This delightful little house and garden tableau contains an incredibly detailed miniature Japanese tea house surrounded by a twig fence adjoined at the corner by a bamboo garden gate. Early to mid-20th century. The house has movable sliding shoji screen doors and windows and a large removable overhanging hipped roof. Next to the house is a separate little outhouse, complete with miniature fixtures...

This well-modeled Iga ware pottery incense storage container (“kogo”) was made in the shape of a Japanese farm house (“minka”). Dating to circa to 1930, it is marked with an engraved two-character signature that reads Taizan. The large overlapping thatched roof comprises the top of the box, with the lower portion of the house forming the bottom...

This beautiful Japanese pure silver (“jungin”) teakettle (“ginbin”) is finely crafted and decorated with an engraved floral design. Meiji period, ca. 1900-1920. The base is stamped with the impressed four character mark “jungin” or “jyun-gin” (pure silver). This mark was used primarily during the Meiji period and for a short time thereafter, and the usual standard for it was 950...

This strikingly handsome Edo (Tokyo) style “naga hibachi” (long firebox) is made from wonderfully grained burled keyaki (zelkova) wood. Meiji period, late 19th century. The mortise-and-tenon, dove-tail and mitre joinery is indicative of very fine craftsmanship, and the keyaki wood has a rich mellow patina resulting from years of exposure to heat and smoke...

This fine heavy wooden pothook or kettle-hook hanger (“jizai-gake”), hand carved from a large block of densely-grained zelkova (keyaki) wood, was once suspended by a heavy rope from the high roof beams of a Japanese home or shop. Edo/Meiji period, 19th century. This is a wonderful example of the Daikoku type of kettle-hook hanger, distinguished by the integral, inverted V-shaped roof-like upper part of the hook, which reminds the Japanese of Daikoku’s floppy cap...

This Japanese “ornamental” tetsubin (iron kettle) is wonderfully decorated on both sides in very high relief with extremely unusual motifs. Late 19th century, Meiji period. The patinated brown and red mottled bronze lid bears the engraved signature “Seijudo zo.” There appears to be a cast square seal mark on the bottom of the body, but it is unrecognizable. On one side, there is a lotus root and pea pods cast in high relief, with the pea pods represented both in open and closed form...

This heavy antique Japanese “ornamental” tetsubin (iron kettle) is strongly cast and wonderfully decorated in high relief with grape vines and a squirrel set into deeply recessed irregular panels. Meiji period, ca.1900. The iron body is signed in relief beneath the spout with the four-character seal of “Ueda Zo,” a mark which appears only on tetsubin of the highest quality...

This lovely round red and black lacquer tray with hand carved peony blossoms and leaves was crafted in a technique known as kamakura-bori and dates to the early 20th century. The alternating layers of color create a rich effect on the low relief carving, adding to its three dimensional quality. There is a wonderful depth and patina to the richly textured finish of this tray, which was very likely a tea ceremony presentation tray. The reverse is simply finished with red lacquer...

This wonderfully detailed boxwood tray has been realistically carved in the form of a curled lotus leaf holding a lotus flower seed pod. Meiji period (1868-1912). The close-grained hardwood has a rich brown color and a soft dark patina reflecting many years of careful use and care. The front depicts the top of an open lotus leaf with curled outer edges. A lotus seed pod, on a stem that curls around the left edge, sits on the lower left corner of the tray...

This beautiful hand-knotted cotton pile Japanese carpet (“dantsu”) with its stunning and bold design originated from Ako in Hyogo Prefecture, an area famous for its carpet production during the Meiji and Taisho periods...

This diminutive 19th century folk ceramic flask or vase is made of light buff colored clay, and the exterior is covered by a clear creamy glaze with fine crackles. It appears to be Oribe stoneware. There are sparse iron oxide decorations of what look like pine needles freely painted on the front side, which are highlighted with green glaze. The neck is covered with a light blue/green copper glaze, and there is tan mottling with white hagi glaze on the body. This piece was likely used for the tea...

This large red and black lacquer deep dish in chrysanthemum form with relief hand carving was crafted in a technique known as kamakura-bori and dates to the early 20th century. The carved edges of the bowl represent the sixteen petals of a chrysanthemum blossom. This design originated in the late 17th century and was based on the "kiku-mon," the imperial crest derived from the chrysanthemum. The central medallion is carved in relief with three overlapping chrysanthemum leaves. The reverse is com...

Vintage boxed set of three lovely commemorative Japanese wireless cloisonne “meimeizara” (plates for the tea ceremony) wonderfully crafted in the shape of flowering plum blossoms. Dating to the early 20th century, they are housed in their original hinged, satin-lined presentation box which is marked “Ando Cloisonne” with a commemorative inscription. Soft white and pink translucent enamels cover a shimmering foil ground, which shows through as the separations and folds in the blossoms’ ...

These three decorative wireless Japanese cloisonné “meimeizara” (plates for the tea ceremony) are decorated with pine, bamboo and plum blossoms (“shochikubai”) in soft translucent enamels on a shimmering foil ground. They date to the mid-20th century and come with their original velvet-lined presentation box. There is a paper label of the Ando Company on the reverse side which is finished in shiny black enamel. Delicate plum blossoms are outlined in pink and green enamels on the lower s...

This unusual Japanese wooden tea tray, carved from the burled trunk of a keyaki (zelkova) tree, was made for use in the tea ceremony. Meiji period (1868-1912). Trays of this type were important accessories in senchado (“the way of sencha”) -- the tea ceremony developed in the Edo period using sencha tea. The short thick exterior wall of the tray is crafted from the densely grained wavy burl, which has a sheen that almost glows. The base on the interior is finished with reddish brown lacquer ...