Catalog (283)

Rectangular cover for over a gift, called fukusa made of green (front) and purple (back) silk satin. On the front is an image of three turtles walking towards the water, with a bamboo grove in the back of them. The hand-made decoration is done in velvet, hand painting and gold thread embroidery.
On the back in light gray velvet against purple is a round family crest.

Green and brown braided tassels in the corners.

Japan, first half 20th century

H 22 x W 19.25 in.

Some of the velvet slightly worn, minimal traces of usage, folds from storage, all in all excellent condition. One tassel missing.

The turtle stands for longevity, bamboo for longevity and resilience. Auspicious image, excellent for gift giving. The fukusa would be put over a box or a tray holding a gift. The fukusa was just as important as the gift itself.

Large peach-shaped bowl decorated on in- and outside with a bold Rinpa design of flowering red, white and blue camellias and leaves. Over a cream-colored coarse stoneware a thin layer of cream-colored slip has been applied, on top of which overglaze blue, black, green, red, white enamels and gold.

On the outside in a white rectangular reserve with black outlines the signature Kenzan. Japan, 1950s.

In the style of Ogata Kenzan or Ogata Kenzan studio.

H 4; w 12 inches.

Tiny chip on inner rim, otherwise excellent condition.

A pair of abstracted foxes, sitting at their haunches, tails curled wound their feet, their heads turned upwards, gazing at the moon.
Brown patinated bronze with roughened surface.
Each fox signed on the bottom ‘Kozan’ in archaic script.

Japan, mid 20th century.

Height 10 and 10.1 inches (25.2 and 25.8 cm).

Comes with the original tomobako storage box; the cover inscribed on the outside ‘tsuki miru kitsune’ (foxes looking at the moon) and stamped ‘seido sei’ (made of bronze); the cover signed on the inside ‘Kozan saku’, and sealed ‘Kozan’.

A few tiny dents at the bottom edge of one of the foxes, otherwise excellent condition.

The signature Kozan belongs to the artist Sakai Kozan, who was active in Takaoka during the Showa period, from the mid to late 20th century. The Sakai bronze manufacture is still active today.

Sculpture of Daikoku sitting on a rice bale with a big grin on his face, spilling countless jewels (tama) from his treasure bag.
Keyaki (Paulownia) wood, carved in a slightly abstracted manner, called ittobori.
Unsigned. Mingei (folk art)
Japan, 19th century.

H ca. 11 x W 10½ in.

Tension cracks (consistent with material and age), several scuff marks, painters tape on bottom.

Daikoku is one of the seven gods of good fortune. He stands for good fortune and wealth. The rice bales (good harvest) and treasure bag are two of his typical attributes.

Jug for holding fresh water for the tea ceremony, called mizusashi. Wheel thrown, thin stoneware of slightly irregular beaker shape (slightly bulging belly towards the bottom and straight sides going up). The mouth is slightly oval. Black-brown iridescent glaze. Custom made black lacquered fitted wooden cover. Seto ware, or black Oribe.

Impressed potter seal Sakusuke inside gourd, and engraved smiley-shaped kao.

H 5.75 (with cover) x W 6.25 in.

Japan, ca 1970s

Undamaged condition

Comes with a wooden storage box inscribed on the cover: Seto; and signed Sakusuke saku and with the artist’s seal

Kato Sakusuke IV (1909-1996) was the 25th in line from Kato Kagemasa, the founder of Seto ware.
He graduated from the Kyoto Vocational School for Industrial Crafts in 1932, and trained in Kyoto for three more years. After returning to Seto and began making pottery under the guidance of his father. He inherited the title of Sakusuke IV in 1944.
He studied the traditional techniques of Oribe, Kuro-Oribe, Ki-Seto, and Ofuke, creating masterful and traditional ceramic/ceremonial works. In 1984 he was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of the Prefecture of Aichi.

Large, almost square fukusa, gift cover, made of dark blue silk satin, silk embroidery in a variety of stitches, gold-thread embroidery, all hand-made, of the highest quality. To be used for gift giving at an important occasion. The gift wrap is as important as the gift itself and this fukusa is symbolically very auspicious and important.

Fukurokuju, one of the seven gods of good fortune (shichifukujin), sits on the ground, painting the characters FUKU and ROKU on a scroll, intending to write ‘fukurokuju’. Fukurokuju of course refers to his own name, but also contains three characters with auspicious meanings. Next to him stands a white vase holding three peacock feathers. A minogame (turtle) keeps him company.

