Tadamasa Ueno (Torii Tadamasa)
Kumadori Ju-hachi Ban. Makeup for Asagao Senpei from Sukeroku. Eighteen Famous Kabuki Plays.
Date: 1940. First edition.
Size: 15.75 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Seal E (1932-42) at lower left margin.
Signed and sealed at upper left.
Condition: Fading in the blues. The upper background was tinted blue where formerly matted.
Turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau sterling silver mirror. Made by Lebkuecher in Newark. Two bracket supports joined by concave and crisscrossing stretchers. Hinged swing oval frame inset with beveled glass. Dense and fluid engraved scrolls, leaves, and flowers on lined ground. Each support has shaped cartouche (vacant). Glass frame engraved with interlaced script monogram. A timeless addition to a lady’s vanity table. Fully marked and numbered 2473/15. Excellent condition with strong definition....
Midcentury Modern jar. Made by E. Dragsted in Denmark. Thick and ovoid clear glass bowl with sterling silver grape bunches loose-mounted to ends. Flat sterling silver cover with grape bunch finial. Beautiful Jensen-inspired design. Cover fully marked and numbered 1810. Fine condition.
Dimensions: H 4 x W 6 3/8 x D 4 in. #BU374
Occasionally while 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 place it to a specific period or kiln given enough time and research. In some cases however, this proves to be a fruitless task and I am left only to appreciate the beauty and form of the object without having access to too many d...
Kaoru Kawano
Camellia (G) (Tsubaki)
Date: 1950
Size: Double oban. 23.75 x 18 inches.
Edition: 46/200.
Self-carved by Kawano.
Sealed by the artist at lower right.
Signed, titled, and numbered at lower margin.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: The thick paper has some thinner areas on the back from removal from backing. Slight toning line in margin.
Aoki Seiko (b. 1880)
Flying Cuckoo
Size: Approximately 9.75 x 4.625 inches. 24.8 x 11.8 cm.
Date: ca. 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. Cat. #360 tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Slight creasing where publisher's original tag is attached to back. Small dash mark indentation under bird.
- Rarely seen.
Rare Japonesque mixed metal tray. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1878. Square with curved sides and straight edges. Two birds soar and glide. One is viewed from below and the other from above (that is, from bird’s eye). An original and jokey design incorporating the exotic flattened Japanese perspective. Feathers are gold, and beaks, eyes, and wispy, dangly talons are copper. Crescent frame engraved with calligraphy-style presentation dated 1879. Ground hand hammered. Corner leaf-and-sc...
Arai Yoshimune
Sailing Boats at Anchor Under the Moon
Date: ca. 1910.
Size: Approximately 25.8 x 12.5 cm. 10.125 x 5.875 inches.
Artist's Yoshimune seal at lower left.
Publisher: Matsumoto. Catalog No. 385 tag on back.
Condition: Small white surface marks in sky. Verso has a couple of faint foxing marks near top. Margin mark.
Compare with our Yoshimune036 "Sailing Boats and Moon (1)."
Shoda Koho
Country Scene (With Moon) from the Hasegawa Night Scenes series. Also known as "Canal by Moonlight"
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.125 x 7.5 inches.
Date: 1910-38.
Publisher: Hasegawa/Nishinomiya Yosaku.
Sealed by artist. "Made in Japan" stamped on lower right verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: One dot of foxing in lower sky amongst trees.
Compare with our Koho074 Country Scene With Moon (Canal) (2).
A beautiful example of Ohi inspired Raku-ware; the body of this stylish tea vessel is a mix of a dark black gradating to charcoal grey with undertones of reddish maroon. A hasami-no-ato mark can be seen where the tongs were used to remove this piece from the kiln, and the potters mark can be seen near the foot of the bowl. Simple and refined, perfect for collectors and practitioners of tea alike.
Born into a generational line of tea-ware potters from Kanazawa, Fumiaki Kaihatsu (b. 1...
Spring Field
Artist: Unidentified.
Size: Approximately 5.625 x 3.625 inches 14.2 x 9.2 cm
Date: ca. 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto (No. 425).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Wave in paper where original publisher's tag is attached to the back.
The Matsumoto catalog states, "Butterflies are flitting to and fro among the flowers."
An early and rarely seen design.
Being based in Kyoto we occasionally come across fine Chinese and Korean tea-ware to mix in with our Japanese offerings. Here we have an example of a ceremonial tea bowl from the Shinragi kiln in Korea. Pieces like the one seen here are baked in a traditional wood-fired “climbing kiln” at a temperature of over 1,300 degrees for 5 days. Fashioned after classical works held in museum collections, the motifs are timeless and captivating.
In excellent condition, this piece is 5.5 in...
Master of a very difficult technique from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) known in Japanese as Neriage, the potter who created this elegant vase uses extreme precision to combine sheets of differing types of clay, culminating in a unique visual effect. While many of his pieces are ringed with swirls of colors, this one is more modern and subdued. With quite a lot of character, this lovely vase will draw attention without being overpowering.
Born in Nagano, Kosei Matsui (1927-20...
Arai Yoshimune
Five-Storied Pagoda
Date: ca. 1910.
Size: Approximately 17.2 cm 12.6 cm. 6.75 x 5.0 inches.
Artist's seal at lower left.
Publisher: Matsumoto (No. 429).
Condition: Light wave in paper where the original publisher's tag is applied to the back. Some toning of paper.
An early and rarely seen design.
Aoki Seiko (b. 1880)
Mt. Fuji and Sailboat (Fuji Yama)
Size: Kotanzaku. Approximately 24.8 x 12.0 cm. 9.75 x 4.75 inches.
Date: ca. 1910.
Artist's signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Matsumoto (No. 367). Original publisher's tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: A few marks in sky. Small bends at top and bottom edges.
Japonesque sterling silver and mixed metal water pitcher. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1885. Globular body, straight neck, and c-scroll handle. Allover honeycomb hand hammering. Applied flowers, leafing tendrils, and butterflies. A restrained design with graceful plant and insect motifs. Fully marked including pattern no. 3077 and phrase “Sterling silver and other metals”. Very good condition.
Dimensions: H 7 3/8 x W 8 x D 5 1/2 in. Weight: 25 troy ounces. #BM963
Ca 1910 A beautiful, transitional Art Nouveau-Art Deco ring by Newark jewelry designer, M.B. Bryant ( 1858-1931). The smooth bezel set stone measures 1/2" square and the ring is a size 6.5. In excellent condition, the pictures tell all. Marked 14k along with the Bryant stamp.
Tsuchiya Koitsu
Nara Kofukuji
Date: 1937.
Size: Oban. Approximately 17.0 x 11.5 inches.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Carver: Harada. Printer: Yokoi. Bears the Doi watermark.
Artist's signature and seal at lower right.
This indicates an early postwar edition.
Reference: Koitsu catalog TK-DH-44.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.