Catalog: Antiques (343)

A dish decorated with a partially painted and stencilled dragon amongst lightning bolts framed by a double ring within a band of stencilled Wan diaper band to the rim...

A long dish of conventional form decorated in senbeki, pencilled, style with a pair of four toed Chinese Dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls all set against a lightening field. The central reserve decorated with stylised tadpole like thunder bolts. The reverse decorated with further lightening motifs and pearls. A small square seal mark containing the character Ho, precious treasure...

A long dish of conventional form decorated in senbeki, pencilled, style with a pair of four toed Chinese Dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls all set against a lightening field. The central reserve decorated with stylised tadpole like thunder bolts. The reverse decorated with further lightening motifs and pearls and a small square seal mark containing the character Ho, precious treasure...

A bowl of unusual inverted bell shape with a comparatively high foot-rim the exterior decorated in early Ming style with an elaborate high looping lotus arabesque to the body. The foot decorated with stylised lotus petals and an “oxo” border to the foot-ring. The interior of the bowl decorated with a band of alternating pairs of crested waves with blossom to the rim, and a roundel form “pussy foot dragon” with stylised clouds in the well of the bowl...

A scalloped form dish with a very unusual design it would seem adapted from a Chinese precedent decorated with the “Hawthorn pattern”. The outer register decorated with a cracked ice ground, Hyouretsu-mon, with scattered plum blossom, baika, inset with snowflake roundels, yukiwa, with Autumn grasses, and hexafoil niche style reserves with precious objects, cash and scrolls tied with ribbons...

The subject is taken directly from a famous Neo-Confucian text on filial piety known as the "Twenty four Exemplars" (Japanese nijûshikô ) by Guo Jujing. This is the first exemplar in the series entitled Xiào Găn Dòng Tiān His Filial Piety Moves Heaven and Earth ...

A rather striking Chinese derived pattern of Shou Lao and the Eight Immortals painted in a wucai, five colour, palette. The central mikomi painted with an amalgam of a Feiyu, Flying fish dragon, and a conventional dragon, rather than a true Feiyu, which would have had a pair of fins and fish tail rather than legs and conventional tail of this example. The border pattern is composed of auspicious cloud and sacred fungus motifs linked by a Karakusa arabesque...

A very finely painted Arita ring shaped wagata-bako porcelain box. It was probably used to contain cosmetics, possibly an Oshiroi-bako, used to contain white face powder. The cover is decorated in Shonsui style with a ring of maru-mon, brocade roundels incorporating the three friends of winter, Shochikubai, Pine, Bamboo and Plum blossom. The underside of the box is decorated with a karahana arabesque. The interior of both the top half and the lower half of the box decorated with wild flowers...

An oblong shaped dish, a kaku-nagazara, decorated in sometsuke style with a delicately painted dense vine, hagi karakusa, and Lotus arabesque, with a stylised representation of the auspicious ‘Three Friends of Winter’ shochikubai, in the central reserve mikomi of the dish. The reverse painted with the same arabesque pattern has used on the front of the dish, and the interior of the foot-rim with a four character fuki-chosun mark...

A nagazara decorated with an unusual rectangular form Three Friends of Winter mon framed by border patterns incorporating a stylised landscape, and auspicious motifs, clouds, cash symbols and brocade patterns. The reverse decorated with taka-karakusa and kahana motifs. The foot-rim is decorated with a thunder fret border and the base painted with a four character fuuki chosun mark...

Ko Imari Shochikubai-mon and Tako Karakusa Dish mid 18C A moulded dish of lotus petal form with an upturned rim decorated in underglaze blue with a central Shochikubai mon, representing the auspicious Three Friends of Winter, framed by border of scrolling waves, uzunami, and a stylised lotus arabesque of so-called octopus scroll form...

An Arita moulded dish of shuronogata, Hemp Palm, form decorated in underglaze blue with gilt outlined enamels, somenishikide, dating to the late Mid Edo period. The dish decorated with a kachoga design evoking an image of late Winter or early Spring incorporating the Shochikubai, the Three Friends of Winter. The under-glaze blue portion of the design a Bamboo “Tree” with shattered trunk and a pair of enlarged yukiwa, snow flake roundels, to suggest seki, viewing stones...

A dish of square form with slightly upturned corners decorated with a central motif of a Shochikubai mon. Here an interwoven symmetrical arrangement of the three elements of the Three Friends of Winter, rather than the more common ring format. This style of shochiku-mon appears to date from the Kyoho to the Horeki era. The remainder of the dish decorated with stylised dragons set against a ground of lightening and auspicious clouds and cash...

A dish of square form with slightly upturned corners decorated with a central motif of a Shochikubai mon. Here an interwoven symmetrical arrangement of the three elements of the Three Friends of Winter, rather than the more common ring format. This style of shochiku-mon appears to date from the Kyoho to the Horeki era. The remainder of the dish decorated with stylised dragons set against a ground of lightening and auspicious clouds and cash. The reverse decorated with further auspicious symbols ...

A medium sized bowl quite heavily potted with an everted rim decorated in the full Imari palette sans aubergine enamels decorated with a series of auspicious motifs. The exterior of the bowl is painted in underglaze blue with a broken band of diaper to the rim, quatrefoil form reserves and Chinese fan shaped reserves. The base with an unusual border pattern of rather naively painted Chrysanthemum demi-florets. Each quatrefoil reserve containing a pussy-foot (clawless) Shishi with stylised cloud...

A Japanese scalloped rimmed bowl with a janome, bulls eye base, decorated wth three lotus form reserves each containing an auspicious somewhat rotund karashishi with a ribboned cash symbol inset against a rather unusual budo karakusa, grape vine arabesque. The base decorated with a stylised lotus pattern and the rim with a pattern of alternating double crested waves and gobenka. The interior decorated with a shochikubai-mon; the Three Friends of Winter. The form and style of the bowl is typical ...

A dish of moulded octagonal form with vertical raised edges decorated with a Peony leaf scrolling arabesque ground inset with shaped reserves containing auspicious Dragons and Chinese lions. The rim decorated with a stylised wave border with alternating pairs of claw waves and, gobenka, five petal flowers placed in the corners both to the interior and the exterior of the rim. Further karakusa style motifs of leaf buds to the underside of the rim and a thunder-fret border pattern to the foot of t...

A barbed form dish decorated in kakiwake style with a White Elephant and Chinese Boy. The design here is not the Confucian parable of Shun and the Elephants, but one that explores a Buddhist theme. The White Elephant in Buddhism is symbolic of mental strength achieved through the practice of the Dharma. The boy figure holding a staff stares at rocks and Banana plaintain, symbols of longevity and the impermanence of life. He may be a representation of Henkitsu, the Bohisattiva Fugen. Boy avatars,...