The image of the brush-drawn circle, known most commonly as the “enso” of Japanese Buddhism, has long been a symbol of strength, elegance, and the simultaneous being and nonbeing (mu) of the universe. A closed enso is associated with the idea of perfection while an open enso represents movement, fluidity, and attainment in the corporeal world...

This tsumugi (raw, knobby silk, similar to tweed) purse was purchased at the well-known Kyoto antique textile shop Nakamura Chingiriya in 1972. It is unused and still has original box. H.6"(15cm) x W.6.25"(16cm.) Snap closes on one side, with eyelet for a hand, shoulder, or waist strap on the other. Indigo dyed folk materials and an elegant purse design make it suitable for kimono or jeans.

Japanese print entitled "Last Supper" by Sadao Watanbe. Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996) was part of the Mingi (folk art) movement in Japan which involved the use of natural materials. Watanabe's early boyhood job as a textile dyer has influence his work greatly. He used organic mineral pigments with a soybean milk binder (katazome) on hand crumpled paper (momigami). Watanabe's upbringing as a Christian is the main influence of his subject matter...

Beautifully carved Green Spinach Jade Chinese Boulder with landscape scenes of mountainous village with go players and bamboo groves, peaked rooflines and finely written calligraphy poetry on two surfaces on an interesting wooden reticulated branch base. The view is referring to the seven sages of the bamboo grove, where noted scholars gathered in doing literati activities. Size: 8.25" height (11" w/stand), 11.25" length (13.5" w/stand)

The creator of this lovely Hagi chawan, Hirose Tanga (b. 1939) is the master-potter of Tenpozan kiln in the city of Hagi. When I acquired this piece I thought it reminded me of bowls produced by Yoshida Shuen (apprenticed under NLT Miwa Kyusetsu). As it turns out, Yoshida worked alongside Hirose in establishing Tenpozan and in training young potters in the art of “oni” Hagi which utilizes a rough textured clay and a milky translucent glaze (like the bowl shown here)...

Kogo (Incense Container) by Kawai Takeichi; Kyoto, 1972. Dark green glaze. 2.25"(5.75cm) square x 1.75"(4cm) high. This piece was acquired on a visit to the Kawai pottery on August 9, 1972 and has had one owner since then. Kawai Takeichi (1908-1989) is the nephew of legendary Mingei (Folk Craft) Movement potter Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966;) who along with Yanagi Soetsu, Hamada Shoji, Bernard Leach, and others were the first-generation leaders of this movement...

A spectacular pair of large jadeite paradise flycatchers measuring over 15 inches tall and on stand over 17" high. Carved from the same block of jadeite, they weigh over 30 lbs. The flycatchers are standing on rocks with intricately pierced and carved open peony, floral buds, flower branches, and butterflies. An apple green butterfly is perched on the male’s head. The jadeite is a pale lavender having lots of apple green striations with some small emerald and dark green markings...

Memorial to Kim Koo by Chung Young Gok aka Kang Ho, a friend of Kim Koo. The second and third photos here are of Chung Young Gok with Kim Koo. The calligraphy states that it was composed on the occasion of a 1978 memorial ceremony to Kim Koo (1876 - 1949), the leader of the independence movement during Japan's occupation of Korea. The ceremony was at Baek Beom Sa Buddhist temple...

Kawase Hasui
Evening Snow, Edo River, 1932
Size: Oban, approximately 16.0 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Doi. This edition posthumous.
Condition: Excellent.
Provenance: The estate of Henry Colyer, father of woodblock print artist Ted Colyer.

Beautifully Framed Zen Buddhist Painting of a Pair of Cranes Flying Past the Moon by the Famous Korean Jeju Island Monk, Ko Chang Nyul aka Jung Kwang Sunim aka the Mad Monk (1935-2002). The third photo here is from a prominent dealer's "sale" going on right now on Jung Kwang paintings, where you will see the prices are several times higher than mine. This other gallery has been in business for over forty years and has sold to many of the major museums...

This is a beautiful Japanese wedding gown (uchikake). Featured on brownish orange (when you looked at it where the gold does not take over, the basic color looks more like brownish red) silk are flocks of white cranes and stylized water in roundels of gold. The tone of the gold is rich but soft. The design is unique, elegant, artistic and well executed with excellent workmanship. The condition is almost new...

Kawase Hasui
Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo 1933
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the 7 mm seal, indicating a printing between 1957 and 1989.
Condition: Unframed. Very good. Slight toning and professionally reinforced left margin.
- A rare appearance of a horse in a Hasui print.

