Ca. mid 1800s

Painted in thick blue enamels surrounding an overall floral pattern in pale green and turquoise. A cartouche with a design of a bird among flowers is painted in famille rose pallet on the two large sides. A hanging tassel design is on the two narrow sides. The lid rests on top of the mouth and is painted with a single open flower. The base is unglazed. There are two glaze chips on the shoulder and a crack to the interior collar of the lid...

Early to mid 1800s

Painted in famille verte enamels, one side showing a woman in a scholar’s studio, and the other side showing a child and a seated woman. On the long narrow sides are scenes of a woman gazing out a window into a garden. The scenes are bordered on the sides by a diamond lozenge pattern as if it were the brocade framing a hanging scroll. The smaller narrow sides have a pierced double coin design surrounded by flowering branches...

Late 1800s

Glazed on the biscuit with green, yellow and brown enamels. On the base are three unglazed spots on which the piece was fired. Stopper in the form of bat, handle in form of stem and spout in the form of blossom. Very good condition with only minor construction flaws glazed over in the firing.

Width: 3 in.; Height: 2 7/8 in.

Ming Dynasty, 1400/1500s

Set of six glazed miniatures made for an altar to be interred in the tomb of an upper-class person. Made in the shape of nuts, vegetables, a boar’s head, ingots and long rolls to provide symbolic sustenance in the afterlife...

Dated: 1906

Painted in thick overglaze enamels with a scene of fish with human bodies brandishing sticks at a large turtle-like creature. The base in inscribed in gold enamel with a date, a four-character seal and the English name, Thomas Bigelow written in katakana script. The date reads: Meiji 39 (1906), fourth month, tenth day. It is unusual to find specifically dated porcelains and particularly with an individual western name inscribed...

Ca. early 1800s

In the style of Okuda Eisen, possibly made in Kyoto at one of the Kiyomizu Kilns. One of a set of five or ten used for individual servings of sweets or other items in a tea ceremony context. Made from porcelain with thick overglaze green enamel and rapidly painted floral designs in red enamel. This style was popular in Kyoto in the late 1700s and 1800s, and was revived again in the 1900s...

Dated: 1918

Heavy, pure silver box with gold, silver, and copper inlaid bronze plaque inset in lid. The bronze plaque depicts a scene of dragonflies amidst autumn grasses. The grass is both incised and raised. The seeds are all inlaid gold. The dragonflies are raised above the surface with silver wings and copper bodies and the smallest dragonfly is inlaid with silver and copper. The sides of the box are incised with floral medallions and the base is raised on four solid silver feet...

Choson period, late 1800s

Body and rim are densely inlaid with silver in various geometric patterns. There are medallions on two sides with silver-inlaid scenes of a pair of deer and a pair of cranes, both being symbols of longevity. On the adjacent sides are movable pendant handles with fretwork inlay. The interior and base have a blackish oxidation and areas of minor rust. Condition is very good. The silver is all intact...

Choson period, 1700s

Raised on low feet incorporated into the shape of the four flat sides. The top and sides are bordered by a single blue line. On each side, framed within four corners is a quickly painted floral motif. On the top is a more detailed plant and floral design. Though generally in good condition, there is evidence of use. The glaze on top is considerably worn. There are a few minor glaze chips...

Koryo Dynasty, 1100s

Painted in underglaze iron with a stylized design, possibly of a duck. Covered entirely with a grayish-green celadon glaze, barely wiped from the footring. Minor sand adhesion to the foot. No chips or cracks.

Diameter: 2 1/8 in.; Height: 1 ¼ in.

Choson period, 1400s

A stamped design of repeating flower heads laid out in concentric bands covers the interior. The exterior sides have a similar band between incised lines. The depressions are filled with white slip which is then wiped clean off the surfaced, leaving the white clay in the impressed design. A clear glaze covers the design and most of the body. The footring, base, and a portion of the lower body are unglazed. There are two small chips on the footring probably from firing ...

Choson period, 1400s

Rare and large deep bowl with an everted rim set on a fairly tall and slightly tapering foot. On the interior, the deep well descends to a shallow circular depression about 2 ½ in. in diameter. The entire bowl is covered with a clear glaze of bluish-grey cast except for a portion of the footring. A short, uneven portion in the rim is due to a potting flaw that was repaired by the potter before firing as was also a small gouge to the lower foot. Fine white granules re...

Choson period, ca. early 1800s

Painted on two sides with a floral spray in underglaze cobalt blue, highlighted with copper red. Likely over-fired causing the lower body to sag on one side. The clear, bluish tinged glaze was applied thickly and ran during the firing causing the blurring of the design on one side and an almost disappearance of the design on the other side. The glaze is evenly crackled with a pale brown staining from time and use. There is an old crack on the shoulder with as...

Choson period, 1800s

The top is decorated with a mountainous landscape with trees and stylized birds in flight. The sides have three calligraphic flourishes. A low footring encircles the glazed base. Sand and kiln grit covers the entire footring with small areas of sand adhering to the base. The pouring spout has been restored and there is a small, shallow chip on the top near the edge above the mountain.

Diameter: 3 ¼ in.; Height: 1 3/8 in.

Acquired in Japan in 1975.

A Fine and Large Bronze Mirror: Korea, Koryo dynasty, 13th -14thcentury This is a rare and large round bronze mirror, cast in the center with a pierced knob encircled by flower petals, well molded with a pair of sinuous dragons, each pursuing a flaming pearl through clouds around the central floret. It is in perfect condition with green and dark brown patina. It measures: 8 7/8 “d.

Old Japanese doll resembling the Kuge (aristocrat) from the Heian period (794-1185), 16 inches tall. This doll was probably one of the zuishin (imperial guard) dolls for the Hina Festival (Girl’s Day in Japan). His long face mostly resembles the Kyoho-bina which is the imperial pair dolls from the mid Edo period (1603-1868). Considering the quality, size and time (late Edo), this doll must have been made for someone special.

The costume of hina dolls were all copied from the ...

Late Choson period, ca. 1900

Deep circular box with shallow, slightly domed lid extensively inlaid with silver overall. The box is decorated with “double happiness characters on two sides with the portion in-between filled with stylized butterflies and foliage with a continuous floral band encircling the lower portion. The top of the lid is inlaid with auspicious symbols surrounded by bands of butterflies and foliage. The side of the lid has a fretwork design. The base is applied with th...

POTTERY OIL LAMP HOLY LAND – ROMAN “HERODIAN DYNASTY”
SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
37 BC – 70 AD
Time of Jesus and King Herod the Great

Measurements:
Length: 8.5 cm
Width: 6 cm

Condition: Intact with nice earthy patina

Found in Bethlehem south of Jerusalem, Holy Land

A lamp such as this might have lit homes during the time of Jesus. A metaphor of joy and prosperity, for hope, for life itself, lamps have illuminated the path of civilizatio...