Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art (442)

On behalf of a Dutch collector

Here is another stunning chawan, a Nogime (hare's fur) Tenmoku tea bowl from the Jian Kilns - made in the Southern Song era (Chinese: 南宋; 1127–1279). Such tea bowls were one of the first tea bowls in Japan, which came together with the first tea from China.

Little refined iron bearing clay, with iron oxide, thrown into the typical tenmoku shape...

Sublime ceramic Kannon statue of old Kutani-yaki made by one of the greatest potters, Aoki Mokubei. The statue is 200 years old and in great antique condition with only a small repair on the right hand with transparent lacquer and only one! tiny spot with peeling of glaze. The all over glaze is spectacular.

Aoki Mokubei (1767-1833 ) was born in the Gion district of Kyoto as Aoki Sahei...

This is a unicum! We like to offer you one of the highlights of our collection. A very fine and aesthetically pleasing Karatsu Tea Bowl from the early stage of the Edo Period (1603-1868).

It has one of the most beautiful Kintsugi repairs we have ever seen. A mixture of lacquer and gold powder showing a traditional Karakusa pattern. There is no comparable bowl - a real unicum.

The 'kara' of Karakusa means 'China', while 'kusa' means 'plant'...

We like to offer you a sophisticated Hagi Chawan, made during the early Meiji Era (1868-1912), perfectly thrown and highlighted with an old gold restoration, a fantastic gintsugi (kintsugi) which makes our Hagi tea bowl so valuable and outstanding.

It comes with a good Japanese wooden box.

Size: 8,2 cm height x 12,9 cm in diameter.

A magnificent Kuro Oribe Chawan of larger size and wonderful shape, made during the end of the Edo period (1615-1868). This kind of shoe-shaped bowl is called kutsu-chawan...

A real piece of art: Shino-Oribe Tea Bowl from the early Edo Period (around 1620, early 17th century). It is a shoe shaped Kutsugata Chawan covered with a whitish Shino-Oribe glaze over an iron oxide engobe in two quarter sections, where a triangle has been scratched into the dark engobe. The other two opposite quarters show a decoration of two squares in the style of mimasu - three squares.

The roughly cut foot ring and its surrounding show the typical little refined Mino clay...

We continue our presentation of Ohi chawan (Ohi tea bowls) with yet another sublime vessel, a true eye-catcher made at the end of the Meiji Period around 1910. It's a unique Ohi Chawan which seems to be a kuro Raku bowl, but it isn't. With its sophisticated shape and its mesmerizing play of predator pattern inside its outstanding.

Ohi ware is indeed closely related to Raku; the first Ohi potter was the son of Raku III, Donyu, and apprenticed to the fourth Raku master, Ichinyu...

We like to present you this Korean Hori Mishima tea bowl for the Japanese Tea ceremony, made in the late 16th/early 17th century.

It is a low wan shaped tea bowl. Its expertly thrown body with its lower part was trimmed with a potters knife and shaped into the typical Korean bamboo node foot, creating a chirimen (crepe de chine) effect at the bottom. The bowl is decorated on the inside with an incised fish bone pattern and stamped flowers, both filled with a white engobe...

Here is magnificent example of the beauty of Raku ware, a pottery tradition born more than 400 years ago in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, from the collaboration between great tea master Sen Rikyu (1522-1591) and a potter named Chojiro ( - 1592), the forebear of the great Raku family of potters.

Sublime half cylinder shaped (Hanzutsu) tea bowl with a rounded brim, in the typical hand built style of the Raku family...

Surely an extraordinary confluence of circumstances must have come into alignment in order to bring this remarkable composition into existence. Done in the Korai style - referring to the heavy influence from Korean forms and glazing - this exquisite late Momoyama/early Edo period (1590-1620) Karatsu-ware tea bowl is really rare.

Regular formed wan shaped, showing fine finger marks from throwing...

Here is a really rare example of Ko-Agano-yaki from the early Edo Period (1600-1630) with a fine Kintsugi gold repair: regular wan shaped Ko-Agano tea bowl, showing very fine slightfinger marks from throwing.

The foot ring has been cut with a potters knife on a hand wheel. A glaze of rice straw ash has been poured with a laddle, while the potter held the bowl at the unglazed foot. Its unglazed finger marks show a fine, little iron bearing clay of a brownish color...

What a great Chawan! Wan shaped tea bowl made of light, refined and soft Mino clay, which contains a little iron oxide. The fastly but expertly thrown body inside and outside, with the exception of the bottom (including the finely thrown foot ring) is covered with a transparent ash glaze, which turned to yellow due to the iron oxide in the clay.