The embroidery is done in different stitches, creating relief and texture to the different components of the image.

Back is plain red crepe silk.

Each rounded corner holds a small tassel of thin, red silk threads.

Japan, Meiji era, late 19th century

H 29.8 x W 27.25 inches

Tiny hole in the blue satin, small damages in the silk embroidery on the back of the turtle, silk threads lost in one eye of Fukurokuju, some facial hair came loose, stains and discolorations on the back. All in all in fabulous condition considering age and usage.

Slightly tapered vase with horizontal ribs made of white stoneware, covered in a mottled glaze with cream and brown tones. On the front in white enamel and gold a winding, three-clawed dragon has been hand-painted. The back of the vase is flattened and there is a square opening towards the top of the vase, that allows an J-shaped hook to grab into it and hang it against the wall.

Traditional vase for ikebana, flower arrangement.

In the bottom there is a potter’s seal in the shape of a double gourd: Koji (unidentified).

Japan, Meiji-Taisho era, 1910s

H 7.8 in.

Excellent condition

Tall and slender jug in the shape of a storage jar for pickles or in the shape of an actual octopus pot (trap).
Grayish brown stoneware built up from coils of clay; the inside covered with green glaze, the outside left unglazed. On the outside sits a dark brown, three-dimensional octopus, the way an octopus would sit on an octopus trap under water, on its way to inspect the inside of the jug.

Black ink inscription, almost washed away completely.

Unsigned. Seto ware, probably Meiji era (ca. 1900).

H 10.25 x W at widest point ca. 6 in.

Small and old chip at edge of foot, few minor frittings along the bottom edge. All in all in very good condition

Clay doll figurine of a standing Shiba puppy dog, dressed up with a multi-layered collar with bells.

Very soft clay modeled in a mold and fired at low heat. Painted with gofun (ground eggshell producing the white color), natural/mineral pigments and gold, applied after the figure has cooled. The soles of the paws are left uncolored (light brown)

Japan, Meiji era, about 1900.

H 7.4 x L 7 x W 3.25 in.

The black and white of the dog’s fur is soiled, rubbed, and somewhat crumbling and fragile, showing partially the underlying brown clay, some touch-ups in the black areas; all in all, in good, stable condition

Clay dolls – kawara ningyo - have been produced in large quantities all over Japan at least since the early Edo period. They were made as toys and souvenirs for travelers. Clay was hand-modeled or put in molds to make different shapes, which were fired at a low heat. Subsequently, each figurine was painted with bright (mineral/natural) colors. It is a craft, mingei or folk art, with regional differences in colors and subject matter. In Koga, Nagasaki, the subject was mostly figures related to the foreigner traders that were living in the Nagasaki area, such as Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch, but also monkeys and other animals.
In the early days, a large variety of models were made. Although the dolls are still made today, the number of different models has been reduced.

Almost square hand-made embroidery. On a background of green satin silk two lion dogs, or foo dogs, are playing with a ball and each other between peonies and other flowers, next to a rock formation, a bat in the upper right corner. They are embroidered by hand with bright colors of silk in straight stiches and looped stiches, the lions detailed and outlined with gold-thread, which are twisted silk threads wrapped in thin gold foil.

The image is framed with a wool woven band with geometric motifs and framed by a border of silk brocade. The back is covered with thin cloth that is woven with green silk warp and gold thread weave, giving it a golden sheen.

China, late Qing dynasty, late 19th century

H 16 x W 14.4 in.

Few tiny insect holes in the brocade. All in all, excellent condition

Tall and massive porcelain vase in the shape of a double gourd, the lower section squared. Decorated in overglaze, traditional Kutani enamels (yellow, blue, green, red, purple and touches of gold) with medallions with thistles, grapes, fruits, butterflies, crickets. On bottom a traditional green square seal: Kutani Masao.

Japan, probably around 2000

H 10 x W 4.75 in.

Mint condition

Miyamoto Masao (b. 1971), son of renowned Kutani potter Miyamoto Tadao, graduated 1996 from Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1999 he was certified as a regular member of the Japan Crafts Association. He participated in several prestigious exhibitions and won awards. Masao works both in traditional Kutani shapes and colors and in more avant garde style. The kiln is called Shinseigama.