Very Large, Nearly Five-Feet-Wide Mountain and Waterfall by Kim Ki Chang aka Unbo (1913 - 2001) in it's original stunning frame. Despite being deaf, Unbo was one of Korea's most beloved 20th Century artists. His works are now sought by museums and collectors internationally. In this original and very large signed lithograph, Unbo gives us an inspiring depiction of blue-green mountains with a mountaintop lake and waterfall...

Shaman's Feast Woodblock Print on Traditional Hanji Paper by Hong Sung Dam in 1982 (21 x 15 inches, 53.5 x 38 cm, including margins). Hong Sung Dam is a woodblock print artist who was a leader of the minjung, the peoples' political movement that arose from the ashes of the Gwangju Massacre where the Korean government slaughtered hundreds (some witnesses say thousands) of their own citizens in the streets in response to demonstrations in Gwangju...

Painting of Scholar Under Moonlit Plum Blossoms by Park No Soo aka Nam Jeong (1927-2013). Just the first page of a google search reveals both the renown that Park No Soo enjoyed internationally, and the adoration he received locally in Korea. His minimal style and palette is instantly recognizable, and this beautiful, contemplative painting is a fine example of his inimitable, expressive brushwork, from the silvery-blue sliver of a moon, to the unique rendering of orchids and rocks. The orchid i...

Rare Framed Calligraphy by the Last Korean Princess, Yi Bangja (1901 - 1989). A beautiful piece of Korean history created by the last member of the royal household to reside in Korea's royal palace. Princess Yi Bangja is much beloved by the Korean people. She devoted her entire life to the education of mentally and physically handicapped people, and worked tirelessly to support them. She is the subject of television dramas, stage dramas, operas, movies, and books, including her autobiography, "T...

Japanese framed sumi print by abstract artist Toko Shinoda (1913-present). This print is titled "The Shade", with very light shadows and intersecting calligraphy lines with a streak of red. Number 14/50, signed in pencil. Size: (entire frame) 16.75" length, 13.75" width, 1" thick (artwork only) 11" height, 8" width

This chawan was fired in the kilns of one of Kyoto’s best known raku-yaki potters, Sasaki Shoraku III (1944-). The Shoraku line began when the grandfather of the current potter established a kiln near the famous Kiyomizu temple, nestled at the foot of the eastern mountains in Kyoto. In 1945, the kiln was moved to Kameoka near the Yada shrine where it remains today.

Raku teabowls are made by hand, without the use of a potter's wheel. In the process of shaping the bowls, potters ha...

We kindly like to offer you a fantastic Chinese Zisha Tea Pot of Yixing clay, made by famous Bao Zhiqiang.

It has an artistic form, rare to find and it is marked with 'BAO ZHIQIANG'.

Yixing clay (traditional Chinese: pinyin: Yíxīng; Wade–Giles: I-Hsing) is a type of clay from the region near the city of Yixing in Jiangsu province, China. Its use dates back to the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) when Yixing clay was first mined around Lake Taihu in China. From the 17th...

A Rare Pair of Batik, Sun and Moon by Malaysian artist, Chuah Siew Teng, eldest son of the most famous batik artist of all time, Chuah Thean Teng, the creator of modern batik painting. Chuah Siew Teng is now widely recognized as the greatest living batik artist. He rarely, if ever, created a pair of paintings to be sold as a pair, so this pair is very rare as well as exquisitely beautiful. Purchased directly from the artist in 1977. Frame: 30.25 x 23 inches, 77 x 58.5 cm; Batik: 23 x 17.5 inches...

This 20th century ivory netsuke is 2 inches long. It depicts a gecko climbing on a gourd. It is signed, but not readable. It is in good condition.

Japanese woodblock print by artist Mayumi Oda (1941-present), titled "Ancient Sea", number 19/45 of the series. Signed in pencil. Pairs with another print titled "Ancient Sea Spider Conch". Largest Prints she has made. Size: 38.5" height, 25.5" width

This brilliant Tenmoku chawan displays gold and flaxen hues interspersed with dark ash glaze. The piece rests upon an unglazed clay pedestal showing the iron-rich clay the bowl is formed from.

Shodai-ware has a long and storied history stretching back as far as the Nara (710 - 794) and Heian (794 - 1192 ) periods. Pieces made in this pottery tradition have a very distinctive look that comes from the iron-rich clay of Kumamoto and the distinctive ash glazes that are used that give t...

