Catalog (283)

Wooden nyoi (ruyi in Chinese) scepter, an implement used by Buddhist priests during a ceremony or during formal preaching. Carved naturalistically in the shape of a lotus bud on a long stem with a lotus leaf wrapped around the stem. Rose wood or sandal wood. Made in two pieces.
Japan, 19th century.

Length 13-1/8 inches

Tiny chip at leaf edge. Fine condition.

Kanban or shop sign. The sign indicates that the store would sell or manufacture ornamental pin holders for the oars on a boat (ireko), in the shape of dolls. According to the sketch pasted to the back of the kanban, this holder is mounted on the oar and is placed over a pin mounted on the boat edge. The oar pivots around that pin, so that the oar moves the boat through the water.

The pin holders are decorated as a male and a female doll in court style, their mouths wide open. The words ireko ningyo are branded into the wooden board. On the back of the board paper label with a flying plover and the words ireko ningyo; another paper label shows the proper names of the different parts of a rowing oar. Ireko ningyo is almost a play of words. It means nesting dolls (doll in doll in doll), but it also means pin holder on an oar in the shape of a doll.
Wood with color pigments, iron nails. Mingei (folk art).

Japan, early 20th century.

Measurements: W 19 in.; H 8 to 10.75 in.

Paint virtually completely weathered away, upper part missing, old repairs with iron nails

Glass ball on a wooden stand of finely carved and undercut work. The base has been carved in the shape of high foaming waves in which fishes are swimming, and that carry the jewel of the tides. The waves inlaid with little pieces of mother-of-pearl and gold lacquer. Ryujin, the Dragon King, held this jewel to rule the tides. Overall height 7 ¼ inches. Japan, Meiji period. Ball in near-perfect condition (one tiny, shallow scratch), the stand with some repairs and some missing tips on the waves.

Carving made from the root section of a bamboo stalk, with the tell-tale circular markings on the back of the head and back of the garment. A general, possibly Guanyu, sitting on a elevation or dais with a closed folding fan in the hand. China, Qing dynasty, 19th century.

H 6.75 in., W at bottom 4.75 in.

Few unobtrusive material cracks, as common in bamboo, few tiny dents in fan, material irregularities, all in all excellent condition

Provenance: From the collection of Richard S. Ravenal, New York

Buddhist shrine containing the deity Uga Benzaiten surrounded by Fifteen Children (Jugodoji), all sitting and standing on a rock formation. In the foreground are the ox and the horse, a boat laden with rice bales and the snake god Ugajin. Hidden between the jugodoji is the tiny figure of Amida Buddha.

In this shrine Benten appears in her eight-armed martial form holding various weapons (wheel, bow, spear, sword, club, lock, and arrow) and the wish granting jewel (all of them missing). On her head she carries the snake-bodied Ugajin, old god of fertility and nourishment. Around her are 15 Children or Disciples or Attendants (jugodoji), each carrying specific attributes that are essential for Benten/Ugajin to gain satisfaction and success.

Group inside: Wood stained black. Some remnants of colors on Benten’s face, gilt metal attributes (what’s left of them) and jewelry to Benten. The rock formation was carved by a different carver than the figures. The placement of the Amida Nyorai was a personal choice of the donor. There is no obvious relation between Amida and the Benzaiten group.

The zushi (case) is lacquered black over wood.

Japan, Edo period, late 18th century

Case: H 15 x W 14 x D 11 in.

Condition: Case has substantial water damage due to exposure to humidity in a temple, replacements in the bottom. Inside: Several hands missing, faces rubbed, various attributes missing, repairs on various limbs and garments, item on the boat missing, chips.

In stable condition.

Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman and Mar F. Wilson, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art (and Indiana University Press) 1980. Hardcover with dustjacket.
Some wear and tear to dustjackets.

Eijer, Dieuwke, Kagamibuta, Mirrors of Japanese Life and Legend, The Baur Collection / Heinz Kaempfer Fund (Geneva / Leiden), 1994. 95 pages, numerous b/w and color illustrations. Extensive description of the history, materials, techniques of kagamibuta, its subject matter and kagamibuta makers, richly illustrated with excellent photos of pieces from the Baur Collection and from private collections. The appendix contains a list of kagamibuta makers with their signatures and biographic information.
New, in original shrink wrap.

Dorrington-Ward, Carol (ed.), Fans from the east. New York: Debrett's Peerage Limited/The Viking Press 1978.
Hard cover binding with dust jacket.
Essays on fans in China (Julia Hutt), Japan (Joe Earle), Southeast Asia (Nancy Armstrong) an on Chinoiserie with 29 color plates and 79 b/w illustrations.
Dust jackets with minor abrasions (shelf wear) and covers slightly warped.

