This child with a pleasant face happily rides his toy horse, the horse looking just as pleased. The entirety is a porcelain sake server from the Saga region on the southern Island of Kyushu, home to Imari, Hirado and other porcelain ware. A bung of black persimmon wood has been added as a lid in the shape of a Chinese hat. It is 21 x 12 x 21 cm (8 x 4-3/4 x 8 inches) and in overall fine, original condition, dating from the 19th century.

A light raku chawan displaying a mitsuba-aoi family crest pressed into the side which has been shattered and repaired with black lacquer mellowed slightly brown, then broken again and repaired with gold. An amazing amount of work to save the fragments. The bowl is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) tall and comes enclosed in an old Kiri-wood collectors’ box...

17th century Karatsu ware Tea Bowl (Chawan) made in Kihara kiln in Kyushu region

Kihara kiln of Kyushu region was operating during the transition times between the decline of Karatsu tea ceremonial ware and the raise of Shoki-Imari ware (approx...

A serene vision of enlightenment, calming and compassionate, can be seen in the later Edo period Buddhist carving of Amitabha. He stands on a lotus base, with a flame like mandala rising up behind him in the shape of a jewel, the entire gilded in pure gold worn soft with age and care. The figure alone is 39 cm (15-1/2 inches) tall. With the base and mandala, it is 65.5 cm (just under 26 inches) tall. It is in excellent condition...

A large Japanese bronze flower vase, Edo period, 17th century. 30 cms. Provenence: The collection of the late Simon Digby, Oriental scholar, 1932-2010. A very similar vase, but with different handles, is illustrated by Michael Goedhuis, Chinese and Japanese Bronzes, 1989, pl.92.

Kake-Fukusa, a gift cover made of tapestry weave silk with carp and stream design. It is used to cover a gift on the auspicious event. The family crest (kamon) is Umebachi-mon. Four tassels are metal yarn. Generally, in good condition, but has light stains in blue ground and white waves. Meiji period (1868~1912) 63xm x 63cm

Kake-fukusa which is used to cover a gift on the occasion of auspicious events. It is made of tapestry weave silk with auspicious omen motifs, pine tree, plum tree with bloom and bamboo. Generally, in good condition except for a rift of the black yarn in the pine tree circle and some stains in the blue ground, and also three holes in the red silk lining in the back. Meiji period (1868~1912) 67cm x 72cm

Height: 3.4 cm (1.3 in)
Width: 3.9 cm (1.5 in)
Depth: 3.5 cm (1.3 in)

Fine Japanese carved netsuke of a father and child, the child holding a dragon fly; excellent carving throughout; natural material; the stained scrim-work particularly detailed; the extraordinary base work includes an oval panel with the signature, Gyokusai; good condition

Height: 3.9 cm (1.5 in)
Width: 2.3 cm (0.9 in)
Depth: 3.7 cm (1.4 in)

Quality Japanese netsuke of a seated monkey eating a peach and grasping another in his feet; natural material; excellent hair work and stained scrimmed clothing; signed on a polished reserve, Masanao; good condition

A beautiful black Raku bowl with golden lightning splitting across the surface like an eruption of light in the night sky. It is roughly 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. An exquisite repair.
Kintsugi embodies the spirit of wabi-sabi, a Japanese aesthetic worldview centered around imperfection, transience, and the beauty of the natural cycle of growth and decay...

A fine pottery koro in typical milky white glaze supported by three figures in russet red by Okuda Mokuhaku dating from the mid 19th century. It is 13 cm (5 inches) diameter, 11.2 cm (4-1/4 inches) tall. There is a chip in the rim, otherwise is in excellent condition. It is stamped on the base AKahadayama followed by a circular seal reading Mokuhaku. t comes in a simple wooden box.
Akahada Pottery, starting around 1585, was created by several kilns in the area of Yamato-Koriyama, Nara...

Kake-fukusa, a gift cover, used on the occasion of auspicious events. It is made of tapestry weave silk with two performers motif, one is wearing Daikoku costume with a gavel. Two men look Kado-tsuke, strolling musicians or performers who play dancing and music in front of houses and get some money. In good condition but damage in the black Eboshi (hat) of the man with a fan. Meiji period (1868~1912) 62cm x 67cm

A looping handle sweeps above this fabulous bowl decorated with burgeoning gourds by Takahashi Dohachi VI enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 21 x 18 x 15 cm (8 x 7 x 6 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Takahashi Dohachi VI (1881-1941) was born the second son of the 4th generation Dohachi in Kyoto...

We have a particular interest in beautiful old Raku tea bowls and spend quite a bit of time searching for exceptional examples to include in our gallery. Here we see a beautiful work that appears to be at least 200 years old and likely much older...

A startling find! A Horned Demon mask dating from the Nanboku-cho to earlier Muromachi eras (14th to 15th centuries) carved from a single block of wood and enclosed in an ancient kiri-wood box. The visage would have once sported a lower jaw, likely suspended by chord, which is no longer extant. It is 21 x 15 x 9 cm (8-1/4 x 6 x 3-13/4 inches) and is in overall fine condition, exuding a great sense of age.
Oni Masks: Oni are a type of horned demon or ogre in Japanese folklore...

Antique Japanese scroll painting of Kannon also known as Guanyin. The Goddess of Mercy sits on a rock overhanging a still body of water. She is silhouetted by the full moon. Painted in sumi-e ink on paper. There is a seal in the lower right hand side.

Age: Edo Period (1603-1867)

Dimensions: Total size of scroll: 70 1/2" high x 15 3/4" wide (18" wide including rollers). Size of art: 37 1/2" high x 11 1/2" wide

The large characters in the center of this scroll "南無妙法蓮華経" are pronounced as "Namu Myōho Renge Kyō” in English — a phrase associated with Nichiren Buddhism that is often recited as a mantra, expressing devotion to the Lotus Sutra. This sutra is one of the main tenants of Nichiren and is thought by devotees to be the ultimate law and truth of the universe...

Small porcelain dish from Japan. Decor of birds in flight in a landscape with trees and flowers painted in enamels and gilding. The porcelain is exceedingly thin similar to eggshell porcelain. Three Chinese characters are enamelled in red below, probably Kutani's mark. The designs are neat and of the best quality. Very fragile but good condition. D:138mm.