Catalog (101)

Left arm of a standing Fudo-Myo, the Knowledge King associated with Dai-Nichi Buddha, sculpted from unfinished hinoki wood (Japanese cypress). Late-Muromachi/early-Edo Period ca. 1600, possibly earlier. Very minor old loss, with desirable patination overall. Wooden box included.

Length: 20 cm

Gorinto (5-tiered stupa) sculpted in four pieces from a gray-hued igneous stone. Late-Muromachi Period ca. 1500. Excellent condition, with only very minor old loss and desirable lichen accumulation overall.

Height: 59 cm
Width: 24 cm
Depth: 24 cm
Packaged weight: 42 kg.

The gorinto is a distinctively Japanese style of stupa comprising five geometric forms. The Japanese Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism views the gorinto as a symbol of Dai-Nichi Buddha, who, underlying all things, manifests himself in the five elements making up the physical world.

Gorinto sculpted in four pieces, the uppermost piece comprising two of the five geometric forms, are far more uncommon than gorinto sculpted from a single stone. This is a notably handsome Muromachi-Period example, all of a piece and showing pleasing formal balance.

Seated Koma-Inu (lit. Korean dog) sculpted from a single piece of wood finished in lacquer and polychrome with eyes of painted glass. Showa Era ca. 1950, possibly earlier. Very good condition, with notable wood loss only to the tip of the horn atop the head.

Height: 31 cm
Length: 29.5 cm
Width: 18 cm

Standing Ebisu, one of Japan's 7 lucky gods (Jp. shichifukujin), with a sea bream (Jp. tai), Ebisu's characteristic attribute, held vertically in the left hand and a fishing rod in the right. Mid-Edo Period ca. 1750. Very minor old loss.

Height: 18 cm
Width: 13 cm
Depth: 9.5 cm
Packaged weight: 3 kg

Of Japan's 7 lucky gods, only Ebisu has Japanese roots, the other six gods having either Indian or Chinese origins. Stylistically, this small-scale example is a rarity, with the sea bream held vertically in the left hand rather than tucked horizontally beneath the left arm and the fishing rod held in the right hand pressed against the body. Highly collectible.

Buddhist triad comprising three figures in bronze, namely, Amida Buddha (center), Jizo Bosatsu (left), and Kannon Bosatsu (right), standing upon a rock-form wooden dais atop a multi-tier gilt-wood plinth attached to the floor of a traveling shrine (zushi) made of wood with lacquer and gilt interior and lacquer exterior and gilt-copper metalwork. The three bronze figures Muromachi Period ca. 1500 and the zushi early-Edo ca. 1650. Interior gilt rubbing and exterior lacquer loss.

Height: 12.3 cm
Width: 9 cm
Depth: 4.2 cm

In Japanese Buddhist sculpture, the most commonly depicted triad is the Amida Triad (Jp. Amida Sanzon), comprising Amida Buddha, Kannon Bosatsu, and Seishi Bosatsu. Beginning from the Kamakura Period (1185~1333), depictions of a similar triad comprising Amida Buddha, Kannon Bosatsu, and Jizo Bosatsu appeared, reflecting rising popularity of the three deities among the common folk, who revered Amida for the coming life in paradise, Kannon for earthly deliverance, and Jizo for salvation from hell.

Standing Jizo Bosatsu holding a long-handled censer in both hands, figurally sculpted from a gray-hued igneous stone. Clearly dated on the back to the opening year of the Kyowa Era (1801), late-Edo Period. Very good condition overall, with notable exceptions of old loss to the figure's right hand as well as old loss to the front edge of the circular base.

Height: 50 cm
Width: 17.5 cm
Depth: 15 cm
Packaged weight: 20 kg.

Seated Ebisu, one of Japan's 7 Lucky Gods (Jp. shichifukujin), with a sea bream (Jp. tai), Ebisu's characteristic attribute, tucked beneath the left arm. Late-Edo Period ca. 1850. Very minor old loss, with traces of polychrome. Light lichen accumulation.

Height: 35.5 cm
Width: 22.5 cm
Depth: 20 cm
Packaged weight: 14 kg

Of Japan's 7 Lucky Gods, only Ebisu has purely Japanese roots, the other six gods having either Indian or Chinese origins. This is a notably charming example, well-sculpted and in excellent condition.

