During Japan's Momoyama period, spanning from the late 16th to the early 17th century, Bizen pottery flourished, producing exquisite pieces such as this symmetrical and elegant flower vase. Crafted from locally sourced Bizen clay, this vase embodies simplicity and understated elegance. Its unassuming form showcases the natural beauty of the clay, enhanced by a delicate ash glaze...

A Japanese water dropper in the form of a karashishi. It has a fine patina with the surface smooth from handling and darkened in places from accumulated grime. Inscribed signature on the base, unread. Probably 19th century.

Approximately 7.5cm long., 6.5 cm high. Perfect condition...

Antique Japanese Karatsu ware chawan (tea bowl) with crackle glaze and kintsugi. Beautifully crafted with a small flattened area for the hand to grasp and a magical elegance to the touch. Evaluation done in the 1930's by TZ Shiota when the family was inheriting the collection from their great grandfather, Federic Torrey...

A jewel-like miniature ‘Imperial’ Satsuma vase, of baluster form with elephant head handles. One side is decorated with flowering lotus, the other with a gourd vine. The base has the signature Hogetsu beneath a blue Shimizu mon.

Approximately 9.7cm high. Perfect condition...

Two lidded jars with Qingbai and Jizhou glazes and terra cotta playing pieces. Not Song Dynasty but all hand made. The brown jar Jizhou jar has some discoloration. This white “stones” are 180 and there are 176 of the darker ones. D: 12cm/4.8in and H: 8cm/3.1in.

A decorative Temmoku glazed bowl with a raised decoration of a Dragon and Lingzhi. Most probably Japanese and probably from the seventeenth or eighteenth century. There is an incised signature to the piece which could give final clarity to the educated among us. Diameter : 13,2 cm. H : 6,8 cm. Condition : Perfect

1920s Japanese ceramic tokkuri - sake bottle - with body pinched on 3 sides, one indent containing a low relief figure of standing Hotei (one of the 7 Gods of Good Luck and incarnation of Maitreya - the Buddha of the future). The piece was made at Bizen kilns, characteristic brown clay body, beautiful patina. Clever design, very pleasant to hold, in excellent condition. Height 7 1/8 inches.

A rare Kotou ware vase with meticulous painting done on the surface with an image of herons and reeds on one side, and a late spring flower bouquet still life. The Koto ware was established in 1829 by Kinuya Hanbei who invited an artisan trained in producing imari wares. The kilns continued production until 1842 where the Hikone clan took over and made the kilns part of the clan. The kilns declined after the assassination of Ii Naosuke in 1860 and the last existing kiln closed in 1895...

Heavy, cream colored stoneware oil plate (aburazara) shaped as a lotus leaf with curled up, irregular edge. Surface on ‘inside’ structured with cloth, decorated with geometric figures in iron brown glaze and covered with feldspar and typical Oribe green glaze.
Impressed maker’s mark in bottom: Jocho? tsukuru.
Japan, Seto region, Oribe, Meiji era, ca. 1900. Diam 7.25 x H 0.8 inches

2 old small chips and some frittings on rim, consistent with age and use

Fairly large bowl of irregular round shape with indentations in upper edge and openings in the side, decorated with a large red lobster. The spiny lobster is traditionally eaten during the New Year...

Late 19th century Japanese Bizen stoneware okimono modeled as meditating Daruma - the founder of Zen Buddhism - enveloped in his monk’s robe with a hood, his hands folded on his chest. Excellent modeling with wonderful facial expression of severe concentration, fine detailing. Typical Bizen color to the surface, eyes are highlighted with white enamel, beautiful patina, in great condition. Marked with a potter’s stamp on the bottom, appears to read EISHO. Height 4 1/8 inches.

An attractive globular Satsuma vase by Hosai, late 19th century. The vase is decorated with three family crests, including the Paulownia of the Toyotomi clan, the Hollyhock leaves of the Tokugawa shoguns and the cross of the Shimazu clan who ruled over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga.

Within the foot-rim can be found the gold mark ‘Satsuma Hosai’ and a Shimazu mon in white enamel...

An unprecedented 19th century ceramic sculpture of a tumble of Shishi lions in a playful fight covered in unusual green-blue glaze. The Banko mark is impressed into the white clay of the base. It is very unusual to find large sculptures or works in Banko ware. This is 30 × 25 x 26.5 cm (12 x 10 x 10-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition...

A lovely chawan made of three separate excavated shards connected by lines of gold dating from the Kamakura to early Muromachi periods (13th to 14th centuries). It is 15.7 cm diameter, 7 cm tall and in excellent condition, enclosed in an old wooden box.

A crane rises elegantly from a truncated tree, the legs intricately crafted and the body flowing in a liquid grace. This is Bizen Saikumono, a body of Bizen popular throughout the Edo, Meiji and early 20th centuries. Craftsman carved wild animals, mythical beasts, human figures and many other figures out of the smooth Bizen clay, relying on perfection of form, allowing the firing to add color without overt decoration. This figure is 34 cm (13-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Stoneware chawan with black glaze and floral spatula decoration. Diameter: 13 cm. Height: 8 cm. Origin: Japan. Period late 19th century. Attributed to Ogata Kenzan school.

A Japanese stoneware sake bottle, tokkuri, probably from the Inuyama kiln in Maruyama, Owari Province.

The kiln is noted for overglaze enameling introduced by Dohei in 1835 and the gourd-shaped bottles decorated with maple leaves are perhaps the best known of all. This example is decorated with coloured branches and Ming dragons set within a frame of red lattice. The body is stoneware covered in a finely crackled clear glaze...

Tall slender vase, slightly narrowed in the waist, with a square shoulder and short wide neck and mouth.
The finely ribbed body of middle brown coarse clay is covered with two elongated patches of thin, translucent reddish-brown glaze. The lip with splashes of greenish glaze, on the inside gray glaze.

Karatsu ware. Japan, late Edo period, mid-19th century

Height: 12.25 inches (30.5 cm).

Firing crack in bottom, NOT through and through (does not leak), otherwise mint condi...