Catalog (283)

Oversized hanging scroll, portraying a beautiful young noble woman in travel dress, looking down and holding a large head. While her orange kimono is decorated with cherry blossoms, her overcoat is decorated with maple leaves in autumn colors. Signed: Tojo. Red seal: Seizan. Ink, mineral colors and gofun on silk. Japan, Taisho era, 1920s.

Image 74 x 32 inches
Mounting 90 x 40 inches. Wooden scroll ends.

Some minor cracks and losses to gofun, otherwise fine condition

Large and rustic almost round platter, called ishizara in Japanese, used in kitchens and commoners’ households. Plain light greenish-yellow glaze that typically leaves the foot free. The many pinpoint spots where the glaze did not completely cover the stoneware has allowed dirt to penetrate, giving the surface a lively spotted face. Glaze has dulled over time from constant usage.
Five spurmarks in the center.
Mingei

Seto ware, Japan, Edo period, 1800-1850

H 2.75 x W 14.5 x D 14 in.

Repaired chip on rim, one old chip under rim, several smaller scrapings and damages all commensurate with age and heavy usage. Fissures in the glaze that have no impact on stability, usability or visual appeal.

From a private collection of mingei ceramics in New Jersey

Storage jar with beautiful dark brown glaze drippings from the neck and shoulder down, over a dark brown stone ware with countless inclusions. Around the neck engraved with cross pattern. Shape somewhat distorted. Height 11 inches, width 10 inches. Two short cracks at the rim, one small chip at the rim, glaze partly rubbed due to extensive usage. Overall condition good. Japan 18/19th century.

A large mask in the form of the face of an oni (demon) that typically would hang in the kitchen or in a temple, to ward off evil spirits. A slit in the back is for hanging the mask from the wall.

Wood with remnants of polychrome pigments red, white and grayish black.

Japan, late Edo period (18th/19th century).

H mask 13 in.; H with stand 18.5 x W 9.75 in.

Mounted on a stand, sitting on a pole that has been inserted through the chin of the mask. Also metal wire across the back for hanging (attached with two small nails behind the ears).

Color pigments strongly rubbed, various scrapes and chafes, material cracks and some old damage

Large peach-shaped bowl decorated on in- and outside with a bold Rinpa design of flowering red, white and blue camellias and leaves. Over a cream-colored coarse stoneware a thin layer of cream-colored slip has been applied, on top of which overglaze blue, black, green, red, white enamels and gold.

On the outside in a white rectangular reserve with black outlines the signature Kenzan. Japan, 1950s.

In the style of Ogata Kenzan or Ogata Kenzan studio.

H 4; w 12 inches.

Tiny chip on inner rim, otherwise excellent condition.

Tall zushi with wooden sculpture of Yakushi Nyorai standing on a high, double lotus base. In his left hand he holds a medicine jar, while his right hand is raised in mudra. Very simple, country style carving. Lotus base very well carved in wood, covered with gold lacquer. Figure is plain wood covered with soot patina. Names of the donors written in ink on the bottom of the case. Date unreadable. Edo period, mid 17th century, possibly earlier. Height of case 25 3/4 in. (65.8 cm). Figure in good condition. Case with clear traces of usage, however in very stable condition.

Fairly large zushi hand shrine in the shape of a lotus petal. Double sided, made of sandalwood.
Inside each half is a deep relief carving of Buddhist deities. On one side the three-eyed Aizen Myoo with a lion crown, sitting on a lotus base in the clouds before a red mandorla. His six hands hold Vajra and ghanta, bow and arrow, and lotus bud and pouch. On the other side the two-armed Kannon bosatsu, holding a lotus bud in the left hand, sitting on a lotus base in the clouds. Inside decorated in gold, red, blue and black for details, green mineral color for the background.
The outside decorated in gold lacquer over a black lacquer ground: loose lotus petals and a bonji on each side (one bonji probably for Fugen and one bonji A (for Amida)).
Japan, Edo period, around 1800.

H ca. 3-7/8 inches

Inside in excellent condition with minimal abrasions of the blue in the hair and of the green background pigment. Black lacquer on the outside with some losses. Above the bonji for Fugen (?) a restoration. Wood a bit warped.

Rare

Kabuto maedate, or ornament that sits in the front of the Japanese helmet. Aizen Myoo, flames coming out of his mouth. On top of his head a lion. Polychrome lacquered resin-like material, mounted on a metal base plate. Japan, 20th century.
Height ca. 5 ½ inches, width ca. 6 ½ inches.
Fine condition

Kabuto maedate, or ornament that sits in the front of the Japanese helmet. Dragonfly. Gilded iron. Japan, 20th century.
L ca. 6 ¾ inches.
Good condition, one leg damaged.

Kabuto maedate, or ornament that sits in the front of the Japanese helmet. Long-horned monster face with fangs and pointy ears and tufts of hair. Polychromed and gilded wood with horse hair and metal wire. Japan, 19th/ 20th century.
H 6 5/8 inches, W 6 5/8 inches.
Good condition, ear restored, a few abrasions

Kabuto maedate, or ornament that sits in the front of the Japanese helmet. Long-horned monster face with big teeth and fangs and pointy ears. Wood with reddish color. Japan, 20th century.
Height 9 inches, width 8 ½ inches.
Fine condition

A long horizontal handscroll with ten individual hand-painted shunga scenes, of couples in the act of lovemaking. The focus is on the couples and their actions; there is no background. One couple uses a dildo. For as far as anyone wears a garment, those are decorated in fine details.

