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...

When the founder of the Urasenke style of tea ceremony, Senso Soshitsu (1622 -1697) was invited to Kanazawa as the lord of the tea ceremony for the powerful Kaga lords in 1666, the first Chozaemon came with him and established Ohi-yaki ware in Kanazawa. Chozaemon had been the chief apprentice for the Raku family in Kyoto and took with him many of the principles and ideas associated with Raku-ware. Since those auspicious beginnings, Ohi-ware has held a high place in the world of tea ceremony desp...

When the founder of the Urasenke style of tea ceremony, Sen-So Soshitsu (1622 -1697) was invited to Kanazawa as the master of tea ceremony for the powerful Kaga lords in 1666, the first Chōzaemon came with him and established Ōhi-yaki in Kanazawa. Chōzaemon had been the chief apprentice to the Raku family in Kyoto and took with him many of the principles and ideas associated with Raku-ware. Since those auspicious beginnings, Ōhi-ware has held a high place in the world of tea cere...

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...

Here is a rare complete set of nine lithograph/prints including one of Senator McGovern during his presidential run that year as well as eight others signifying campaign issues.The content page lists the artists with a small box picture of their work/issues. It is noted that the prints are issued in offset lithography in a numbered edition of 375, and signed in print by each artist with the EXCEPTION of the McGovern print.Each Measures 16" x 19.5" They include: 1)McGovern by Paul Giovanopolis, ...

German Rococo 930 silver sweet meat coach. Imported to England by David Bridge in 1894. A round coach harnessed to a prancing reindeer with large antlers. A trumpet-blowing cherub holds the reins, and two more cherubs support an armorial in strapwork frame. Chased scenes depicting pastoral landscapes and frolics. Wheels rotate for a quick journey around the table. Fully marked including Hanau maker’s marks and English import marks, including London assay stamp. Very good condition.

Overall d...

Large turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau glass cologne bottle with engraved silver overlay. Made by Gorham in Providence. Globular with everted rim in silver collar. Ball stopper with short plug. Loose and interlaced silver scrollwork with flower heads in open and symmetrical pattern. Shaped cartouche engraved with interlaced script monogram. Glass is green. Silver has maker’s stamp and no. D946. Fine condition.

Dimensions: H 8 1/4 x D 4 3/8 in. #BZ663

Enryakuji Temple, Hiyeizan (Hieizan), Kyoto.
Artist not identified.
Dated August 21st, 1937.
Size: 7.5 x 5375 inches (19 x 13.6 cm).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print as the cover of a dinner menu of the Nippon Yusen Line passenger ship, Chichibu Maru.
Publisher: Likely Nippon Mokuhan Co. Tokio (Japan Woodblock Co. Tokyo), who produced another of our ship menu woodblock prints.
Medium: Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print made from a carved wood block. Mechanization w...

Sabra Field (American, born 1935)
Going Home
Date: ca 1980 (as noted on separate board)
Paper size: 13 x 8.5 inches.
Image size: 9.5 x 5 inches.
Medium: Woodcut print.
Condition: Light scuff on mountain.

Japanese silver centerpiece bowl, ca 1900. Round and curved. Flat mouth rim with long and low scallops. Raised and spread foot. Applied iris flowers with loose and crisscrossing tendrils and stems in eddying water. Foot has cutout flower heads and engraved wraparound tendrils. Gorgeous period motif on spot-hammered ground. Double-walled. Meiji-era Art Nouveau centerpiece for the cosmopolitan West. Marked. Very good condition.

Dimensions: H 8 3/4 x D 12 3/4 in. Weight: 78 troy ounces. #BZ691 ...

Swedish Neoclassical 830 silver serving bowl, 1932. Ovoid bowl with high-looping end handles and raised foot. Engraved leaf-and-dart mouth rim. Pierced colonnade foot rim. Fully marked including maker’s stamp (G. Graumann) and date code. Very good condition.

Overall dimensions: H 3 3/4 x L 11 x W 4 3/4 in. Weight: 8.7 troy ounces. #BZ125

Shoda Koho
Ueno Park
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes shin-hanga 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).

