Four finely carved wooden (maybe sandalwood) masks with lacquering and most with glass bead eyes. Showing different types of theatre masks as Hannya, Oni etc. Condition: minor rim frits, the Hannya mask with few lacquer losses. Dimension: c. 5.1 cm long x c. 3.5 cm wide.

Korean Joseon dynasty lacquered wood hinged scholar’s document box with brass edge brackets and brass lockplate. One shelf to the interior. 19th century. 14 3/8” long x 7 5/8” wide x 7 1/2" high. Very good, solid overall condition with great patina and typical wear and soiling from use. Ink stains and unreadable ink calligraphy are evident on the underside of the lid. There is a split in the bottom and one small chip to the interior corner of the inner shelf. A tiny pin is missing f...

DESCRIPTION: A classic and quite old pair of hand carved South American wood stirrups. The Guacho of Argentina, the Morochucos of Peru and the Hauso of Chile all preferred large wooden "shoes" for use as stirrups rather than the more prevalent iron stirrup. These stirrups cover the whole front of the foot, which can be an advantage when riding through tall brush. This pair has good age and obvious usage; we estimate them to date from the early 1800's. Each shoe is carved from a single piece...

Living in Kyoto it is not uncommon to come across beautiful antique tea bowls, however, finding pieces that are in good condition, aesthetically compelling, and with all of the trappings that let you know they were cared for by a devoted cha-jin can be quite challenging. Here we see all three. The shape of this tea bowl is exquisite and something I have not seen before in an Oribe piece. The lacquer box, while not the original was undoubtedly custom made for this tea bowl and looks to be 100 - 2...

A rare Burmese book with paper (made from mulberry tree bark) pages, the front and back covers with lacquer relief decoration with small inset glass spangles. The central panels showing the title of the book in Burmese script. Approximately 280 pages, handwritten in black Burmese script, edges gilt. Condition: covers are dusty (one is dirty) and with some wear, some corners with small losses. Pages with few stains, but wormholes. Dimension: 39.4 x 17.6 x 9.5 cm, weight: 2.4 kg.

Well crafted Chinese famille rose mandarin enameled porcelain bowl ca.1770's. Size, diameter: Diameter of bow is about 8 inches or 19.5 x height: 8.5 cm. Decorated with maidens, court figures and birds. Condition Report; Hardly visible hairline to the interior of the bowl, slight rubbing on paintings. Provenance: Private collector, Portugal. Wood base excluded.

A female deva (Jp. ten) holding a vajra staff (Jp. kongou houbou) in both hands, standing upon a rock-form dais and rectangular plinth, and backed by a halo-type mandorla (Jp. zu-ko), the entirety encased in a protective display case (Jp. zushi) in plain wood original to the sculpture. Yosegi-zukuri joined-block wooden construction, eyes of inset crystal, crown and necklace in gilt-copper and colored glass, finished in natural-pigment polychrome and gilt. Mid-Edo Period ca. 1750. Excellent condi...

Shomen Kongo (Blue-Faced Vajrapani) with six arms, three eyes, snake-form arm and ankle bracelets, and a monkey head atop the head, standing upon a jaki (demon) and rock form dais. Yosegi-zukuri joined-block wooden construction, finished in natural-pigment polychrome and gilt. Early-Edo Period ca. 1650. Loss of all attributes originally held in the hands, old loss to the polychrome finish, and old repairs.

Height, including dais: 78.5 cm
Height of Shomen Kongo figure only: 68.5 cm
Width ...

A Chinese jade vase, carved in the form of a tall thin finger citron. The stone is of very pale hue close to the colour of the pictures, the body is thinly rendered and the exterior well detailed. It comes with its own custom made wood stand. Age: 18/19 C. size: 10 cm high. condition: very good, no breaks , no restoration.

Sho-Kannon Bosatsu seated on a lotus-form dais. Yosegi-zukuri joined wood-block construction, finished in lacquer and gilt, the ornamental head-piece in gilt-copper and the eyes of inset rock-crystal. Early-Edo Period ca. 1675. Excellent condition, with only minor old loss to the head-piece and loss of the rock-crystal originally inset in the urna, with desirable patination overall.

Overall height, including lotus-form dais: 36.5 cm
Height of Sho-Kannon figure only, including head-piece: 27...

A superb quality Qajar Iranian pen case with polychrome paint papier-mache and gilding under a lacquered varnish. The top panel with depiction of a gathering around orthodox priests, the sides with scenes from the "Sheykh San'an and the Christian maid" story. Inscribed with eight verses in tarji-band of Hatef Esfahani and Farid al-Din'Attar from the story of Sheykh San'an. The sliding tray painted with portrait medallions and flowers. Signed: raquam-e Ja'Far-e Najaf'Ali (son of the famous lacque...

Cedar wooden ‘post-hide’ or hashira kakushi that is used as a decoration of the vertical post in a room that is not a corner post, or the vertical post of the tokonoma (niche). The post-hide is the same width as the the vertical pillar posts in a Japanese house, hiding it thus almost completely in width.
Dark stained cedar wood, the sides covered in black lacquer, the front inlaid in ceramic with Raiden the thunder god who is angling with an anchor for one of his thunder drums that dro...

Ca. 1700s / early 1800s

This circular box is lacquered in brownish black with mother of pearl inlay encircling the lid which is well-fitted to the bottom box. The top is painted in slightly-raised gilt lacquer with two characters: “fu” and “shou,” for happiness and longevity. There is light wear to the edges of the lid, inner rims and to the base, as would be expected, and also a few minor touch-ups. Overall, considering the age and use, the box is in good condition with the mother...

Antique Miao comb made of wood and silver. Flowers, birds and dragons designs. The ring on top was used to secure the comb in the hair, with a chain by instance.
Magnificent patina with expected wear, one tooth partially broken (see pix). 19th C. or before. H: 10 cms, w: 8 cms.

Lovely museum quality Andesite sculpture of Lord Ganesha, Early Hindu period, c. 9th.-10th. century AD.

The mischievous "Remover of Obstacles", Ganesha is worshipped to bless both the start and success of almost any undertaking. In Indonesia, he is still revered today as an important patron of the arts and sciences.

Deftly carved from a volcanic stone sourced locally on the island of Java, the four-armed deity seated on a lotus base, holding an axe, rosary, and bowl of swe...

Over the years we have taken a special interest in Raku-ware and especially in works produced by the Tamamizu kiln, such as the 300+ year old ceremonial tea bowl seen here. The first in this line of potters was Yahē (1662 - 1722), an illegitimate son of Kichizaemon Ichinyu (1615 - 1768) who studied under his father and then left to open his own kiln in the village of Tamamizu (known today as Ide-cho). Though he is the first potter of this branch, he is sometimes referred to as Tamam...

This marked Dr. Wall period Worcester soft paste porcelain platter has beautiful, crisp "blue scale". It would make a fine addition to an important collection.

Condition: excellent Height: 8 inches