Wall vase of irregular cylindrical shape. Middle brown stoneware with irregular natural ash glaze dripping decoration. Metal eye at the back for hanging. Marked with 3 dots at bottom, which is the mark of the Karatsu potter Nakazato Toraemon XII Muan. Japan, around 1960s/1970s.

H ca 7 in., W at foot 4 ¼ in.

Mint condition. The piece does not come with a box.

Nakazato Muan (1895-1985) inherited the artist name Taroemon XII, in 1927, following his father who was Taroemon XI. In 1928 he reconstructed the Ochawan kiln that had been used since feudal times. He studied old Karatsu ware, which had died a long time ago, in an attempt to revive it.
1955: Acknowledges as an Intangible Cultural Asset for Karatsu ware
1967: Received the Medal with Purple Ribbon
1969: Received the Fourth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure
1970: Received the Western Japan Culture Award
1976: Acknowledged as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) for Karatsu ware
In 1959 Taroemon XII retired and entered priesthood in Daitokuji in Kyoto, carrying the name Muan henceforth. His son took over the business under the name Taroemon XIII. Muan dedicated himself from there on to creating his original pottery.

Large incense burner in the shape of the holy Mount Fuji. At the foot of the mountain, between some pine trees rests a deer. The triple cone is the cover, in which two openings in the shape of small clouds.
Cast and patinated bronze.

Japan, Meiji/Taisho era, early 20th century

H 7.25 x W 14 x D 7.5 in.

Small casting flaw in cover, repaired (strictly speaking a casting flaw is not a damage), two larger casting flaws in bottom (not restored), a few scuffs, all in all very good condition.

Highly unusual sculpture of two natural ruyi mushrooms ‘growing’ from a piece of wood. At the foot of the mushrooms sits a small frog.
Natural piece of (drift) wood, natural mushrooms, frog of stained stag horn.
The mushrooms mounted with wire and resin.

Japan, Meiji era. Unsigned.

Ca. H 7 x W 14 x D 6 inches.

The smaller mushroom was broken off and re-attached unprofessionally.

Solid wooden folk art carving of a giant penis. Strapped around it are red and white twisted cotton cords (imenawash) with paper strips (gohei). Penises of this size were donated to Shinto shrines dedicated to fertility, in the hopes of getting pregnant. Or they were carried around during fertility festivals.

Cryptomeria (sugi) wood, red and white cotton, paper

Japan, 20th century

H 24.5 inches (62.2 cm)

Excellent condition

Chawan, tea bowl to be used in the tea ceremony, of distorted oval shape (kutsu or clog, or shoe-shape). Thick cream-colored stoneware that turned red during firing in the unglazed area, covered with a translucent greenish ash glaze that collected in the bottom and around the rim and is very thin around the sides. The sides are ‘rough’, giving a look into the clay.

Japan, Seto region, very early Edo period.

H 3 x W 5.5 in.

Excellent condition

Comes with a red silk pouch and a fitted storage box of wood, not inscribed.

Excellent size for smaller hands.

More images upon request

Round tea bowl of more or less circular shape on a bamboo node foot. Fine cream-colored stoneware with decoration in the form of an abstracted character in slightly raised slip relief on opposite sides of the bowl. The bowl is covered in a light gray glaze on the inside, the outside is covered in a bright copper red glaze, turned brown along the foot.

No potter’s mark, but the bowl has strong resemblances to works by Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966). The foot, the underglaze slip-trail decoration, the clay and the glazes are all pointing to the master. No storage box.

Japan, first half 20th century

H 3.6 x Diam. 4.25 in.

Mint condition

A silk fukuro obi sash. On a background of woven gold-thread and cream-colored silk is a repeating diamond-shaped pattern of stylized flowers and feathers in gold-thread brocade and brightly colored silk (orange, yellow, green, blue, red and white).

Woven-in manufacture mark turned inside and obscured by the seam.

Japan, Showa era, ca. 1960s-1990s

L 169 x W 11.75 in. (ca. 429.5 x 29.5 cm)

The obi has been worn and shows wear on the gold thread background and broken gold and silk threads in the embroidery/brocade.

From the collection/ward robe of Reiko Sakagami-Baum, former owner of the Man O' War horse farm in Lexington, KY.

Fukuro obi are made from one strip of decorated fabric and are lined with a solid colored strip. It is sewn in two parts. It is worn at formal occasions.