Fine quality Japanese Meiji silver incense burner, ca 1890. Barrel-form with solid top and bottom and open sides; applied chrysanthemums heightened with gold and silver. Cover oval and flush; finial in form of big loosely-tied bow with tassels. Ends plain and studded; copper and gold ornament with central mons encircled by two scaly, taloned dragons. Scrolled cradle mounted to pillar with brackets on four scroll supports. Applied leafing and flowering tendrils.

Appears to be unmarked. Very goo...

Beautiful Art Nouveau Classical glass perfume with silver overlay, ca 1900. Globular bottle with short neck and ball stopper. Classical flowering and leafing rinceaux overlay with round frame (vacant). Glass is red. Silver has maker’s stamp (Gorham) and no. D941. Very good condition.

Dimensions: H 5 3/8 x D 3 1/4 in. #BZ501

Japanese Modern silver flask, ca 1950. Curved and faceted sides with flat bottom. On front bright-cut leafing-scroll lozenge (center vacant) between side borders. Back hand hammered. Tall and straight exterior cover and cork-lined interior cover; both threaded. Marked. Very good condition.

Dimensions: H 6 3/8 x W 4 x D 1 3/8 in. Weight: 5.7 troy ounces. #BZ410

Hiroshige Ando
Fuchu, Nichomachi (Titled in image)
Size: Approximately 8.5 x 3.5 inches.
Date: ca 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. No. 40 publisher's tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Bend lower right corner. Chip upper left corner.

Ohara Koson
Bullfinch on the branch of a blossoming plum tree
Date: Saturday, April 27th, 1940.
Size: 7.5 x 5.375 inches (19 x 13.6 centimeters).
Note: Cover of a dinner menu for the passenger liner Nitta Maru of the Trans-Pacific Line.
Publisher: Likely Nippon Mokuhan Co. Tokio (Japan Woodblock Co. Tokyo), who produced another of our ship menu woodblock prints.
Medium: Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print made from a carved wood block. Mechanization was added to t...

Aoki Seiko
Waxwings (Red Berries and Birds)
Date: Friday, July 5th, 1929.
Accordion format. Opened out size: 10.375 x 7.625 inches (23.4 x 19.2 cm).
Note: Dinner menu for the Kashima Maru on the N.Y.K. Line
Medium: Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print made from a carved wood block. Mechanization was added to the printing process.
Condition: Toning, marks, and scuff on map page.

Kawase Hasui
Morning at Niju Bridge (Nijubashi no Asa)
Date: Monday, August 17, 1936.
Size: 7.5 x 5.375 inches (19 x 13.6 centimeters).
Note: This rare print was the cover of a dinner menu for the Yasukuni Maru, a cruise ship on the N.Y.K. Line (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha). It is identified as a Hasui in the Japanese publication, "The Nippon From Japan - Menu Design of the Cruise Ship Era (2017)(日本が運んだニッポンー客船時代のメニューデザイン).

Hiroshige Ando
Suidobashi, Surugadai (Suido Bridge and Surugadai)
Date: Thursday, December 3, 1931.
Size: 7.625 x 5 inches (19.5 x 12.6 cm).
Note: Concert and tea party menu for the passenger ship Chichibu Maru on the N.Y.K. Line.
Publisher: Nippon Mokuhan Co. Tokio (Japan Woodblock Co. Tokyo).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print made from a carved wood block. Mechanization may have been added to the printing process.
Condition: Cover woodblock print very good to...

Josetsu (Jousetsu) 城雪
Cock and Hen with Chickens under a Plum-tree
Size: 7 x 4.75 inches.
Date: ca. 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. Cat. #164 tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print from a painting by Tokyo artist Josetsu.
Condition: A few marks. Slight waviness corresponding to location of tag on back.

Artist: Unsigned
Ueno Lotus Pond in Tokyo
Date: ca. 1920s-30s.
Size: Approximately 5.25 x 3.25 inches)
Medium: Japanese shin-hanga woodblock print attached along its top edge only to an used holiday card with correspondence.
Condition: Print is excellent. Tiny dot in sky. Card correspondence has marks.

Austrian 900 silver tray, ca 1900. Rectangular with molded curvilinear piecrust rim. A hearkening back to Georgian England by a fin-de-siecle Mitteleuropean silversmith. Marked with Dianakopf and maker’s stamp. Very good condition.

