An Arita porcelain seashell form, scalloped dish with tall foot. Enamel decoration of Ho-o (Japanese mythological Phoenix) in the Kakiemon pallete - black, red, blue, green, yellow and gold overglaze enamel - applied over the glaze inside the dish. Slightly opaque white, large bubble suffused glaze with faint celadon pooling in recesses. Kiln grit adhering to the unglazed foot rim...

A Japanese Imari Tokuri. Decorated in the typical palette with alternate panels of a Carp leaping a waterfall and a Dragon in clouds above a Tiger 19thC. Height: 7 3/8″ (18.7 cm). Condition: excellent, light wear to gilding

A dish of auspicious shuronagata, hemp palm form, decorated in gilt outlined enamels with Bamboo and Prunus, emblematic of the season of Spring and the New Year. The reverse decorated with three pairs of ribbon tied shippo, and a six character reign mark for the Chinese Emperor Chenghua. The base of the dish supported by set of 4 spur marks distributed in a Y shaped form. The dish was probably produced at the Kakiemon kiln in the Nangawara valley...

A dish of auspicious shuronagata, hemp palm form, decorated in gilt outlined enamels with Bamboo and Prunus, emblematic of the season of Spring and the New Year. The reverse decorated with three pairs of ribbon tied shippo, and a six character reign mark for the Chinese Emperor Chenghua. The base of the dish supported by set of 4 spur marks distributed in a Y shaped form. The dish was probably produced at the Kakiemon kiln in the Nangawara valley...

A beautiful and delicate white porcelain composition with low-relief molded seashell design lining the inside. The overall condition of the bowl and several oxidation marks on the bottom suggest considerable age—at least several hundred years. The box lid bears the character “定” which can be translated as “truth” or “certainty.” The origin of this piece is unknown, though the previous owner regarded it as Chinese (Northern Song)...

A good Arita vase of bulbous ovoid form decorated with three panels featuring traditional kacho-ga motifs, birds and flowers, including Chrysanthemums, Camelias and Peonies. The neck and shoulder of the vase decorated with horizontal bands of palisade like vertical stripes and stylised overlapping petals. Each panel divided by a stylised Lotuses with kara kusa scrolls, and the base decorated with a simple saw tooth pattern...

A large impressive shallow dish of typical export type decorated with two boughs of auspicious Chrysanthemums and Cherry blossom to the centre. The border divided into a set of six elliptical reserves each containing Butterflies and Peonies by a series stylised floral motifs inset against alternating blue and blue and green enamel grounds. The reverse simply decorated with Chrysanthemum Sprigs...

An unusual Arita bowl decorated to the exterior with an auspicious Hundred Chinese Boys pattern, baizi tu, which shows karako, Chinese boys, engaged in various playful activities, principally Fan and Flag waving, moving large objects and chasing chicken. There may be references to various Chinese folk tales within the procession. The enormous water jar is probably a reference to the tale of Sima Guang and so on...

A pair of Arita plates decorated in underglaze blues with enamels. The centre painted with a large tripod censer containing Spring flowering Peonies on a low table flanked by a pair of flower vases, containing Autumn flowering Pinkes and Chrysanthemums with a pair of birds. The rim painted with a pair of Hoo birds with Chrysanthemums and Peonies. The plate on the left uses blue enamels, as found in the Kakiemon palette, rather than aubergine enamels as used on the right...

A long dish of conventional form decorated in senbeki, pencilled, style with a pair of four toed Chinese Dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls all set against a lightening field. The central reserve decorated with stylised tadpole like thunder bolts. The reverse decorated with further lightening motifs and pearls. A small square seal mark containing the character Ho, precious treasure...

An Arita long dish of sampan form somewhat deeper and narrower than usually found. Painted with an idealised Chinese style landscape incorporating the elements of water and land. The cavetto painted with stylised lotus flowers enmeshed within a Hagi-karakusa, Bush clover vine arabesque. Gobenka with karakusa motifs to the sides of the dish, and a similar auspicious Lozenge (one of the Eight Precious objects) with karakusa at each end...

A late Eighteenth century hexagonal form drinking cup painted with panels of Birds with various flowers, Chrysanthemums, Persimmon and Peach flowers with accompanying panels of reverse...

An interesting namasu, serving dish or bowl, decorated entirely with green, aubergine, yellow, black and red enamels. A palette and style of decoration not dissimilar to that used in the mid seventeenth century that covers the whole of the interior of a dish with enamel decoration. In this case the enamelling disguises an unglazed ring to the interior of the bowl that would have enabled another dish to be stacked on it in the saggar. The base of the dish has spur marks where three spurs once sup...

A pair of Hirado dishes decorated with scenes adapted from the woodcuts of Utagawa Hiroshige. The dish on the left hand side is adapted from the Sixty Nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido, principally the station at Itabishi and in part, the pedlar with basket, the station at Takasaki. The dish on the right hand side shows a group of figures struggling against a gale probably inspired by the woodcutShono Shono from the Fifty three Stations on Tokaido Highway, but adapted with a great deal of licence....

A set of five Sake cups of tapering cylyndrical form, nozoki, decorated in underglaze blue with a diaper border, renzuku mon, to inside of the mouth, and an iron red diaper ground inset with shaped reserves or mikomi, each containg a gilt outlined and enameled Suisen, the Japanese Narcissus with Chrysanthemum demi florets in iron red and gilt with matsuawabishi mon in underglaze blue flanking them. The cups date to the end of the late Mid Edo period. The cups measure between 5.5cm and 6cm high ...

An interesting dish of moulded Kraak form decorated with a partially obscured Chinese four toed Dragon painted in underglaze cobalt blue with gilt outlined enamelled auspicious clouds framed by a band of stylised Chrysanthemum demi-florets to the rim. The reverse of the dish is decorated in underglaze blue with stylised Chinese style auspicious clouds and a six character mark for the Emperor Yongzheng. An identical dish appears in the Shibata collection dated circa 1750-80, although I think the ...

A Namasu or small serving bowl in revived Kakiemon style decorated with a depiction of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in low moulded relief; here represented by just two of them. The Sages were synominous with a hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and poetry. The foliate rim of the dish with a fuchi beni, brown glaze. The central roundel in the well of the bowl decorated with a Namban or Tojin style figure of a European with a two legged long tailed dog like creature. This is the kind of novel...

A Namasu or small serving bowl in revived Kakiemon style decorated with a depiction of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in low moulded relief; here represented by just two of them. The Sages were synominous with a hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and poetry. The foliate rim of the dish with a fuchi beni, brown glaze. The central roundel in the well of the bowl decorated with a Namban or Tojin style figure of a European with a two legged long tailed dog like creature. This is the kind of n...