border of stylized blue waves. The interior and bottom of the piece are unglazed. The sides have the borders outlined in a thin underglaze Hirado blue. The kogo measures 2 ¼” square and it is 7/8” thick. It is in excellent condition with no chips or cracks. We date it to the late Edo to mid Meiji periods, circa 1 ...click for details
This is a late Meiji blue and white Arita cup and saucer painted in the style of Chinese Nanking porcelains. The design is quite similar but is much more loosely drawn and clearly is of Japanese origin.
The cup is 5 3/4" is 4 1/2" diameter at the top and is 2" high. The saucer is 5 3/4" diameter and is 3/4" deep. T ...click for details
This is a nice little white porcelain koro - incense burner - from the Arita area. The koro has three shi shi on it - two for handles and one on the lid for a finial. The tripod feet look like softly molded animal heads.
One of the interesting aspects of the piece is the opening in the shape of a circle with a cross in the middle. That i ...click for details
This is a puzzling Japanese blue and white dish – it has some of the characteristics of Namban art – the three cash designs typical of Nabeshima ware – and some of the style of Kraak porcelain. Let us suffice to say that it is a fascinating piece and let it go. The transfer design has a central reserve of two Dutchmen with a little boy located in a landscape next to a lake. It then has two outer bands – the innermost band is a stylized floral design within a double blue line. The outer band has ...click for details
This is a charming small bowl with an overglaze blue transfer design of Daikoku dancing as a companion plays the flute. There are two Kanji characters on Daikoku’s top fan - these translate to "Honen" (Fruitful year). We have not had the bottom fan translated. The image is good for a transfer design and the scene is one of merriment. The bowl measures 7 ¼”diameter at the top – 3 ¾” diameter at the base – and is 2 3/8” high. The rim of the bowl has what we believe to be an underglaze b ...click for details
A nice early squared octagonal Arita dish with an overglaze enamel design of a deer standing under a maple tree in autumn and next to a running stream. The upper left corner of the dish has a design of geometric design separated from the main deer design.
The shape of the dish is somewhat unusual in that is actually octagonal, but the mai ...click for details
This is a nice little blue and white Arita dish with an underglaze blue design of two quail on the ground with long leafed flowers overhead. The rim of the diamond shaped dish has a swirling geometric design that is punctuated at even intervals with eight five petal flowers. The underside has four stylized floral sprays and a two character mark in kanji characters – the mark has been translated as "Tsuji Sei" (made by Tsuji).. The dish measures 7 ¼” long by 6” wide by ¾” deep and is i ...click for details
A fine late Meiji small globular Kutani bud vase with an overglaze decoration of applied silver mums and black enamel leaves. The bud vase measures 3" high by 3" diameter and is in excellent condition with no chips,cracks or restorations. There is a two character signature in red on the white glaze base - the characters translate as "Kutani". We date the vase to the late Meiji period, 1880-1890s.
This is a fine Meiji period censer from the Kutani kilns – done in the typical Kutani color palette of overglaze enamels in eggplant, green yellow and reds. The koro is elaborately decorated – on two sides there are complicated designs of twisted vines and branches. One side has a design of a white elephant surrounded by several men. On the opposite side is a design of Kinko and the Carp – again surrounded by a number of standing men. The top has a design of four men around the corners surround ...click for details
This is a large Japanese Kutani studio vase with an unusual glaze. The body of the vase is glazed in a dark brown glaze that is covered with small black spots done in a spattered pattern of overglaze enamels. There are three stylized cloud formations executed in overglaze enamels in several colors - gold, blue, light turquoise, green and red.
This is a charming small Japanese pale celadon and white teapot with an underglaze decoration identifying it as coming from the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It has a design of the famous curved bridge at the garden and of a two level water fall. The top is decorated with a design that is either a landscape or some plant branches. The underside of the lid has the initials MH in a diamond shaped reserve. The MH clearly stands for Makoto Hagiwara, the main designer of t ...click for details
This is a fine late Edo Arita dish with a complex design in underglaze cobalt blue. The outer edge of the dish has a series of stylized geometric figures including tulips, flowering plants, reverse swastikas and rows of what look like kernels of corn on the cob. The inside of the bowl is surrounded by a double blue circle – then there is another row of reverse swastikas and the kernels of corn motif. The dead center of the dish is surrounded by an octagonal star shape to form a reserve – in the ...click for details
A very pretty set of four delicate porcelain cups from Arita kilns. They are shaped like flowering lilies or morning glories. The porcelain is very thin and delicate - with tiny grooves providing the floral detail. each of the four measures 2 1/2" high - the diameter at the top is 3 1/2" and at the base is 1 1/8". On the inside of the foot, there is a double circle in underglaze blue and an impressed potters mark. We have not been able to get a translation of the mark. We date the ...click for details
This is a 20th century set of Kutani ware for serving sake – consisting of two tokkuri (sake bottles), one octagonal bowl with lovely floral design and five matched sake cups also with floral designs. The bowl was probably used to hold snacks such as a pile of edamame - a preparation of baby soybeans in the pod commonly found in Japan, China and Korea. A traditional custom of the Japanese is the belief that odd numbers can bring lucky so that sake cups come in a set of five. All of the items are ...click for details
