Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue Soba Choko, featuring a lovely land/seascape scene of mountains, willow tree, a hut, and the sea with boat sails and birds flying overhead. Average height 6cm, average diameter 7cm. Although soba choko are generally attributed to Arita kilns, by the late Edo-Early Meiji Period, they were also being made in Seto, as well as at kilns further north in Tohoku. These 5 cups all feature the same pattern and are all in good condition.

Early Meiji Era Soba Choko with landscape design painted in underglaze cobalt blue on porcelain. Average height of 6cm and average diameter of 7 cm. Though widely attributed to Arita kilns; by the late Edo and Early Meiji Periods, porcelain soba choko were also being made in Seto, as well as at kilns further north in Tohoku. This set of 5 features a typical land/seascape scene of a hut and the sea with a boat and birds flying overhead. All cups are in good condition featuring the same pattern.

A hanging scroll (kakejiku) attributed to Kano Masunobu (1823-1880) entitled "take suzume" (Bamboo and Sparrow) with Kiri (paulownia wood) box. Kano Masunobu, also known as Toun, was a member of the Kano School of painters who excelled in ink paintings (occasionally with the addition of pale tints) of landscapes and birds. The school's founder, Kano Masunobu (1423-1530,) was attached to the court of Shogun Yoshimasa. Scroll dimensions: H.90cm(35.25") x W.43cm(17")...

Chi Un-Yong (Pack Ryon) (1852-1935): A Poet sage under the Willow tree with Poem: His pen name is Pack Ryon. Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, fine Japanese style mounting with silk brocade, 51” by 14”, signed Pack Ryon with three seals. It’s in fine condition except for few stain. Reference; Korean Art and Calligraphy by Han Moon-young, published in 2000.

This quilt is made out of an old Japanese nobori banner probably from the Meiji period (1868-1912). The upper part of the banner, where the family crest (Mon) is dyed, was used for the border and two figures were sewn together side by side. The brown fabrics on each side of the design are the reverse side of an old obi sash. All hand-sewn except for the straight line where the panels were put together...

Imari ware porcelain soba choko (soba noodle dipping cups) from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868.) H.5.5cm(2.2") Dia.7cm(2.6".) This pair features underglaze cobalt blue pattern with two of the three friends of winter; pine and plum (the other being bamboo,) front and back of each cup. Abbreviated brushstrokes give these cups an aesthetic of simple beauty. Soba choko were initially used for small morsels of food, much like mukozuke or ko-zara are used in today's presentation of Japanese cuisine...

Toushin (wick) zara (plate) held a small amount of oil with a coiled wick, and was usually set in some sort of lamp arrangement. These were used until the advent of glass and other lamps. This example of fine folk pottery is from central Japan, likely Mino ware, produced during the Edo (1600-1868) Era. The top side has a warm yellow glaze, and the underside is unglazed. H. 1.5cm (0.6") Dia.10cm (4".)

Tea leaf storage jars used in Japan like this were produced in and out of Japan from about the 15th century onwards. I wish I could say that this is one of the famous Muromachi Era "nanban" wares from the Phillipines or Southern China that are so prized by Japanese tea ware collectors, but it is one of the replica items made up through the Meiji Era in Seto, Japan. Still, the Japanese kept the traditional shape and produced many fine chatsubo in their own right...

A rich black glaze covers this Kasama-yaki jar from the late 19th C. It is in the shape of a "natsume," a tea powder caddy used in the tea ceremony. H.21.5cm (8.5") Body Dia.16cm (6.25".) Kasama wares currently do not enjoy the fame of pots from nearby Mashiko. But Kasama, in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture about 30 minutes away by car, preceeded Mashiko in being a ceramic production center by nearly a century, and had a hand in training the early Mashiko potters...

An antique flask much like a tokkuri used for transporting sake, the "abura" (oil) "dokkuri" (flask) was used to transport oil products. H.27cm (10.5"), Body Dia.16cm (6.25".) This one is from the old Echigo (present-day Niigata Prefecture) which had stores of oil used for heating and lighting that were shipped up the Japan Sea coast north to Hokkaido. This example is wonderfully pitted with oil over a white glaze, produced at one of the no longer existent folk kilns of the Echigo region...

A late Edo - early Meiji tokkuri (sake flask) from the Hokuriku (central west coast) of Japan. H.24cm (9.5",) Body Dia. 16cm (6.25".) Probably fired in one of the no longer existent kilns of what is now Niigata Prefecture, this tokkuri has a rich yellowish-brown glaze which has experienced a nice crazing over time. Although from central Japan, the glaze and somewhat refined shape are reminiscent of Yatsushiro ware from Kumamoto in Kyushu...

Sake Flask, "tokkuri," Meiji Era (1868-1912) from Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture. H.10", Body Dia.6". This early Mashiko ware shows the "tobi kanna" technique of chatter marking around the body. In Meiji-era Mashiko, this patterned flask was called a "matsu-kawa-tokkuri" (pine-skin-tokkuri.) A rich, dark brown glaze decorates the neck. Similar wares were also produced around the same time in Fukushima Prefecture...

This water jar, "mizugame," stands 60cm (23.5") high with a mouth diameter of 55cm (21.5".) The rich brown glaze is decorated front and back with freely poured ladle splashes of black slip. A band of 5 incised lines runs about 7cm below the rim of the jar. The decoration is similar to Tamba wares at first glance, but a look at the unglazed bottom reveals not the red clay of Tamba, but a yellowish-light brown clay from Seto or elsewhere...

A pair of Imari ware soba choko (soba noodle dipping cups) from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868,) porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue painted design of "tampopo" (dandelion) and "cho cho" (butterflies.) H.6cm, Dia. 8.5cm. Each cup has the dandelion pattern on front, and butterflies on back. The painting on these cups is wonderfully playful, and a fine example of the stylized brushstrokes of mingei (folk) wares...

Large Komai Mixed Metal Box with Temple & Phoenix Marked, Meiji Period (1868-1912)

The box is 2.25 inches (6 cm) tall, and 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) in length by 4 inches (10 cm) wide...

Bamboo Carved Handrest or Brushrest with Chirography Signed, circa 19th Century

It is 0.75 inch (2 cm) tall by 2.5 inches (6 cm) in length and 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) wide.

It is in good condition with no repairs, chips, or cracks.

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Sutra book clasp cast in the shape of an H, with a Tibetan "dorje" (or "vajra") placed horizontally at its center. Square opening at top and bottom for attachment. Bronze, with partly encrusted greenish patina. Tibet, 17th century, maybe earlier. Height: 1 5/8" (4,2 cm). The piece is nicely mounted on a custom wood stand. Erosion due to great age, otherwise good condition. Note: such implement was used to lock the straps that kept a "sutra" book (a book containing Buddhist texts) closed.

Large mask, of fierce expression, with protruding forehead and nose, and large, pierced through eyes, nostrils and mouth. The mask is covered with numerous small holes around the eyebrows, under the nose and around the chin, in which animal hair has been inserted and glued with wax. Wood, with dark-brown, sometimes encrusted, patina. Asia, Himalayan Region , 18th century, maybe earlier. Height: 14 1/2" (36 cm). The mask is nicely mounted on a custom metal stand which enhances its strange beauty....