Dimensions: H 1/2 x L 17 x W 9 in. Weight: 28 troy ounces. #BY863

Arai Yoshimune
Pleasure Boat
Date: ca. 1910s-38.
Size: Approximately 5.5 x 3.625 inches (14 x 9.4 cm)
Not signed (acquired with our artist-sealed Yoshimune053).
Publisher: Hasegawa Takejiro.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along its top edge only to an unused holiday card.
Condition: Print is toned in sky. Card is toned and has bend at right.

Arai Yoshimune
The Imperial Palace, Tokyo (penciled title, "Old Tokyo")
Date: ca. 1910s-38.
Size: Approximately 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9.1 cm)
Not signed (acquired with our artist-sealed Yoshimune053).
Publisher: Hasegawa Takejiro.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along its top edge only to an unused holiday card.
Condition: Print is excellent. Card is toned.

Arai Yoshimune
The Temples in Shiba Park (penciled title, "Shinto Shrine)
Date: ca. 1910s-38.
Size: Approximately 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9.2 cm)
Artist's Yoshimune seal at lower left.
Publisher: Hasegawa Takejiro.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along its top edge only to an unused holiday card.
Condition: Print is excellent. Card is toned and has lower left corner bend.

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.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
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)."

Aoki Seiko (b. 1880)
Quails Under the Moonlight
Size: 9.75 x 4.75 inches. 24.6 x 12 cm.
Date: ca. 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. Cat. #366 tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Slight bend at lower left corner.

German 800 silver stirrup cup, ca 1910. Plain upward tapering bowl with molded rim; cast mount in form of bull head with thick, matted fur and pointy flexed ears under sharp, oversized alpha horns. Firmly closed mouth and direct stare suggest a hunched-shoulder resolve. Marked. Very good condition with nice patina.

Overall dimensions: H 5 1/2 x D 2 7/8 in. Weight: 7.3 troy ounces. #BZ593

German Rococo 830 silver bowl, ca 1900. Round well with rosebud-gathering cherubs in relief. Sides tapering with scrolled and wavy rim. Heraldic shields with more cherubs and flower baskets as well as flower-strewn scrolled frames on pierced ground. Foot ring with scrolls and scallop shells. A fancy piece in the Hanau style. Marked. Very good condition with deep patina.

Dimensions: H 3 D 15 1/4 in. Weight: 22.5 troy ounces. #BZ141

Chinese export silver mug, ca 1880. Straight and upward tapering sides with allover low-relief battle frieze depicting soldiers—spearmen, lancers, and swordsmen—with a few hapless members of the flag corps wandering into the thick of things. In background (that is, at top) peacetime is represented by houses and trees. On front applied heraldic shield (vacant). Cast dragon handle—a horned scaly, serpentine serpent gripping the side with talons. Gilt-washed interior. Marked. Very good condit...

Ando Hiroshige (after)
"A Fairy Moon and a Lonely Shore"
This scene depicts salt gathering at Suma Beach.
Date: ca 1910.
Size: 7.125 x 4.75 inches (18 x 12 cm).
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. Tag on back (#39).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Mark on island and a couple foxing spots on back.

Uehara Konen (1878-1940)
Pagoda and Moon
Size: 5.0 x 3.25 inches. 12.8 x 8.4 cm.
ca. 1910.
Published by Kobayashi Bunshichi. The publisher's shop and many works did not survive the 1923 earthquake.
Artist's seal lower right.
Publisher's seal right.
Cartouche with number 262 in Japanese at right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition. Ink dot in tree.

Ohara Koson
An Eagle on a Tree
Size: Approximately 17 cm x 12 cm. 6.625 x 4.75 inches.
Date: ca. 1910.
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Matsumoto (no. 442). Tag at back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
An early and rarely seen design not listed in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland). The design is similar to K13.3 (Eagle on leafless tree) in the above catalog.

Ohara Koson
Wild Geese Over the Sea
Size: Approximately 17 cm x 12 cm. 6.625 x 4.625 inches.
Date: ca. 1910.
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Matsumoto (no. 441). Tag on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Two dashes in left sky.
An early and rarely seen design similar to K11.21 "Two white-fronted geese flying above water" in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).