In 5 areas of the tea bowl are highlights in green copper oxide in the tradition of the Mino Ki-Seto...

Another wonderful example of the beauty of Shino-yaki from the early Edo Period: Little deformed cylinder (hazutsu) shaped, in the style of shino ware - the bowl shows finger marks from throwing; foot ring and bottom have been cut with a potters knife. Typical for a Nezumi-Shino shino bowl, the light, unrefined Mino clay has been covered with an iron bearing engobe - with the exception of the bottom area...

Splendid and absolutely rare double vase of old Karatsu-yaki. It has a vivid Chosen-Karatsu glaze, and the grandiose embellishment of color creates a sublime sense of tension between the dark glazed and color infusion.

This very decorative vase was made around the mid 19th century (late Edo Period).

Very good antique condition with only a light crack of glaze on the back of the white top, which enforces the all over wabi-sabi look.

Size: 23 cm height x 25 cm w...

Slightly distorted half cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) chawan with a rounded brim, made of light, refined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was only slightly trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part. The shape is of a type frequently found in early Shino bowls.

Under the semi-opaque Shino glaze is a decoration of criss-cross lines representing grass and something which maybe a landscape, executed in iron-bearing clay (oniita).

This is a typical piece of the Ogama ty...

From our collection of Japanese Chawan with Christian Cross design: highly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.

In the style of Seto kuro bowls this Chawan was covered with a light brown glaze. On one side the sign of a Christian (Maltese) cross was left unglazed and was covered with a transparent ash glaze.

Wonderful distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl made of light, fine, unrefined Mino clay. Shape and style make it appear contemporary with the late Oribe bowls. The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black oniita engobe inside and outside - with the exception of the bottom - over which a white, feldspatic Shino glaze has been poured.

Just the foot ring and its immediate surrounding was left unglazed. The decoration scratched into the iron oxide engobe is very uniq...

Rare Kiyomizu Nodate Summer tea bowl with fantastic hand-painting, made during the Japanese Meiji Period (1868-1912).

This summer bowl is in great condition with no chips or cracks.

Size: 7,3 cm height x 8,1 cm in diameter.

The history of Kiyomizu ware began approximately 400 hundred years ago. Kyoto was the center of culture and the biggest economic market at the time, which led it to feature pottery from all over Japan. In the 16th century, tea ceremony bec...

Only very little distorted half cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) tea bowl made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay.

The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black iron oxide glaze inside and outside. A 'window' on the side has been left unglazed for decoration in iron oxide engobe under a clear ash glaze in two different technics: on the left in nezumi shino style are hanging persimmons (hoshikaki) scratched into the engobe and on the right a tea room window and a plum blosso...

Hard to find nowadays: slightly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl from the early Edo Period with a rounded brim, made of little iron bearing, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.

The whole body was decorated with wide white parallel lines in a white engobe over which a thin line in iron oxide was drawn, over which finally transparent ash glaze was applied - really stunning.

Slightly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.

In the style of Ao-Kuro bowls this bowl was covered with a green copper oxide glaze. Two windows on two sides were left unglazed. One was decorated in iron oxide engobe with an image of a tree and a tea house, the other half was decorated with a sketch of a fence in iron...

A cultural treasure - our oldest and most important mizusashi: wonderful Chosen Karatsu Tataki Mizusashi from the Momoyama Period (1573 - 1603). It was perfectly thrown first into a cylinder shape and then squeezed and paddled into a distorted pear. Iron oxide glaze has been poured inside and out.

On the rim a blueish rice straw ash glaze has been applied in the typical Chosen Karatsu fashion. The mizusashi is supplied with a tailor made lacquer lid of a somewhat later date. The lid...

What a great Chawan! Cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) tea bowl thrown on a kick wheel. The little iron oxide bearing clay has been fully (except the footring and its surrounding) covered with a wood ash glaze which reacted with the iron oxide in the clay.

The thick and glossy glaze (guinomi-de) has a fine beautiful crazing. Before the glazing a flower and patterns have been incised, which where highlited by wonderful and vivid tanpan marks ( copper green marks ).

Ki-Seto is said...

A historic-cultural highlight: we proudly present a more than 1000 year old Yama Chawan with a strong kai-yu glaze. Once in a while you can find a traditional unglazed yama chawan on the antique market, but a Yama Chawan with a strong and vivid kai-yu glaze is very very rare. The Yama-Chawan is an excavated piece, stacked together with a second one for the firing process.

At the beginning of the 9th century, ceramics that use cooking at very high temperatures (about 1240 degrees) an...

