Toast the new years with this solid silver sake set made for celebrations. 3 solid silver cups, as well as a beautifully shaped silver sake kettle with lid, each piece bearing the jun-gin (Pure or 100 percent silver) mark. They come enclosed in a wooden box titled Jungin-sei Shuki (Solid Silver Sake Set). The kettle is 13 cm diameter, 18 cm wide at the spout. The largest cup is 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter. In total the set weighs 757 grams, or 1.65 pounds of pure silver!

A solitary thatched hermitage rises on the top of this stony crag set onto a beautifully carved and signed rosewood stand. Together they are 7.5 x 11.5 x 13 cm (3 x 4-1/2 x 5 inches) and in excellent condition. The box is titled Yasegawa-ishi, inside signed Seicho and dated a fortunate day in the second month of 1936.

The size of Snuff Bottle: 2 3/4" H x1 3/4" W x 7/8" D. This is finely carved Chinese Snuff Bottle is made of Malachite stone. It has fine carving of Fish with Lotus flower bud and leaves. The subject is Carp climbing up the water fall which has proverb from Chinese that when Carp finished climbing th e water fall, carp will became Dragon. The symbol of success. Open works were intricately carved, especially lotus leaved are thinly carved...

Kasamatsu Shiro (1898 - 1991)
Bamboo in Early Summer (Shoka no Take)
Date: 1954. First edition.
Publisher: Unsodo.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed in Japanese in the image at lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Removed from its original folder.

A waka poem in underglaze blue brushed by female artist/poet Tomioka Haruko decorates this porcelain Mizusashi by female potter Suwa Sozan II enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The porcelain container is 17.5 cm (7-1/2 inches) tall, 11.5 cm (4-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. On the base it bears the circular mark of Suwa Sozan II and on the side the verse is singed Haruko 80. From this we can surmise it dates from 1926 when Haruko was 80 by Japanese count...

A pair of vintage Chinese hand carved display or plant stands with marble inserts. Measures 9.25" high x 7" diameter. Marble insert measures 6" diameter. Well constructed and solid.

An exquisite set of small petaled-plates, each wafer thin, with a floral spray of yagiku (wild chrysanthemum) in a blue dial in the center by Suwa Sozan II enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kiku-gata Kozara, Jukyaku (10 Chrysanthemum Shaped Small Dishes) dating from the 1920s. The design is Japanese, the decoration is strongly influenced by Korean wares. Each is 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) diameter and all are in excellent condition...

Kawase Hasui
Snow at Koshigaya
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.375 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1935. First edition.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Publisher's "E seal" (used 1932-42) in right margin.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #353
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Slight toning. Bump at tip of lower left margin corner.

Old helmet mask, of typical form, with three faces surmounted by an elaborate coiffe. Wood, with fine age patina. Africa, Sierra Leone, Mende ethnic group. Height: 16 cm. Diameter: 17 cm. The mask is nicely mounted on a custom stand. Obvious signs of use and age, otherwise very good condition.

Kawase Hasui
Mt. Fuji Seen From Oshino (Oshino no Fuji)
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.625 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1942. First edition.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Publisher's "G seal" in right margin (used 1942-45).
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #465.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

A finely carved male ibeji, with typical coiffe, scarifications on the abdomen and the back, arms alongside the torso, standing on a rounded base. Wood, with nice dark brown semi glossy patina. Africa, Nigeria/Benin, Yoruba ethnic group. Height: 30 cm. Very good condition. Provenance: Old French provincial collection.

Kawase Hasui
Senjogahara, Nikko (Senjo Plain Nikko)
Date: 1937. First edition
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe F seal (used 1934-41) at right margin.
Size: Oban. 16 x 11 inches.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #410.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Pencil note at bottom back margin "artist - Hasui".

Kawase Hasui
Kiyomizu Temple Kyoto
Date: 1933.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Publisher's 6mm seal at lower left. A lifetime edition (printed 1946-1957).
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Size: Oban. 15.25 by 10.25 inches.
Reference: Hotei #324.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margins and back are toned. Slight creasing at upper left corner.
This is the only print that features Hasui in self-portrait.

Kawase Hasui
Tite: Namakiri, Shima
Date: 1942
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Publisher's 6mm seal lower left. A lifetime edition printed 1946-57.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Size: Oban. 15.375 x 10.25 inches.
Reference Hotei #463.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui
Yakumo (Yagumo) Bridge at Nagata Shrine, Kobe
Series: Collection of Scenic Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1934. A lifetime edition produced between 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo...

Alusi shrine figure. H. 59 cm. First half of the 20th century. Ex Jacques Kerchache (1942 - 2001), ex Christie’s Paris, 29-10-2008, ex galerie Walu Basel, ex Hammer Auktionen. Guy van Rijn archive ao-0093787-001.

Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956)
Chinese Matriarch, Soochow
Date: 1934.
Sheet size: 17.625 x 13.625 inches. Image size: 13.25 x 11.75 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Signed and titled in pencil by the artist.
Medium: Colored etching.
Provenance: Henry McBride collection.
Condition: Upper right corner margin crease...

Ashanti doll, 2nd quarter of the 20th century, by a known carver. See Ron van Doorn - Herbert M. Cole : Akua’Ba Asante Wednesday Child, page 154-155. H. 24,5 cm. Provenance: private collection UK.

Yamamoto Shoun (1870-1965)
The Old Willow Tree
(Titled: "Snow Hamlet" in 2005 Museum of Kochi exhibit catalog, A View of Nostalgic Japan and the Beauties of Those Days: An Exhibition of Shoun Yamamoto's Work)
Date: ca. 1900-1910s.
Size: Approximately 17.4 cm 11.6 cm. 6.875 x 4.5 inches.
Artist's signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Matsumoto (No. 446).
Condition: Excellent...

Vintage Japanese uchikake (wedding kimono) crafted from heavy woven and embroidered silk brocade fabric with extensive gilt thread in a dense pattern of flowers and peacocks. Mid-20th century. The lining is fine red silk. Very good overall condition with only minor wear at the bottom corners where the lining meets the brocade. Measures about 73" in length by about 50" across. From a Casa Grande, Arizona collection.

Kawase Hasui
Ikegami Honmonji (Honmon Temple, Ikegami)
Date: 1931.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Watanabe round 6mm seal, indicating a lifetime edition printed 1946-57.
Signed and sealed within the image.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #245.
Condition: Lightly toned paper at back and margin. Tape residue at back margin.
Note: One of Hasui's most loved snow scenes.

Stunning Yoruba stool from the collection of Ursula Voorhuis (1932-2021), The Netherlands. Supported by 6 figures: a family with a nursing mother, a man with a goat, a maternity and a man with a walking stick. H. 30 cm, diameter 33 cm. First half of the 20th century. Condition: age cracks, repair to the goat, some missing parts. Overall in good condition with a lovely patina and remains of Reckitt Blue pigments.

Kasamatsu Shiro (1898 - 1991)
Spring Night, Ginza
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.625 inches.
Date: 1934.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. 1946-57 edition.
Watanabe black 6mm seal at lower left corner.
"Printed in Japan" and "Original Works of Art" stamped on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Pencil note "Shiro" and tape residue at top margin.

Ohara Koson
Willow Tit Sitting on a Vine
Date: 1910s-23.
Size: 14.125 x 7.5 inches.
Publisher: Daikokuya.
Koson signature and seal.
Reference: K29.1. in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Back lower left corner is toned.

Japanese chuban format shin hanga woodblock print by Takahashi Shotei, also known as Hiroaki (1871 - 1945) depicting two figures in the foreground, one carrying a lantern. Across the water and backed by tall trees, the windows of a traditional Japanese home are lit. Titled "Night Scene of Mabashi, near Tokyo," the print was published by Watanabe prior to 1936. The title and artist's red Shotei seal are at the upper left. Paper size: 9 7/8” x 7 1/8” (including small margins)...

Gold and silver steel cigarette case. Work in the style of Komei. The landscape decorations are in gold and silver relief. Examination with a magnifying glass does not show us the typical scratches of a damascene work (nunome zogan). The borders are worked with floral motifs in slight relief, the hollows being filled with black lacquer. two golden metal chains to hold the cigarettes. These two chains are extendable by a clever spring system hidden in each link...

Early 20th C Chinese Export reverse painting on glass of a mahjong game. This work depicts a quartet of women playing the game at a lacquered table with a small crowd watching them play. In a rosewood frame with brass hanger. The painting is very detailed with the gold highlights on the clothing, lanterns, etc. having been painted first. Measures 14ʺW × 1ʺD × 20.5ʺH

Ohara Koson
Two Japanese Waxwings on Twig with Red Berries
Date: 1910s-23.
Size: 14.75 x 7.5 inches.
Publisher: Daikokuya.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Koson signature and seal.
Reference: K32.3. in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Toning at top margin and back.
Note: This example retains its lovely yellows.

Kawase Hasui
Ikegami Honmonji (Honmon Temple, Ikegami)
Date: 1931.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15 x 10.125 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Watanabe round 6mm seal, indicating a lifetime edition printed 1946-57.
Signed and sealed within the image.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #245.
Condition: Adhesive residue at back visible only slightly in the tops of the trees.
Note: One of Hasui's most loved snow scenes.

Ito Yuhan
Watercolor Painting
Depicting a footbridge above a waterfall.
Date: 1930s.
Size: 13.25 x 9.75 inches.
Signed "Y. Ito" at lower left
Condition: Brilliant color. The top back has paper residue. A couple of very faint foxing marks in upper left corner.
Ito Yuhan is known for his woodblock prints that have a watercolor-like appearance.