The poem etched on the side of this exceptional piece reads: "As a pastime ― bringing clumsy, fragile things to sell ― at Uruma Market ― how lonely!"  A very significant poem as it conveys a bit of irony; for the Edo period nun who inscribed this poem would go on to create a legacy of art, beauty, and philosophy that endures even today. The poem also suggests that this is one of her earlier works that would have been produced before she became renowned throughout Japan for her...

Engraved Hampton sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1920. This set comprises 8 pieces: Hot water kettle on stand, coffeepot, teapot, hot milk pot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl on tray.

Rectilinear with tapering sides, concave corners, and stepped rim. Covers domed (pot covers hinged). Handles scroll bracket. Coffeepot and teapot spouts faceted and s-form; milk pot has short u-spout and creamer has lip spout. Tray rectilinear with concave corners and han...

Fabulous Chrysanthemum sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. This set comprises 5 pieces: coffeepot, teapot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl.

In the celebrated pattern that is an American interpretation of a Japanese motif. To Baroque forms are applied a profusion of climbing, wrapping, and bunching flower heads. Chrysanthemum was introduced in 1880 and this set dates from the first quarter century of its production.

All pieces fully marked including maker’...

French Belle Epoque Classical 950 silver gravy boat on stand, ca 1910. Boat has ovoid bowl with helmet mouth and raised oval foot with imbricated leaf rim. High-looping and split leaf-mounted handle with armorial engraved in beaded oval frame. Stand oval with open well and four trefoil supports. Both have stippled tubular frames alternating with stylized flower heads. Reeding. Fully marked with Minerva head and maker’s stamp (Alphonse Dutac). Very good condition.

Dimensions: Boat: H 6 x W 8...

A rare and beautiful set from Margot de Taxco includes a large confetti enamel Necklace with a large Fish at the center and Wave shaped links at the sides along with the matching Wave earrings. Multi colored confetti enamel with green being the dominate overall color. The necklace measures 15" long and weighs 101.2 grams. The clip back earrings measure 1 1/2" long by 1/2" wide and together they weigh 16.4 grams. The necklace is hallmarked Margot de Taxco, 5644, Sterling Made in Mexico with the e...

Victorian Classical sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. This set comprises coffeepot, teapot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl.

Each: Bellied bowl on concave foot ring. Covers raised with cast bud finial (pot covers hinged). Teapot, coffeepot, and creamer have high-looping handle. Sugar has c-scroll side handles. All handles have stylized volute scroll and dart mounts. Spare with repousse rinceaux band. Fully marked including maker’s stamp, pattern no. 1982, ...

German 800 silver bowl commemorating Napoleon I and Marie-Louise. Lobed quatrefoil with embossed medallion bust portraits of the couple surmounted an eagle; at bottom a military trophy. Open sides with leaf swag with pendant ribboned medallions (vacant) applied to interior. Beaded rim. Mounted end handles in form of burning torch between gryphons.

The eternal flame such as might have been supposed to burn between Napoleon and his teenage bride, an Austrian archduchess—and grandniece no less ...

Equestrian-themed silver tankard with German imperial association, ca 1875. Straight and paneled sides with low-relief frieze depicting galloping riders, racing through the countryside, trees and buildings in the background; branch borders. Split-mounted s-scroll handle with thumb rest. At bottom applied branch and leaf border and open supports. Cover hinged and bellied with imbricated leaf rim; on top is cast finial in form of mounted jockey and engraved phrase citing Kaiser Wilhelm I in an all...

Edwardian Classical sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1910. This set comprises 5 pieces: Coffeepot, teapot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl. Tapering and fluted ovoid bodies. Feet domed. Covers double domed with vasiform finial. Handles scroll bracket (coffeepot and teapot stained-wood). Ornament acid-etched and stylized: Curvilinear fretwork and leafing borders, paterae and, on front and back, wreaths of which 1 engraved with symbol or cryptic monogram. F...

Victorian sterling silver baby cup. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. Straight sides and banded scroll-bracket handle. Low-relief base ornament with stylized flower heads and beading. Acid-etched depiction of Goosey Gander, an English nursery rhyme that has been subject to various religious and moral interpretations. Shown here a sassy New Woman brandishing a crook and a nattily dressed and bespectacled goose. Gilt-washed interior. Fully marked including maker’s stamp, pattern no. 4254, and d...

English Georgian Regency sterling silver bowl. Made by Rebecca Emes and Edward Barnard in London, ca 1830. Bellied bowl with chased and stippled leaf and flower bowl. Concave neck and turned-down leaf-and-dart rim. Leaf-capped and -wrapped side handles with oak branch mounts. Short knopped support with egg-and-dart and leaf-and dart borders on lobed and stippled foot with applied leaves. Plain and square base. Opulent Classical centerpiece for flowers or wine. Marks worn. Excellent condition...

An often overlooked implement in tea ceremony, here we have the humble kogo (incense box) with an image of a sleek and flowing dragon. Commonly thought to represent strength, freedom, good luck, and magic, dragons are a popular theme in the artwork across Eastern cultures. Interesting to note, the dragon here is portrayed in the Korean style with four claws, with dragons in China typically having five claws and dragons in Japan typically having three. Fashioned by one of the few great female Jap...

Oribe is a visual style named after the late-16th-century tea master Furuta Oribe (1544-1615). Typically, black or green glazes are applied to the bodies of these works and light-colored windows are created using feldspar. These high-contrast areas then act as a canvas upon which abstract, minimalistic, and often naturalistic themes are painted.

This piece is quite unique for its brown color which may have been produced using a copper glaze under very specific conditions. Typical o...

This small vessel, similar in a shape to a tokkuri, 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, the iron in the clay and in the glaze fuse, drip, and coalesce—while at the same time bl...

This pretty brooch with stones mounted in silver-topped 18k gold has been designed in the shape of a flower. The petals have been formed from 5 incised citrines in a warm smokey yellow-brown color which surround a cut diamond in the center. The stem of the flower and the petals' border are all highlighted by inlaid old European and rose-cut diamonds. The back has been marked with a French guarantee stamp. The brooch measures approximately 1 3/4" X 1 1/4" and was made Circa:1880. It is a lov...

Shoda Koho
Ueno Park
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes series.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.25 x 7.75 inches.
Date: 1910-38. A rare, early edition on card-like paper.
Publisher: Hasegawa. #1248 in Hasegawa catalog.
"Made in Japan" stamp and #427 tag on verso.
Not sealed by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Hans Frank, Austrian (1884-1948)
Venice II, 1925 (Venedig II, 1925)
Date: 1925.
Paper size: 17.5 X 13.25 inches (44.5 x 33.9 cm).
Window size: 16 x 12 inches (40.5 x 30.5 cm).
Signed and dated at lower right.
Medium: Color woodcut on laid Japanese paper.
Condition: Small crease at upper right corner. The odd small mark in image.
Attached with archival tape to top of a 24 x 20-inch matte).

Hiroshige Ando
Fuchu, Nichomachi (Titled in image)
Size: Approximately 8.625 x 3.625 inches.
Date: Late 19th/Early 20th century.
Publisher: Kobayashi Bunshichi (black seal).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Light toning