Jizo Bosatsu standing atop a stylized lotus-form dais with hands pressed together in the gassho adoration mudra, sculpted in shallow relief from blue-green schist. Clearly dated to the 12th year of the Kanbun Era (1672), early-Edo Period. Excellent condition, with only very minor old loss around the perimeter. Light lichen accumulation.

Height: 53 cm
Width: 24 cm
Depth: 14 cm
Packaged weight: 30 kg.

Fragment of a multi-section folding screen (Jp. byobu) depicting a Portuguese trader in Japan seated on a folding chair beneath a large umbrella, executed in natural pigments and gilt on silk. Momoyama Period ca. 1575. Significant old loss.

Fragment height: 73 cm
Fragment width: 23 cm
Wood-and-plexiglass frame height: 94 cm
Frame width: 43.5 cm

An exceedingly rare example of authentic namban-themed Japanese art. Decorative and highly collectible.

Standing Jizo Bosatsu, the hands forming the gassho adoration mudra, sculpted in relief from a high-ferric-content sandstone. Clearly dated to the 11th year of the Kyoho Era (1726), mid-Edo Period. Excellent condition, with only very minor old loss. Variegated lichen accumulation.

Height: 66.5 cm
Width: 24 cm
Depth: 15 cm
Packaged weight: 30 kg

Gorinto (5-tiered stupa) sculpted in four pieces from a large-grained igneous stone. Muromachi Period ca. 1450. Old loss, most notably to the cubic foundation stone. Variegated lichen and moss accumulation.

Height: 56 cm
Width: 19 cm
Depth: 19 cm
Packaged weight: 26 kg.

The gorinto is a distinctively Japanese style of stupa comprising five geometric forms. The Japanese Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism views the gorinto as a symbol of Dai-Nichi Buddha, who, underlying all things, manifests himself in the five elements making up the physical world.

Gorinto sculpted in four pieces, the uppermost piece comprising two of the five geometric forms, are far more uncommon than gorinto sculpted from a single stone. This is a handsome example of type, all of a piece and showing good formal balance.

Seated Amida Buddha, the hands placed centrally on the lap in the Amida jo-in concentration mudra, sculpted in relief from a brick-hued igneous stone. Late-Muromachi Period ca. 1550. Very minor old loss. Light lichen accumulation.

Height: 32.5 cm
Width: 22 cm
Depth: 11 cm
Packaged weight: 12 kg.

A glance backward in time across the field of Japanese Buddhist stone sculpture tends to become a wide-eyed stare upon discovering a distinct stylistic shift somewhere around the beginning of the Edo Period ca. 1600. Six commonly observed characteristics of pre-Edo stone sculpture are as follows: (1) flatness, in two senses, namely, (a) shallow depth relative to height and width, and (b) shallow relief sculpting; (2) a triangulated upper mandorla resembling a pediment, usually jutting ledge-like outward over the figure; (3) a tapered base for insertion into the ground as opposed to a flat base for placement upon the ground; (4) stylistic primitivism with regard to the treatment of the deity depicted; (5) an overwhelming predominance of Amida Buddha depictions, invariably in the seated position with hands placed centrally on the lap in the Amida jo-in concentration mudra; and (6) an absence of both date and inscription.

A thoroughly classic Muromachi-Period stone Amida Buddha in excellent condition, suitable for either indoor or outdoor display. If displayed indoors on a hard, flat surface, some form of lateral support, such as a wall, is required. If displayed outdoors, the tapered bottom can be inserted directly into the soil.

Standing Fudo-Myo sculpted in relief against a flame-motif mandorla, with characteristic attributes of sword and rope held in the right and left hands, respectively. Early-Meiji Era ca. 1875. Excellent condition, with only extremely minor old loss.

Height: 45 cm
Width: 27 cm
Depth: 20 cm
Packaged weight: 23 kg.

On the back of this Fudo-Myo is incised the name of an Edo-Period yakuza, Omaeda Eigoro (1793~1874), famous in particular for Robinhood-style exploits on behalf of the poor. An historically significant and highly collectible stone, to be sure.

Tengai, a canopy originally suspended horizontally above a Buddhist sculpture, sculpted in octagonal form from wood and finished in lacquer and gold leaf, incorporating lotus and cloud motifs. Late-Edo Period ca. 1800. Minor old loss and desirable patination overall.

