Rare Japanese Woodblock Samurai Print by Kuniyoshi 1848/49 Edo Period

14 1/4 x 9 5/8 ins. (36.3 x 24.4 cms) This extraordinary image is an early printing from Kuniyoshi's finest series of martial portraits, Taiheiki Eiyu Den (Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki) published by Yamamoto-ya Heikichi in 1848/49. This design, no. 47, shows Ina-ue Daikurô Masatada in armour without a helmet, firing a small cannon...

This very rare stoneware alms bowl was made during the Sui Dynasty (AD 581 - 618) or possibly a little earlier. The upper body has been coated in a white wash to emphasize the colour of the yellowish-green glaze, that is slightly crackled in places. The whole of the inner surface is glazed.

Diameter 12 cm, height 6.5 cm. No restoration or repair; fine condition.

These superb pottery tiles date to the Jin Dynasty (AD 1115 - 1234) and have been excavated from a tomb in Shanxi province in the northern region of China...

These unusual and very rare pottery jars were made during the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC). They are made from a fine-grained black pottery, very skillfully thrown with good consistency of thickness and an almost spherical body standing on a large foot and with a tall neck, clearly in imitation of a bronze prototype...

This very fine quality porcelain bowl was made during the 16th/ 17th century, most likely during the Wanli reign (1573 - 1620) of the Ming Dynasty. The inside is attractively decorated in underglaze blue of good colour and features a bird standing amongst various foliage and blossoms. Around the inner rim is a trellis border...

An extremely rare opportunity to acquire a very fine quality Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960 - 1127) Qingbai porcelain bowl in its firing saggar, excavated from a kiln site in the Jingdezhen area of Jiangxi province. This is one of a variety of different Qingbai porcelain in saggars, mostly bowls and dishes of varying sizes and patterns, that we were very lucky to be able to acquire some time ago and...

These eight bronze cups, or pouring vessels, were made during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). They are of very fine quality, the bronze being polished and particularly thin. They are a graduated set and fit perfectly within each other. The inner surface of each has been painted in a red pigment...

This stoneware ewer was made during the Song Dynasty (AD 960 -1279) or possibly the Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368) and has been excavated from Sichuan province. It is "heavily-potted" and of a very pleasing form. It is coated in a silky dark iron glaze over a pale slip. The pale area to the rim is where the glaze is thin - it is not a chip or a repair !

Height 18 cm (7 inches).

This superb tall pottery vessel was made some 4,000 years ago by people of the Xiajiadian culture (c. 2300 - 1600 BC) from Inner Mongolia. This vessel is particularly characteristic of this Neolithic culture with its wide rim, partly hollow udder-shaped legs and carefully constructed body. The surface has fired mostly to black, although the colour does vary a little in places...

This superb and extremely rare pottery amphora was made during the Banpo phase (c. 4800 - 4300 BC) of the Yangshao culture. It is of a particularly attractive form with a small flat base and wide body that tapers into a narrow neck with a bulbous mouth. On opposing sides at the waist are two sturdy loop handles...

This impressive pottery figure of a groom was made during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 906). It is made from a creamy-white pottery and coated in a finely-crackled chestnut glaze. It represents a foreign groom. Note the clothing and the hairstyle. The head and face have been "cold painted" in black and pink pigments. He stands in an animated pose, upper body slightly to the left with arms raised and fists clenched...