Signature at the end of the scroll, on the far-left side: Yamato-e Miyagawa Choshun zu. Gourd-shaped red seal: Choshun.

Very fine and detailed paintings in black ink, mineral colors and gofun (pulverized calcified shells) on paper. The hair and some of the garments are painted in black lacquer which has a sheen to it. The photos show the hair as gray, which is a light reflection. In reality, the hair is jet black.

The scroll consists of four pieces, joined together and laid down on thin Japanese backing paper for stability. Wooden scroll knobs. Comes with a futomaki, protective roll.

Japan, Edo period, 18th century

Height 10.75 inches, length ca. 130 inches.

More photos available upon request

Condition:
Missing areas along the lower edge, mostly in the first quarter of the scroll, few small missing spots and areas throughout the scroll, and restored tears. All of this stabilized by the background paper.

Provenance: Private collection Portland, OR, purchased from Brodney Gallery in Boston, MA

Miyagawa Choshun (ca 1683-1752) was a painter in the ukiyo-e style, founder of the Miyagawa school of painting. He lived and worked most of his life in Edo. Early on, he was influenced stylisticly by Hishikawa Moronobu, borrowing groups of figures from Moronobu’s paintings. He painted in hanging scroll format and created hand scrolls. He did not design woodblock prints.

Jug for holding fresh water for the tea ceremony, called mizusashi. Wheel thrown, thin stoneware of slightly irregular beaker shape (slightly bulging belly towards the bottom and straight sides going up). The mouth is slightly oval. Black-brown iridescent glaze. Custom made black lacquered fitted wooden cover. Seto ware, or black Oribe.

Impressed potter seal Sakusuke inside gourd, and engraved smiley-shaped kao.

H 5.75 (with cover) x W 6.25 in.

Japan, ca 1970s

Undamaged condition

Comes with a wooden storage box inscribed on the cover: Seto; and signed Sakusuke saku and with the artist’s seal

Kato Sakusuke IV (1909-1996) was the 25th in line from Kato Kagemasa, the founder of Seto ware.
He graduated from the Kyoto Vocational School for Industrial Crafts in 1932, and trained in Kyoto for three more years. After returning to Seto and began making pottery under the guidance of his father. He inherited the title of Sakusuke IV in 1944.
He studied the traditional techniques of Oribe, Kuro-Oribe, Ki-Seto, and Ofuke, creating masterful and traditional ceramic/ceremonial works. In 1984 he was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of the Prefecture of Aichi.

Stoneware water jar or mizusashi as used in the tea ceremony with round bottom developing into a diamond shaped edge. Greyish smooth stoneware, decorated with horizontal grooves, covered with brown iridescent glaze on the outside and with a mottled greenish-yellow glaze on the inside, dripping over the outside edge and down. Black lacquered, diamond-shaped coved. Takatori style, Japan, early Showa era, circa 1930-1950s.

H without cover 5¾ in.; with cover 6½ in.

Jar in fine condition, cover with 2 chips.

Vase or jar with globular body, standing on a short foot and with everting rim. Moon jar. Underglaze blue decoration of carp swimming in water. Signed and sealed. Bottom marked as well. Korea, late 19th or early 20th century.

Height 12 in., width 12 ½ in.

Mint condition

Ex coll. Peter K. Warren, CT

Obi (sash) with design on both sides. One side taupe colored silk embroidered in brown, murasaki, pink, green and blue with a design of bamboo leaves and matsukawabishi. The other side decorated in silver and some colored silk on murasaki colored silk with an intricate design of a river bank with stone barricades, containers and vegetation: bamboo, pine, chrysanthemums and momiji. The end of the obi marked with two strokes of gold thread. Japan, early Showa period.
Length 151 ¾ in. (385.5 cm).
Two water stains on the taupe side of the obi. The gold threads that mark the end of theobi coming loose. Few silver threads coming looses. Generally good condition.

A long woman’s summer obi made of thin silk, woven in jacquard and openwork techniques with chrysanthemums or asters interlaced with fences of plaited bamboo leaves. On this, in Yuzen dye technique, imitating an ink drawing, several areas painted with cart wheels floating in waves.
The obi has been opened; a practice quite common in order to have the material cleaned. There is a paper (dry) cleaner’s tag on the obi.
Japan, ca. 1950s.
L ca. 13 ft, H ca. 13 inches

Few black ink stains, all in all very good condition

Wooden cart wheels were put into water to prevent the wood from drying out. It is a beloved image in decorative arts, as it alludes to the simple (idealized) rural life.

Small statue of the face of Okame. Her round, full cheeks and Heian period hairdo give her head the silhouette of a penis. Her open mouth is in the form of a stylized vagina. Shunga of sorts.
Cast bronze with dark brown patina. Good details.

H 3 x D 2.25 in.

Few casting flaws, otherwise excellent condition

This type of erotic statues are regarded as funny rather than erotic. In Japan they are called waraimono, ‘something (or someone) that makes you laugh’.