Slightly distorted cylinder shaped (tsuzu) tea bowl with straight walls, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife around the foot ring.

The bowl was covered with black iron oxide glaze of the non glossy type (preferable!) and then covered with a black glaze in the style of a Seto-guro bowl. On the front a skewer with three rice balls was scratched into the black glaze before firing and covered with a transparent ash glaz...

Another historical masterpiece in the development of Japanese culture: grey Shino Chawan, distorted cylindrical shape - hanzutsu, covered with a whitish Shino glaze over an iron oxide engobe, resulting in a beautiful grey shino glaze, which partly turns to red shino (aka shino).

A decoration of a branch with a leaf and berries on the front and a criss cross grass pattern on the back has been incised into the engobe resulting in white shino colored lines. The regularly cut double fe...

We continue to offer you the most important chawans and present you this wonderful Tsutsui-Iga Chawan, dating back to the Momoyama period or even the Muromachi Era.

Cylindrical shape - hanzutsu - built up from clay coils and squeezen into shape, the foot roughly cut on a hand wheel. This technique is usually affiliated with the Muromachi period, but was used in Iga well into the Momoyama period.

The bowl was fired in an anagama (single chamber tunnel kiln), where it was ...

Splendid Aka Raku Chawan dating from the later Edo Period (1603-1868). It has a wonderful crazing and a very rare form. Great condition with no cracks or repairs.

The chawan comes with a good wooden box.

Size: 7,7 cm height x 14 cm in diameter.

One of a kind, a treasure with a special cultural and historical significance.: Kuro Raku Chawan, named 'Departing Geese', by legendary Tamamizu Ichigen (Ichigen I) with perfect kintsugi.

Ichigen was an illegitimate son of Kichizaemon Ichinyu (Ichinyu IV). He was raised in the Raku family until he was in late teens. Later he moved to Tamamizu village (present Idecho, Tsuzuki-gun, Kyoto), the hometown of his mother, and beside his studies with Raku ware he started Tamamizu ware main...

So rare! Wonderful Gozu Aka-e Mizusashi by greatest Eiraku Zengoro Hozen, made during the Japanese Edo Period. It is in perfect antique condition without cracks or repairs.

The red and green scroll work in over glaze enamels on a white crackled ground is superb and well balanced. The round Eiraku seal is on the lower side.

Zengoro Eiraku is best known as one of the Senke-Jisshoku. These are the ten specialists who make the tea utensils for the tea school named senke in Ja...

Large and only slightly distorted full cylinder shaped Tsutsu (hight is bigger than diameter) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of reddish, unrefined Mino clay with clearly visible finger marks on the wall.

The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife around the regular food ring. In the style of Seto-Kuro bowls this bowl was covered with a black glaze.

On three sides a round space was spared from black glaze. The unglazed areas were decorated with the aoi-m...

Slightly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.

In the style of Ao-Kuro bowls this bowl was covered with a green copper oxide glaze. A window on the side was left unglazed and split in two halves - one was decorated with a scetch of a fence in iron oxide engobe with an image of drying shibukaki on rice strings, the o...

There are only few opportunities to find antique Chosen Karatsu chawans - collectors know of what I'm talking about. Here is the second one of our collection:

Chosen Karatsu chawan from the Edo Period. The grandiose embellishment of color creates a sublime sense of tension between the dark glazed and color infusion.

The Chosen Karatsu style is a traditional style which was introduced by one or more potters brought from the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasions of ...

Elegantly shaped Ki-Seto Chawan from the Edo Period, early 19th century with a rarely seen gold rim. Precious metal rings were added when the chawan was made for the aristocracy and for the high nobility.

The beautiful and glossy glaze (guinomi-de) has a fantastic crazing. The bowl has also a decoration with vivid tanpan marks ( copper green marks ).

This Ki-Seto tea bowl is in very good condition, very unusual for a chawan of this age. Absolutely highly recommanded for ...

A really rare type of chawan: wan shaped tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light coarse clay. The fine iron bearing clay was nearly fully covered with glaze mixed from wood ash and feldspat.

The iron oxide in the body turned the glaze to a bright orange where thin. The bowl shows a fantastic discoloration from tea as a result of many years of careful use.

This chawan was manufactured in the early stage of the 17th cent. or earlier in the kiln of the Japanese trading ...

Special offer: A 100 year old impressive large Seto-Yaki Chawan, hand shaped pottery tea bowl of wonderful Seto clay. It fits perfect into the palm of the hand. The seal of the potter is stamped on the bottom.

No chips or cracks. The Chawan comes with its original wooden box.

Size: 7,9 cm height x 13,6 cm in diameter.