A celadon tripod censer, decorated with carved of three bloom flowers on the body and covered overall with olive green glaze. 14th centuries Yuan dynasty Longquan ware. Condition: one flake chip visible on the last enlargement, short firing crack at the base, no other crack anywhere on the body and no other chips as well, free from restoration. High: 5.7 cm and Diameter: 12 cm.

Description:

A Yaozhou shallow bowl was in decent look with persimmon glaze.
The glaze was covered all over the surface except to the foot ring.
The foot ring was shaped in domed edge and was revealed with the body clay in gray tint when stingy-feel burial adhesives(BaoJiang) was preserved on the tip of the foot ring for verification.
The glaze surface was reflected in retrospective sheen in old look.

Date: Northern Song Dynasty,960-1127...

Pair of Imari covered bowls. Condition for both is very good (one with minute enamel loss inside the bowl and one the other with an almost imperceptible minute craze inside the foot.) Part of a group just out of a diplomatic estate. With slight variation, the bowls are between approximately 4 1/4" (10.8cm) to 4 3/8" (11.1cm) diameter and 2 5/16" (5.9cm) height. The covers are about 4" (10.2cm) diameter...

Chinese fan painting on paper by Zhu Meicun (born 1911) depicting a solitary figure at the lower right seated among rockery and pines. The left side of the fan bears the artist's signature and red seal. The painting is dated above the signature in Chinese cycle years summer of "ping xu" (1946). The fan painting has been silk mounted. The painting itself measures about 9 1/4"V x 20"H (mounting size: 16 3/8"V x 22 7/8"H)...

Swirling eddies decorate the rim of this gorgeous vase of huge dark hollowed vine, golden minnows swimming up the sides of the natural current made by the winding wood. A very unusual piece which exemplifies the Japanese awe and care for nature. Minor burls and burs in the wood act like rocks under the swift moving water, the pattern rolling over them in a raucous rush...

A good Yingqing dish with impressed decoration in the interior of a pair Mandarin Duck among Lotus pond, a key-fret design on the cavetto. Yingqing glaze over a porcelain body with the rim and base left unglazed. 13th century Song dynasty Jiangxi Jindezhen ware. Condition is excellent, no chips, no cracks and free from restoration as well. Diameter: 15 cm.

 

A small house shaped incense burner by Mashimizu Zoroku enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kuzuya Koro. Inside the roof is visible cloth patterns where it was formed over wet sack-cloth. The outside has been scraped with a comb to resemble thatch. Inside a window a scholar gazes out, perhaps expecting a guest, or just contemplating the seasonal changes from the warmth of his abode. It is roughly 10.5 x 9 x 10.5 cm (4 x 3-1/2 x 4 inches) and is in excellent condition...

A 17th – 18th century Neko-tora Tiger by Nagasaki school artist Watanabe Shuseki performed with ink and color on paper in yellow bronze silk border with bone rollers. The parchment is aged and gray, giving the sense of a wall painting in some ancient tomb. The scroll is 14 x 63 inches (36.5 x 160 cm). There is some damage to the lower extremities of the paper, and minor cupping. Watanabe Shuseki (1639-1707) lived in Nagasaki and was a proponent of that school trained under Itsunen...

Sitting demurely, legs folded with her back to the viewer, an oil painting by Yoshii Kosaburo dated 1937 and encased in the original period wooden frame. Oil on canvas, the painting is 15 x 18 inches (38 x 46 cm), the frame 21 x 23-1/2 inches (53 x 60 cm) and is in fine condition. The frame has marks and wear typical of age. It comes with some period documents (Japanese) on the artist. Yoshii Kosaburo was born in 1899, and initially studied under Imperial Art Academy Member Nakagawa Hachiro...

Japanese bronze mirror. 19th century. 7.2 x 0.4 cm. 70g.

Something I have never seen before, a set of pillows for one couple from Shimabara, one of the oldest pleasure districts of Kyoto, enclosed in the original Kiri-wood storage box. The man’s pillow is a simple roundel of soft leather. The woman’s, made for a geisha and her elaborate coiffure, is a small tapering black lacquered box with a drawer for a hair pin, to the top of which is secured a brocade pillow with a silk chord...

Shishi prance across the mottled Kiri-wood surface of this Momoyama to early Edo period Koro in gold and silver maki-e and mother of pearl inlay. A copper insert contains the fragrant incense ash. There is a hand forged iron staple top and bottom of one ancient crack testament to age. It likely once had a silver hoya (cover) which has disappeared over the centuries...

Kokeshi, wooden folk toy of NE Japan. Height: 12.4". This is an example of "Yamagata-kei" tradition of Yamagata Prefecture. It was commissioned as a commemorative item and is signed on the back as follows (in Japanese):“38th Tohoku Regional High School Baseball Tournament. Heisei 3 [1991], June 6th. Yamagata-ken High School Baseball Association”The artisan is Umeki Shuuichi, who was born on March 18th, 1929 (Showa 4). For a brief story on "dentou" (traditional) kokeshi, please see our weblog...

Made of gilt brass, decorated with kingfisher feathers, pears, red coral and jade. Dimensions: 13,5x5 cm. late 19th century. Condition: missing parts and age wear.

A rare prototype Shufu Qingbai wares of late Yuan dynasty middle 14th century, decorated with two lion mask attached to the shoulder, covered overall with slight bluish green glaze. Condition with crack to base, no any chip and no any other crack, also free from restoration. Height: 11.2cm.

Description: An old Shi-Wan scholar figure in a position of sitting on a rock casually was a rare piece from mid-Qing period. Crackled and with minor glaze degradation, this figure was molded vividly when holding a dusk in one hand. A small piece with calm expression and without exaggerate posture , the Confucian scholar still issued the strong Chinese composition nevertheless. Shi-Wan art was one of the greatest craftsmanships in Chinese rural arts. Bold colours and detailed modelling skill ...

A large Kiji porcelain vase with florals (stylized millet?) in raised relief by Miyanaga Tozan enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The architecture and infinite care shown in the carving on the surface proves this to be a superb piece deserving of the name of one of Kyotos top porcelain artists. The vase is 10-1/2 inches (27 cm) tall, 11-1/2 inches (30 cm) diameter and in excellent condition. Miyanaga Tozan I (1868-1941) is one of the most important names in Kyoto ceramics. He was bor...