Diameter: 52.5 cm
Thickness: 4 cm

Kai-awase, made from a natural clamshell (Jp. hamaguri, Lat. Meretrix lusoria), the interior surfaces of both halves depicting a nearly identical scene from the Heian-Period literary classic Genji Monogatari hand-painted in the traditional Yamato-e style, characterized primarily by a predominance of gold leaf in addition to natural-pigment polychrome. Late-Edo Period ca. 1825. The actual shell, the two halves of which fit snugly together to form an air-tight container, is in virtually flawless condition, with neither cracks nor chips, while the interior paintings remain bright and clean with only very minor old loss to the gilt and polychrome.

Width: 8.5 cm
Depth: 6.8 cm
Height: 4 cm

The shell-matching game of kai-awase, full sets of which comprise 180 pairs of shells, has a history in Japan extending back to the Heian Period (794-1185). Kai-awase paintings oftentimes depict scenes from Genji Monogatari, as in the present example. Also quite common are bird-and/or-flower genre scenes.

Edo-Period kai-awase in fine condition, i.e., both shells free of chips and cracks and thus air-tight when closed, are commonly employed as kogo (incense boxes).

Kai-awase, made from a natural clamshell (Jp. hamaguri, Lat. Meretrix lusoria), the interior surfaces of both halves depicting a nearly identical scene from the Heian-Period literary classic Genji Monogatari hand-painted in the traditional Yamato-e style, characterized primarily by a predominance of gold leaf in addition to natural-pigment polychrome. Late-Edo Period ca. 1800. The actual shell, the two halves of which fit snugly together to form an air-tight container, is in virtually flawless condition with neither cracks nor chips, while the interior paintings remain bright and clean with only minor old loss to the gilt and polychrome.

Width: 8.8 cm
Depth: 6.7 cm
Height: 4.2 cm

The shell-matching game of kai-awase, full sets of which comprise 180 pairs of shells, has a history in Japan extending back to the Heian Period (794-1185). Kai-awase paintings oftentimes depict scenes from Genji Monogatari, as in the present example. Bird-and-flower (Jp. kacho-ga) genre scenes are also quite common.

Edo-Period kai-awase in fine condition, i.e., both shells free of chips and cracks and thus air-tight when closed, are commonly employed as kogo (incense boxes).

Kai-awase, made from a natural clamshell (Jp. hamaguri, Lat. Meretrix lusoria), the interior surfaces of both halves depicting a nearly identical bird-and-flower (Jp. kacho-ga) genre scene hand-painted in the traditional Yamato-e style, characterized primarily by a predominance of gold leaf in addition to natural-pigment polychrome. Late-Edo Period ca. 1800. The actual shell, the two halves of which fit snugly together to form an air-tight container, is in virtually flawless condition with neither cracks nor chips, while the interior paintings remain quite bright and clean, with old gilt loss confined mostly to the moriage-relief lower borders.

Width: 9 cm
Depth: 6.7 cm
Height: 4.2 cm

The shell-matching game of kai-awase, full sets of which comprise 180 pairs of shells, has a history in Japan extending back to the Heian Period (794-1185). Kai-awase paintings oftentimes depict scenes from the Heian-Period literary classic Genji Monogatari. Bird-and-flower genre scenes, such as in the present example, are also quite common.

Edo-Period kai-awase in fine condition, i.e., both shells free of chips and cracks and thus air-tight when closed, are commonly employed as kogo (incense boxes).

Stone Dosojin comprising two figures standing side by side, the female figure on the left holding a flask in the shape of a hyotan (a gourd symbolizing good fortune) and the male figure on the right holding a shallow drinking bowl, sculpted in relief from a gray-brown igneous stone. Clearly dated to the fifth year of the Horeki Era (1755), mid-Edo Period. Minor old loss and light lichen accumulation.

Height: 58.5 cm
Width: 40 cm
Depth: 24 cm
Packaged weight: 75 kg

Dosojin is the Japanese Shinto manifestation of an originally Chinese Taoist deity believed to guard the border between this world and hell. Charged with obstructing the passage of evil spirits and gods of disease into human communities, Dosojin stones were traditionally placed on roadsides and mountain passes as well as at crossroads and village boundaries.

Classic Dosojin examples typically feature a depiction of two standing figures, traditionally construed as a male/female couple, with the female figure holding a flask and the male figure a shallow drinking bowl, as in the example offered herein.

Talismanic as opposed to memorial in function, Dosojin stones have long been highly sought-out by collectors in Japan and as a result are no longer readily available in the domestic market. This example was sourced from a Japanese collector in suburban Tokyo. A rare opportunity.