Dramatic Antique Japanese tall ishidoro - stone temple garden lantern, carved all of granite in 6 sections. The lotus base is carved so that it is still connected to the natural rock. The lantern section is similar in style to a hanging lantern with it's curling warabite corner roof and pointed finial over a hollow area for light. The sides of this portion of the lantern are carved in relief with deer and clouds...

Japanese antique Tsutsu chawan (tea bowl) with yellow crackle glaze. The bottom displays lovely glaze drips. Raku school, Kyoto. Very rare tea bowl. Evaluated by TZ Shiota (#12) in 1930's when the family inheritied the collection from their great grandfather.

Age: 17th century...

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...

Antique Japanese Raku ware chawan (tea bowl) with green crackle glaze. Kyoto. Incised ridges so the bowl molds to your hand...

Antique Japanese Satsuma pottery group of three fu-dogs wrestling. Each of the three seems to be attacking another in this playful scene. A medium sized fu-dog lays with it's back on the ground, fending off the largest of the group who, in turn, has a smaller fu-dog biting his ear. The overall modeling gives off a feeling of whimsical turmoil and one can almost hear the playful snarls as they bite at each other's ears and toes...

A pair of vases in the shape of old wooden well buckets (tsurube) in white glaze upon which is scrawled in beautiful grass scrip a poem by Otagaki Rengetsu...

A large and very expressive, ceramic figure of sitting shishi, lion-dog, with turned head. It is covered in a creamy, white crackled glaze. The open, staring eyes made of inserted glass are rendered with gold. Unsigned. Japan, late Edo, before 1850. H. 35 cm, L. 25 cm, W. 16 cm. Condition: good, but for a few chips, fire cracks and minor area of repair on underside.

A radical Bizen Mizusashi with two lacquered wooden lids enclosed in a black lacquered wooden box with gold lacquer writing titled Samidare which is in turn enclosed in a kiri-wood storage box by the same title compartmentalized to allow the lids to be stored safely. Samidare is a poetic reading for Rain of the Fifth Month (June in the traditional calendar). It has a seal of overlapping rings impressed into the earth of the base, and dates from the Edo period...

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...

Sometime around the year 1600 the first Takatori kiln was constructed at the foot of Mt Takatori in Fukuoka. This tradition was based on styles created by Korean potters brought to the shores of Japan during its colonial expansionism of the late 16th century. A favorite of the Kuroda lords of the time, its production and use was closely guarded until later in the 19th century when the domain system was abolished, freeing it up to be more widely used...

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 small Shigaraki pottery urn of very rough clay dating from the 16th century covered in thin natural ash glaze...

Japanese antique Mishima ware hagi tea bowl with pink and gray glaze and wave pattern. The Chawan has an evaluation from TZ Shiota (#7) done in the 1930's when the family inherited the collection from their great grandfather.

Age: 19th century

Dimensions: 3 1/8" high x 5 3/4" wide

Provenance: From the personal collection of Frederic Cheever Torrey (1864-1935), partner of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey, interior design firm and art gallery founded in San Francisco in 18...

Antique Japanese Seto ware chawan (tea bowl) with horses. A raised horse gallops on the outside of the cup near a fence. On the inside bottom of the cup is another running horse. Both have a celadon crackle glaze. The cup shape has an undulating surface and is glazed a rich, mottled brown with yellow flecks.

Age: 19th century

Dimensions: 3 1/8" high x 3 1/4" wide

Provenance: From the personal collection of Frederic Cheever Torrey (1864-1935), partner of Vicker...

An anonymous hyper realistic ceramic version of a skull about which crawls snake, circling down the cheek and exiting through the eye socket, late Meiji to Taisho period. It is 11 x 16.5 x 10 cm. This type of object was popular in the later 19th to early 20th centuries as a talisman. The dilapidated wooden box bears a label reading Mayoke Ko-To-Sei Dokuro (Protective Old Ceramic Skull).

Crafted from locally sourced Bizen clay, this mid-Edo period vase embodies simplicity, beauty, and understated elegance. Originally crafted as a tokkuri, or sake flask, it was recovered from the estate of a tea-practitioner who reportedly cherished it as a vase that would hold colorful flowers and various grasses throughout the seasons.

Thanks to the dedication and passion of a researcher by the name of Katsura Matasaburo (1901-1986) we can be assured that this vase is a...

Antique Japanese small Satsuma ware ceramic vase. Crackle glaze decorated with a continuous scene of noble men and women with children. Painted with colors and gold. Incised 2 character mark on the bottom.

Age: Meiji period (circa 1880)

Dimensions: 5 3/4" high x 2 1/2"wide

Antique Japanese small Satsuma ware tea pot. Decorated with detailed scenes in color and gold. On one side are seven arhats and on the other side are ladies. Minute detailed pattern and flowers. The tea pot is complete with small, square lid. With Satsuma mark on the bottom.

Age: Meiji Period (c.1880)

Dimensions: 3 3/4" high x 4 3/8" long x 2" wide