A kyusu teapot with attrative, unctuous rust-orange highlighted opaque off-white Shino glaze. Two character artist's signature incised to the pottery body within a reserve in the glaze. Good condition save a miniscule flea bite to the flaze on the tip of the spout. Pot diameter about 5 1/4 inches. Cover diameter about 3 1/2 inches. Length including handle about 7 3/4 inches. Height to cover handle about 4 inches. 20th century.

There is incredible detail in all aspects of this huge bronze sculpture of a jacketed monkey and his elder handler resting on a bronze base signed Shojun (also read Katsunori), dating from the mid 20th century (1935-1965). Taking a break between performances, the aged man pulls out his pipe and tobacco pouch, his wizened countenance seeming as if speaking some soothing words to the creature, perhaps otsukare-sama. A chain runs from his wrist to a collar around the animals neck...

Water tumbles from steep dark hills into a roiling sea of clouds on this painting by Japanese artist Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The erratic brushwork and radical form of this scroll typify work by the unusual self taught Nanga artist. Three tiny huts cluster on the edge of dark forest, a few paddies scratched from the rugged earth, their seeming insignificance a testament to the artists great love of nature...

What a pleasure it would be to drink from this haunting 17th century (Momoyama to early Edo) Karatsu Guinomi Sake cup with gold lacquer repairs. It is 2-1/2 inches (6.5 cm) dimeter, 1-3/4 inches (4.5 cm) tall. There are 2 tiny gold repairs gleaming softly on the rim like a yellow moon peering through clouds on a dark night. .

A large Amber glass Mizusashi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Mizu Utsuwa by Japans top-rated female glass artists, Iwata Itoko. It has a black lacquered wooden lid typical of mizusashi, but a tremendous convoluted form in rich amber which defies simple description. Itoko is one of the top rated glass artists in Japan, and heir to the legacy of Iwata Hisatoshi. The piece is roughly 1 foot (39 cm) in diameter...

This is a current Nishijin textile, a very pricey item in Japan. This is an authentic one, it is woven thick like an obi sash. I have two hangings listed here. This is the larger one. The details, especially the gold thread, did not show up in the pictures. The theme is the aristocrat's graceful life in court during Heian Era (794-1192AD). You see a princess figure wearing 12 layered kimonos...

Japanese bronze mirror. 19th century. 9.2 x 0.3 cm. 88cm.

A square bottle vase by one of the most sought after and influential of all Japanese ceramic artists, Kawai Kanjiro (b. 1890), enclosed in the original kiri box signed by the master, which we have had authenticated at the Kawai Kanjiro Memorial Museum (now endorsed on the top by his daughter, Kyoha). The pale crackle glazed vase dates circa 1935, and is decorated with flower like dabs of rust and cobalt typical of this period, with dark iron fading out from the square mouth and base...

A rarely encountered limited edition Japanese woodblock print over gold leaf depicting a solitary blue, white, and gold tree set against a barren foreground titled simply "Tree" by Joichi Hoshi (1913-1979) dated 1974. Pencil-signed "J. Hoshi" and dated '74 at the lower right, with the artist's square red seal above. Pencil-titled in kanji at the lower left and marked with the edition number 6/95. Paper size: 10"V x 13"H (image: 7 1/4" x 10 1/2"). Very good overall condition...

A Chawan tea bowl by Goho with calligraphy work by Yamada Mumon enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The calligraphy reads Mi-Do, The Way of Taste, followed by Mumons artistic signature (Ka-o). The bowl is 4-1/2 inches (11 cm) diameter, 3 inches (8 cm) tall and in perfect condition...

A very rare painting of a skull and scattered bones lost to autumns dead grasses by important 20th century Zen priest Takeda Mokurai. Ink on paper bordered in brown cloth with gray extensions; dark wood rollers. The scroll is 16 by 68 cm (40.5 x 172.5 cm) in fine condition.
Mokurai began his journey down the Buddhist path at the age of 7 under the priest Ryodo...

One of the most interesting vases I have seen by this potter, quite striking in appearance, with brick colored dashes struck briskly through the dark molasses of the vase. Under the glaze we can see the artists signature Jomon rope impressions pressed into the clay. The Jomon pattern (the Jomon were ancient peoples of Japan whose pottery was typified by rope impressions) is what Tatsuzo is most famous for...

Japanese limited-edition abstract sosaku hanga woodblock print by Hideo Hagiwara (1913-2007) titled "Bird." The print is pencil-signed, dated '58, and numbered 5/30 on the bottom margin. This print is an example of a reverse printed image on fine, transparent, slightly crinkled paper that is characteristic of his early work. There is an old inventory number (586A) at lower edge verso...

A typical Muromachi style Sansui screen showing scholarly travelers in a ragged landscape of precipitous hills and temples dusted with clouds of gold flake likely dating from the late 16th century. It is bordered in fine antique patterned brocade with a black lacquered frame. The gold mist engulfs the scene, giving life to the unusually large figures, a Muromachi-Momoyama trait. In the area about the travelers’ path, gold has been rubbed into the paper, giving it a soft sheen. The screen m...

A lighting shaped dish decorated with karakusa and burning motifs by Seifu Yohei I (signed with his art name Baihin) enclosed in the rare original signed wooden box. It is 5 inches (13.5 cm) square, 4 inches (10 cm) tall and in fine condition.
Seifu Yohei I (1803-1861) founded the Seifu dynasty in Kyoto. He was born in powerful Kaga-kuni, modern day Kanazwa prefecture. After apprenticing with the second generation Ninnami Dohachi, he established his own kiln in the Gojo-zaka pottery di...

Ink on paper image of a skull befitting one of the most well known and outspoken Samurai/swordsmen of the 19th century, Yamaoka Tesshu, remounted in an olive grey border patterned with vines with wood rollers. The scroll measures 15 x 75 inches (37.5 x 190 cm) and is in fine condition but for some minor staining below the signature.
Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1889) was a student of military arts and famous calligrapher. Born into a samurai family, Tesshu began studying swordsmanship from a ve...

The blue and white bucket form porcelain vase in Hirado style but probably from an Arita kiln. This garden bucket is a less commonly encountered form (in porcelain) with a single handle. Decorated in Hirado fashion with plover over an active sea. Borders around the girth and the foot in relief and depicting woven bamboo securing the barrel form. A slight celadon tinge collects in glaze pooling particularly around the woven bamboo motif borders. These borders do exhibit qualities associated with ...

A small round gourd: polished, cut and decorated inside with delicate fronds in gold on black maki-e. This is superb. It is 3 inches diameter (7.5 cm) and in perfect condition, enclosed in a quality old kiri-wood box. .