A young Maiko parts the curtains of an Okiya Tea-house entrance, perhaps on her way to training, or to begin a night of traditional entertainment through song and dance. Pigment and ink on silk in a fine brocade border with lacquered red wooden rollers. It is 25 x 78 inches (63.5 x 198 cm). There is some loss to the gofun in the center where it was obviously folded once before being mounted in its current state.

This small intricately carved stone shoes were probably given as a gift of well wishing. 3 inches in length, they were carved from unidentified soft stone, not hard jade. There are numerous cracks and chips from age, but the shoes retain their original carving detail.

Chinese red glazed porcelain vase, with mottled decoration and an everted neck, late 19th/early 20th century period. Size, Height of vase is 9 1/2 inches, in very good condition.

A fine Japanese bronze vase with moulded designs of Shishi dog and flowers. Measuring approx. 9 inches tall in excellent condition with beautiful patina.

A decidedly different version of this theme, a Festive carved wooden Tai (Red Snapper) fish with removable side for sashimi coated inside in gold with bone teeth and inlayed bone eyes. The craftsman ahs gone to great lengths to make this as realistic as possible, from the textures of the skin to the folds in the fins and coloring. Unusually, most dishes in this vein are one sided, however this is equally realistically carved on both sides...

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. .

An unusual Meiji period bronze image of the jolly Daikoku-ten, one of the 7 gods of fortune, looking incredibly relaxed and content. His hat is removable to reveal a chamber for burning incense, and the smoke would be exhaled though his open mouth. It is 6-1/2 x 8 x 5-1/2 inches 16.5 x 20 x 14 cm) and is in overall fine, original condition. The artist chop is in a raised cartouche on the base and appears to read Yoshioka Minpo.

Description: A scholar item of an armrest was from early 20th century according to the inscription of date-Summer of Sinsyh. Carved with picturesque scenery of a Qing scholar floating in the stream, it was supposed used and carved by the same person named -Die Shian(fairy butterfly), an alias of a scholar...

A well crafted Montagnard hardwood crossbow with subtle attention to detailing and with oxbone release mechanism...

This is a pair of famille rose in pastel colour and floral design tea-cup. The inside of each tea-cup has a slightly flared top and has a barbed shape rim surrounded by an intricately designed inter-connecting miniature iron red colour ruyi head...

This is a set of traditional lacquer bowls from Thailand. There is a single gold mythical animal, balu-gwin, at the bottom of the inside and a three balu-gwin spaced around the outside. The gold rim with key design surrounds the rim of each of the 5 bowls.

In wonderful condition, each bowl is approx 5 inches wide at the rim and 2.5 inches high.

A water-worn bowl of natural wood lacquered inside with black and gilded, leaving black lacquer on the rim, to create a startling contrast between the mirror like black, shining gold and ancient weathered wood. It is enclosed in a period wooden box titled Jidai Kihachi Sunabachi (antique Wooden Sunabachi Bowl). It measures 34.5 x 30 x 11 cm (14 x 12 x 4 inches). There are two hairline cracks in the gold (see photos).

Large wooden prayer beads from Lhasa with nine glass bead spacers and two leather counters with ten silver rings each ending with silver inlaid mountain coral and turquoise.The wooden ones are made from the wood of the Bodhi tree where Buddha received his enlightenment. Total length of the beads 76cm. This does not include the counters. Condition: All original.

An exceptional boxed set of sake cups made by Seifu Yohei III lined with silver by Nakagawa Joeki (IX or X) enclosed in the original compartmentalized kiri-wood box signed by both artists. Each cup is unique, silver on blue, gold on red, and green on yellow, each stamped by the artist and displaying the celebratory Plum, Pine and Bamboo (Shochikubai) motif. They are 2-12 inches (6.3 cm) diameter each and in excellent condition.
Seifu Yohei III (1851-1914) was the adopted son of Yohei II...

 

This unusual pair of Chinese dolls were made with wire bodies covered with fabric padding and then silk clothing. Their heads, lower arms and feet are made from some kind of composition material and then painted. Because of their wire construction, their arms, legs, and bodies etc can be carefully repositioned. The feet are wired together to provide a more stable base...it is a theory which frankly does not always work well.

Each doll is approx 9.5 inches tall in standing position...

A long “Hengaku” framed painting meant to sit above the transom by Yoshimura Horyu featuring monkeys riding on the back of a deer. One has fallen and is being dragged along like a water-skier by vines tangled in the deers horns. A very humorous scene by this rare Osaka artist. Pigment and ink on silk mounted on gold with a carved rosewood frame. The frame is 154.5 x 50 cm (61 x 20 inches) and is in fine condition, with toning to the silk typical of age...

First we hear the clang of the hammer striking the bell, then the steadily approaching clop of his wooden shoes before the horrifying creature dressed in the robes of an itinerant priest appears; a ledger in one hand noting our sins. Hanging from a chord around his shoulders is an umbrella, testifying to his constant state of movement. A spectacular carving of an Oni-no-Nenbutsu praying Demon taken from burled cedar...