Fahr-Becker, Gabriele (ed.), The Art of East Asia, English edition, Koenemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Cologne, 1999, 2 vols., 406pp and 407pp. 12 ½ x 10 ¾ in. (32 x 27.8 cm). Hardcover with dust jacket, in slipcase.
In these volumes the arts and cultures are discussed, richly illustrated in color, of China, Indonesia and the Champa Kingdoms (vol. I) and of the Kingdom of the Khmer, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Japan and Korea (vol. II). The focus of this book is clearly on China and Japan. Contributing authors are Sabine Hesemann, Michael Dunn, Gabriele Farh-Becker and Michaela Appel. The appendix includes Glossary of Chinese characters, Notes, Selective Bibliography, Picture Credits (vol. I) and Notes, Glossary, Index and Picture Credits (vol. II).
N.B. The German text edition came out in 1998.
Vol. I with minor traces of usage, vol. II. with dented corners at top. Case also with dented corner at top.

Hejzlar, Josef. Chinese Watercolours. London: Octopus Press 1980. Hardcover with dustjacket. Text ca. 60 pp., bibliography and index, 115 color illustrations of paintings on 96 pp. (photographed by B. Forman). About the members of the Shanghai school from the 19th and 20th century and their works.
Pages slightly yellowed, but all in all in very good condition with very little wear on the dustjacket

Osvald Siren: Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. Part I; The First Millennium (3 vols.), London: Lund Humphries/New York: Ronald Press, 1956.
Vol.I: Early Chinese Paintings (xi+235pp., colored frontispiece and b/w ills.)
Vol.II: The Sung Period (vi+189pp. and annotated lists 95pp., colored frontispiece and b/w ills.)
Vol.III: Plates (xviii pp., 372 b/w plates).
Bound with red cloth, gilt title to front board and spine. With slip cases. 28.5x23cm.
Books very good codition. Splipcases with slight traces of usage.

Hobson, R.L., The wares of the Ming dynasty. Rutland/Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company 1962. With dust jacket and with card board slip case. 1st edn. Little tear in back of dust jacket, all in all in near new condition.
Book on ceramics and porcelain with 9 color plates, 50 b/w plates, hand drawn marks, etc.

Schuster, Felicia and Cecilia Wolseley, Vases of the sea. Far Eastern porcelain and other treasures. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1974. Hard cover binding with dust jacket.
Book on vases from China and from Japan made of porcelain, bronze, jade and cloisonne, and also a chapter on ivory and on lacquer. Numerous color illustrations.
Few unimportant traces of usage on the dust jacket, all in all in near new condition.

The metal head of the rattle – called shakujo – with some simply engraved decoration on the central shaft indicating lotus petals. The central ring has the shape of an inverted heart, from which six rings loop, three on each side.
The six rings symbolize the Six Realms of Existence where Jizō is active and the Six Perfections that lead to nirvana: generosity, morality, patience, vigor, concentration, and wisdom.
Mounted on a short wooden pole, covered with red lacquer.

Cast sentoku. Japan, 19th century.
H including pole ca. 10" (25.2 cm);
H metal head only ca. 4.75" (12.3 cm).

Minimal corrosion on head, otherwise very good condition. Comes with a custom-made metal base.

Antique vessel for washing brushes after writing or painting. Brown cast bronze with some green patina in the shape of a cob of corn still in inside the leaves. On the outside in simple engraved lines and leaves are indicated, and individual kernels.

Bottom flattened and with signature chiseled: Hidekazu (not identified).

Inside the basin, the short sides are both filled with a cement-like substance.

Japan, mid-19th century

H 3 x L 6.25 x W 2.25

Bronze with several dents and scratches, commensurate with extensive usage, small hole drilled in the tip. Few casting flaws (which are not really damages).

War fan, gunbai uchiwa, made of bronze clad wood, in the shape of a butterfly. In low relief on front and back the text Hachiman Daibosatsu, surrounded by generic family crests in the shape of quinces. Hachiman is a war deity. These fans were traditionally handled by samurai commanders to direct his troops in battle. It is also a symbol of power. Japan, Meiji era, late 19th century.

H 21.5 x W 15.75 inches

Some corrosion, good condition

Beautiful thick bronze hollow votive figure in the shape of Dainichi Nyorai sitting on a lotus base, former part of a kakebotoke. His head gear finely engraved with floral motives. Bronze with dark brown patina and traces of gilding. Kamakura period, 14th century.

Mounted on Japanese, old kiri-wood stand

H 4 ¼ inches

Excellent condition

Very rare cast bronze sculpture of the Chinese monk Xuanzang with a pile of Buddhist scriptures rolled up and stacked in the pack on his back and a lotus leaf over his head from which dangles an incense burner, as he returns to China from India.
In his hands he was holding a scroll and a fly whisk that are now missing. Figure stands on an irregularly shaped base. Japan, mid Edo period, 18th century.
Height incl. base ca. 5.25 inches (13.3 cm).
Hands slightly damaged.

Genjo Sanzo (Chin. Xuangzang) was a monk who went to India. Founder of the Hanya sect. He usually appears as one of the sixteen good spirits, rarely by himself.