Occasionally as I’m browsing through the temple markets of Kyoto or perusing backstreets tea-ware shops, an attractive piece will catch my eye for no particular reason. When this happens, I typically buy it immediately without hesitation, trusting that I will be able to decipher the Chinese script and give it proper attribution through the course of my research. In this case, I was only able to make it half-way there. Unfortunately the bowl does not bear the artist’s seal and the box only pr...

A finely crafted pumpkin shaped Zisha clay Yixing stoneware teapot decorated on one side with applied pumpkin vine decoration. This item carries three seal marks which all bear the name Shi Yu Zhen. Condition: excellent - no chips or cracks and no restoration. For additional pictures please view item #0563 at our Liverpool shop website at 69aliverpool.co.uk. 15cm (6 inches) long; 7.5cm (3 inches) high.

Chinese ring with green jadeite oval shaped cabochon, mounted on a 14K good ring (with gold mark), the jadeite is encircled in a ring of leaves and raised up with an open back to maximize the light shining through stone. Size: 1.7cm x 1cm

Beautiful scroll painting by Chinese artist Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983) of a variety of blooming monochrome flowers. Signed and stamped by artist Zhang De Qian. Size: (entire scroll)73.5" height, 32" width (artwork only) 55" height, 24.75" width

A beautiful Hagi-yaki chawan done by well-known artist Kaneda Keien (1949-). Keien is an 8th generation potter who has been producing works for over 40 years and is the winner of several awards for excellence. A distinctive feature of his works is that they utilize an iron-rich soil collected on the island of Mishima in the Sea of Japan. Pieces made using this soil tend to display a soft cherry petal hue which gives these bowls an excellent “keshiki” or what might be referred to as a “cera...

A charming akaraku chawan done by third generation potter Kato Ryusei. This piece was fired at the Akahiko Kama which has produced pottery in Aichi prefecture since 1956 and who have the distinction of being commissioned not only by the Showa Emperor and Empress but also by the later Heisei Emperor.

With a soft luminance and subtle charm, this piece would be an valued addition to the collection of any budding tea practitioner.

The bowl is 4.7 inches in diameter (12cm)...

Japanese framed print by sosaku-hanga artist Haku Maki (1924-2000) titled "Work 73-122". Depiction of a bright embossed persimmon against black background. Signed in pencil with red artist's cartouche. Set in a black and gold wooden frame. Size: 17.25" height, 14" width (entire frame) 11.25" height, 8.5" width

Unusual Low root wood table, beautiful golden color wood, the top is a cross section with dramatic burl grain radiating from the center like run rays, the base is made of a section of tree trunk. Size: 20" high x 36" long x 27" wide

This extraordinary mizusashi is a fine example of Oni Shino (carbon trap and natural ash glazing) that Tsukigata is so well-known for. Coining the term in the mid-50’s after countless failed experiments—which ultimately culminated in the discovery of this unique style of pottery—“Oni” translates roughly to demon or ogre. Fired at extreme temperatures for days in an anagama kiln, the iron in the clay and in the glaze fuse, drip, and coalesce—while at the same time blending with the mo...

Takeji Asano
Moon light in Wakanoura, Wakayama
Date: 1952. This edition is later.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16.0 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Unsodo.
Condition: Excellent. No flaws.

Japanese 20th century wooden carving OKIMONO of USOBUKI in a seated position and telling a lie. The OKIMONO measures 8" tall, 7 3/8" wide and 6" deep.

Tibetan snuff bottle of flat shape made of silver with a lavish embossed decor representing Tibetan Tantric Budhism deities, fistly Acala, one of the eight Dharmapalas holding a sword in his right hand on one side, and secondly one of the Dakinis on the other side. Each deity is gilt and backed by a flaming aureola surrounded by a floral design. Other parts of the bottle are partly gilt. The bottle also shows coral and turquoise inserts. The stopper is partly gilt and is decorated with a stylise...

A vintage Japanese 2 section Kamo Kimono Tansu chest made entirely of Kirinoki (Paulownia). All original hardware with maker's name engraved into the main lock plate. Upper section features two large hinged doors behind which are 8 kimono trays for storing textiles. The lower section has 3 drawers for additional spacious storage. Below the bottom drawer lies a false floor cover that hides a secret compartment where important papers and valuables were kept.

The Kamo Tansu originates fro...