Late 19th to early 20th century small Chinese jade carving of a coin, each side with a low relief carving of 2 bats in flight among clouds. Beautiful true nephrite jade of white color, very good carving, beautiful finish to the surface, very pleasant to hold. Diameter 0.7 inches, weight 5 grams

Late 19th to early 20th century Chinese jade carving of a resting dog, its head turned back. Wonderful true nephrite jade of celadon color, very good carving with great sense of volume, beautiful finish to the surface, nicely heavy, very pleasant to hold. Length 2 1/8 inches, weight 116 grams.

Rare 19th century Japanese stoneware Kuro Oribe chaire (tea caddy for storing powdered green tea used in tea ceremony) of cylindrical shape with rounded shoulders. Comes with very well made shifuku (silk brocade storage bag). Beautiful free potting, typical elliptical lines on the foot left by a string used to cut off the piece from potter’s wheel...

19th century or earlier Japanese sword set of fuchi (bordering piece between the sword guard and the handle) and kashira (metal pommel at the end of the hilt of a sword) with gilded relief design of small birds in flight by clumps of bamboo, all on finely punched ground texture called nanako, which means “fish-eggs” as it resembles fine rows of caviar. Excellent quality work, in great condition. Kashira length 1.4 inches, fuchi length 1.52 inches.

Late Meiji to early Taisho (1910s) Japanese boxwood okimono of a sleeping monk. The subject is a metaphor for a failure to reach enlightenment - instead of seeking and understanding the profound power of Buddha’s teaching the monk falls asleep. Nicely carved, wonderful tranquil face, pleasant patina. Signed YOSHIHISA on the bottom - for information on the artist see NETSUKE & INRO ARTISTS AND HOW TO READ THEIR SIGNATURES by George Lazarnick, p. 1232. Height 2 inches.

Late Meiji (1890s to 1910s) Japanese pink coral obidome (sash ornament) with carved decoration of a blooming rose. Obidome is worn on an obi cord that holds the obi sash together, it is the only type of jewelry worn by Japanese women on formal occasions, and could serve as netsuke as well. Clever design, wonderful carving, very beautiful natural coral, nice finish and patina. Metal fixture with two loops on the back for an obi cord (marked 14K, but looks like nickel plated brass...

Late 19th century small Chinese / Tibetan mala - Buddhist rosary consisting of 108 Chinese angel skin coral prayer beads and 4 jadeite ones that serve as spacers dividing the prayer beads into groups of 27 each. Must have been made for a child as the beads are small (about 4 mm in diameter). True white coral with beautiful areas of slight pink. Traditionally Buddhist rosary of 108 even-sized beads is used for mantra recitation...

Rather unusual late Qing Dynasty (1890s to 1911) Chinese seal carved out of a natural boulder. The stone is of military green color, softer than jade and appears to be magmatic in nature - see the folds of its outside produced by cooling of the rock. The impression of the seal is shown on the third photo which is flipped left to right to present the image as it will print on paper...

Late Qing Dynasty (1890s to 1911) Chinese soapstone seal carved on the top with crouching one-horned chimera. Inscribed with 6 characters on the side. The first photo shows the image of the bottom flipped left to right, so the seal can be read. Excellent carving, wonderful face and body bulk, beautiful patina. The bottom is carved with raised characters, red seal paste in the grooves. Very beautiful variegated peach colored stone with red areas giving extra depth to the carving...

Late Meiji period (1890s 1912) Japanese buffalo horn kushi (hair comb) with carved low relief cherry flowers and two metal roundels with cutout brocade patterns, design continuing on the back. Very well made, wonderful work in Japanese taste, tiny areas of insect damage here and there, otherwise in great condition. Length 3.57 inches. Part of East Coast collection of Japanese hair items.

Old song bird catcher from the Minang people of Central Sumatra. I bought this in Padang in 1988 and it was already old at the time, so I can date this to about 1950. A classic honey trap, right out of the KGB spy book. A hot and seductive female bird is placed in the back of the cage and when a dumb male bird comes along and lands on the perch in front this will trip a peg that will cause the net in the front to come down and now he is caught. See last two enlargements...

18th to early 19th century large size iron Japanese sword tsuba worked in low relief with an ama-ryu (rain dragon) in flight among wispy clouds. Clever and elegant design in Japanese taste, gilding to its eyes, in great condition. Height 3.35 inches (85 mm).

19th century bronze Japanese sword tsuba with perforated design of Shoki the demon Queller threatening a terrified oni with a sword. Nicely made, pleasant dark patina, in great condition. Height 2.96 inches.

Late Meiji to early Taisho (1910s) Japanese wooden round kogo (box for incense during tea ceremony), its top with a silver plaque engraved with bamboo stalks and leaves. The wood is ichii (Japanese yew) with clever use of wood patterns to add to the charm of the piece, Simple classic design, in excellent condition. Diameter 2.73 inches, height 1.14 inches. Part of a small East Coast kogo collection.

A Chinese White Glazed Water-Dropper with Pigeon. Circa 12th-14th Century, Song-Yuan Dynasty. Found in the Philippines. This water-dropper features a qingbai-type glaze that covers its entire body and stops short of its foot. Two loop handles sit on its shoulders and its neck is decorated with carved circles. A figure of a pigeon rests on top of the vessel and its base remains unglazed. This vessel was probably used by scholars for pouring water to wet ink, used for calligraphy...

Found in the Philippines. This vase features a six-sided ribbed body with a qingbai type glaze. The vase sits on top of a stand with a caged and pierced design which is integral to the vase. Similar examples of vases with different designs that are integrated into their stands can be seen in the book “Chinese and South-East Asian White Ware Found in the Philippines” by: The Oriental Ceramic Society of the Philippines, on page 108; exhibit 109 and 110...

A small Pure Land Buddhist shrine -zushi- containing a figure of the 11-headed Kannon on a lotus, holding a flask in his left hand, standing before a full-size mandorla.
Painted in mineral colors and gold onto the gilded doors are Jizo bosatsu to his right and Kokuzo bosatsu to his left.

Carved wood (probably boxwood), decorated with gold. Jewelry gilded metal (now black).
Red lacquered shrine with fine gilded hardware. Japan, Edo period, 18th century.
Case: ca...

It is a Japanese antique komebukuro bag. It is a komebukuro bag sewn together with indigo dye Omi Kasuri jyoufu and European chintz. It does not stain and has two small holes. There is damage on the bottom.The inside has light stains from aging. 　　 size:: Length 22cm / 8.66inch Width 42cm / 16.5cm