Water jar on rounded bottom. Stoneware with dark brown slip-like glaze on the lower part, leaving the bottom free and a thin translucent glaze on the neck and mouth, both with fine crackle. A slender strip of engraved rope design decoration on the shoulder of the receptacle. Seto, Mino ware. Japan, Edo period.
H ca. 8-¼ inches.
Scratches on the body, worn down patches on the mouth, otherwise good condition.

Sake flask or tokkuri of triangular shape with tall neck. Brown stoneware with a combination of natural straw glaze and ash glaze and ashes. Marked at the bottom with unidentified potter’s mark. Japan, Bizen, 20th century.
H ca. 5-½ inches.
Mint condition.

Kogo or incense box in the shape of the God of Good Fortune Hotei, leaning on his treasure bag with a fan in his hands. Earthenware, Raku ware with black glaze and white slip. Japan, 20th century.
H ca. 1-½ inches; W ca. 2-¼ inches.
Traces of usage: two cracks in the cover, some chips in the cover and two tiny chips on the edge of the lower part. Otherwise good condition, charming piece.

Water jar for the tea ceremony shaped as a bamboo segment, the handles shaped as bamboo shoots. Stoneware, Bizen kiln. Natural ash glaze specks. Black lacquer cover. Japan, 20th century.
H 6 inches.
Some traces of usage: a.o. few minor chips on the bottom edge, two very small chip at upper rim, lacquer cover with chips on inside, otherwise very good condition.

Low and wide vessel, probably a container for waste water or kensui, with indentation in rim. Stoneware, Bizen kiln. Japan, 20th century.
H ca. 3-¼ inches; diam. Ca. 6-¼ inches.
Excellent condition.

Small hanaire of irregular shape (dented belly) with small metal loop to hang it on a beam of the tokonoma. Stoneware, Shigaraki kiln. Japan, 20th century.
H 5-½ inches.
Excellent condition.

Midsize storage jar of greyish stoneware, with the typical inclusions, with natural ash glaze. Japan, Edo period, 19th century or a bit earlier.
H 11-¼ inches.
Very good condition.

Stoneware vase of the tokkuri shape, probably made in Seto. Over a greyish brown clay a greenish beige glaze on the body and brown glaze on the neck. Over the glaze an enamel decoration in moriage technique of an octopus and two toads in a tug of war over a basket filled with vegetables. The toads are trying to pull lotus stalks out of the octopus’ tentacles, while the octopus is waving a big daikon over its head. Unsigned. Japan, Meiji period, early 20th century.
Height ca. 9 ¾ inches.
Excellent condition with minimal traces of usage.

Hollow stoneware sculpture of a tiger sitting on its haunches, growling at the world, showing its shark-like white teeth. Somewhat folky piece. Incised artist’s seal, unidentified. Japan, Showa period.
Height ca. 15.5 inches.
Excellent condition.

Schuster, Felicia and Cecilia Wolseley, Vases of the sea. Far Eastern porcelain and other treasures. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1974. Hard cover binding with dust jacket.
Book on vases from China and from Japan made of porcelain, bronze, jade and cloisonne, and also a chapter on ivory and on lacquer. Numerous color illustrations.
Few unimportant traces of usage on the dust jacket, all in all in near new condition.

Hobson, R.L., The wares of the Ming dynasty. Rutland/Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company 1962. With dust jacket and with card board slip case. 1st edn. Little tear in back of dust jacket, all in all in near new condition.
Book on ceramics and porcelain with 9 color plates, 50 b/w plates, hand drawn marks, etc.

1) Stoneware incense box or kogo in the shape of an onna daruma (female daruma). She sits in the typical way, all rolled up in her garment, indicating that arms and legs may have fallen off. Her face shows striking similarity to Okame. Cream colored and reddish brown glaze over whitish soft clay, the face left partially free, fine crackle in the glaze. Japan, Meiji period.
2) Stoneware incense box or kogo in the shape of Daruma, wrapped in his reddish garment, his face peeing out of the garment, looking up. Cream colored and red glaze with some black accents over a whitish soft clay, the face left partially free, strong, but very fine crackle in the glaze. Raku stamp on the inside. Japan, Meiji period.
Height: ca. 1 ½ inches each.
Condition:
1) Outer edge of lower part with tiny frittings and chips, two tiny glaze chips along the lines of the crackle (hardly visible). Generally very good condition. 2) On the back tiny pieces of glaze missing between the crackle lines, otherwise excellent condition.

Large ceramic charger in Satsuma style with a decoration in overglaze colors and gold of Kidomaru trying to assault his brother Fujiwara no Yasumasa, who is playing the flute on a full moon night in the fall. The music is so enchanting, that Kidomaro cannot follow through with the assault. Japan, late Meiji period, early 20th century.
Diameter: 15 inches; height: 2 ½ inches.
Few abrasions of the gold and moriage, some spur marks visible, others covered by the decoration, some surface stains that can be removed. All in all excellent condition.

Design in mirror images after the famous triptych of the same subject by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, that was published in 1883. The triptych was created after Yoshitoshi submitted a painting of roughly the same design to a national exhibition in the fall of 1882.

Large porcelain charger decorated in underglaze blue with a map of Japan, as drawn in the Edo period. The map (Gyoji type) shows the main islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, divided into the 63 provinces. The names of the provinces are written in kanji. Here and there a name of a city (i.e. Edo) is added. The main islands of Japan are surrounded by several islands (names written partly or entirely in katakana) and real and imaginary countries, such as Choseon, the Ryukyus, the country of the small people and the country where women rule. The sea is indicated by stylized waves. Around the islands are stylized clouds and on top and bottom fly crane-like birds. The bottom, reverse, with 6-mark seal: Honcho Tenpo nensei. Rim decorated with meandering flowering vines. Five spur marks. Japan, Hizen, Arita kiln, 1830s-1840s or slightly later (but still Edo period).
Diameter 16 inches, H 2.25 inches (Diam. 40.6 cm, H 5.7 cm).
Condition excellent.

Very similar piece in the Kyushu Ceramic Museum.

Kerr, Rose, Chinese ceramics. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, Victoria and Albert Museum: London 1986. Reprint from 1998. Hardcover with d/j. 142 pp. with many illustrations in color and b/w, including photos of seals, marks and bottoms.