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.

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.

Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995)
Cherry Blossoms by the Gate
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1951. Pencil-signed first edition.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition. Excellent. Upper left margin corner bend.
Notes: I've included photos of Toshi Yoshida's vintage envelope and the collector's notes of the previous owner, both of which accompanied this group of Yoshida prints. The collector's notes will be included.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Teahouse in the Night
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 15.0 x 6.625 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Artist's seal at lower right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
No. 564 in 1936 Watanabe catalog. M-57 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Shower at Takaido; passengers at a loss
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 15.0 x 6.625 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Artist's seal at lower right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
No. 210 in 1936 Watanabe catalog. M-10 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Back has a bit of brown residue.

Kobayashi Kiyochika
Dawn at Ryogoku Hyappongui, Tokyo
From the series, Famous Places of Tokyo (Tokyo Meisho).
Date: 1879.
Signed by the artist at lower right.
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajiro.
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.25 x 9.75 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Missing some margin. Frayed areas of the margin have been repaired by a conservator. Excellent color.

Chrysanthemum sterling silver 5-light centerpiece candelabrum. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. Sizable baluster shaft on raised squarish foot with corner volute supports. Four scrolled arms, each terminating in single socket, joined by applied leaves and surrounding central raised socket. Flowers and leaves wrapped around shaft and arms and applied to foot. Massive and sculptural. A hard-to-find solo stick in the fashionable Japonesque pattern that was first produced in 1880. Fully marked inc...

Ohara Koson
Two Mallards in Flight in Front of a Full Moon
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1910-1923.
Koson signature and seal
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Publisher: Daikokuya (108)
Reference: K7.1 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Margin chip upper right corner.

Ohara Koson
Goshawk chasing a rabbit between reeds
Size: Naga-oban. Approximately 13.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: Late 19th - early 20th century.
Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi. Sold by Daikokuya.
Reference: Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Amy Reigle Newland),#K13.15. page 184.
Condition: The paper has areas of toning and discoloration.
- This print bears the H. Matsuki/Daikokuya address stamp at the lower right on the front of the print. V...

Kobayashi Kiyochika
Taro Inari Shrine in the Asakusa Ricefields (Asakusa Tanbo Taro Inari Mae)
From the series, Famous Places of Tokyo (Tokyo Meisho).
Date: 1877-1879.
Signed by the artist at lower left above the grasses.
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajiro.
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.25 x 9.75 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent color. Bumped corners. Margin lightly creases.

Very large Art Nouveau sterling silver picture frame. Rectangular window in flat surround engraved with dense and fluid scrolls and flowers. Top rail center is vacant. With glass, silk lining, and velvet back and hinged support. For portrait (vertical) display. An eye-catching showcase for an important forbear. Fully marked including no. 720 and stamp for IN Deitsch, a New York maker who was active from ca 1904 to 1915. Very good condition.

Dimensions: Frame: H 17 x W 14 1/2 in. Window: H 14 x...

A beautifully crafted vase from a studio potter in the hills of Iga, a few hours drive east of Kyoto. Iga-ware has quite a long history—by some accounts dating back to the 7th and 8th century—with the major kilns being established some time around the end of the 16th century. Similar in many ways to Shigaraki pottery, the glaze is the result of kiln ash being vitrified and melted on to the surface of the clay body at extremely high temperatures during firing, which can last many days. To add...

Exotic mixed metal tea caddy. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1910. Sterling silver ginger-jar with squat and tapering sides, short neck, and snug-fitting cover. Copper ornament with irregular scrollwork. Fully marked including pattern no. 11975, director’s letter m, and phrase “Copper and Silver”. Very good condition.

Dimensions: H 3 3/4 x D 3 3/8 in. Weight: 5.6 troy ounces. #BT602

If you are familiar with the work of Hiramatsu Ryoma you know that he creates very unconventional ceramics inspired by forms found in nature. Here we have a sake set he describes as “Ou-tekko” (pyrite) and “Ammonite” (same in English - a kind of sea fossil). Part of a series he has been developing, the ancient Ammonite fossil has been the inspiration behind his latest creations. Pyrite, meanwhile refers to the metallic patterning on the outer surface of the clay body. Truly unique pieces...