Catalog (6143)

A reversible leather firefighter's hanten 半纏 (heavier weight coat made popular in the 18th century). At this time in Japan, fireman were vollenters and carried other professions. In this case, The inside logo represents that the wearer would have been a high ranking carpenter for roof making.

Features tsutsugaki 筒描 (resist dying process) using the smoke of pine needles to produce the light patterns, and ink to dye the black side. The black sleeves appear to have been...

Lovely Chinese crystal well-carved lotus lidded container standing upright with flowers and leaves on body.

Size: 5 7/8"H 4 1/2L 2 1/2" D

Republic Period, circa 1930s

Beautiful blue colored Chinese cloisonné tripod censor decorated with motifs of lotus, clouds, scrolling vines, chrysanthemums, with a gilt bronze fu dog on the top cover, stylized cloud handles on sides, gold gilt over bronze. Old collectors mark inside lid.

Age: 18/19th century.

Size: 9.75"H 9.25"D

Pair of charming Yixing ceramic fu dogs with black bulging eyes. Female dog guardian has two puppies and the male has a ball under his paw. Incense holes on each side of mouth. Each holding ribbon in mouth.

Age: Republic Period, circa 1930s

Size: 11"Hx8"Wx11"D

Antique Korean porcelain vase with blue underglaze design of the great dragon protector and the magic pearl flying in the clouds. Baluster form with high neck.

Ceramics are a form of popular art during the Joseon Dynasty. Examples of ceramics include white porcelain or white porcelain decorated with cobalt, copper red underglaze, blue underglaze and iron underglaze. Ceramics from the Joseon period differ from other periods because artists felt that each piece of art deserved its ow...

Antique Japanese six-panel byobu folding screen painting of a pair of pheasants (male and female). Near the pair of colorful birds, a stream flows over rocks. Exuberantly blossoming cherry trees and peonies rise from the rocky earth. Another pair of smaller birds fly together through a golden mist. Painted in mineral colors and with gold leaf on paper.

Age: late Meiji Period (circa 1900)

Dimensions: 59 1/2" high x 145 1/2" long

Antique Japanese kuruma tansu (wheeled storage chest) from the Northern Sendai area closer to Iwayado. The front of the chest is made with keyaki (zelkova elm) wood with lovely grain and original red-orange translucent lacquer finish. The frame is made of sugi (cryptomeria). The large, raised iron lock plate on the top drawer depicts a pair of cranes flying in clouds. The middle two drawers are held in place with a locking bar (bo) with pine tree shaped ironwork. The bottom drawer has a lock...

Antique Korean ichung nong wardrobe cabinet in two sections on a low base. Made of black lacquered wood and covered with detailed shell inlay. The front is decorated with scenes of birds, animals, flowers and plants on the top section. The bottom section is decorated with fish, turtles and plants of both land and water. The sides and top are inlaid with scenes of mountains and huts. There are two compartments and the bottom section has two small drawers. The compartments are lined with pa...

An antique Tibetan storage trunk with hard mounts and a hand painted dragon that appears to be dancing holding sacred jewels in each claw. A magnified textile pattern surrounds the dragon design. Hinged cover opens to a spacious storage area. Natural wear and marks on the cover over its long history of use.

Age: 17th to 18th Century

Dimensions: 34 1/2" Wide by 19 3/8" High by 13 1/4" Deep

Japanese two panel painted byobu (screen) depicting a winters evening with resting pair of mandarin ducks siting amongst the late blooming roses at waters edge. A pair of song birds sitting within the white hydrangeas. A banana tree is shown with Painted on silk with flecked fold paper, silk brocade, and black lacquered frame.

Mandarin ducks are regarded as symbols of love, happiness, and marital fidelity because they are believed to be monogamous.
Birds have long been a ...

Antique Tibetan gilt bronze figure of a standing bodhisattva. He stands squarely on a lotus throne with both hands raised in abhayamudra, the gesture of reassurance as if to say "have no fear". Great care has been paid to the many flowing folds of his robes and his tall crown is embellished with ornate details. The calmness of his facial expression conveys serenity and compassion.

Age: 19th century

Dimensions: 12 1/2" high x 6" wide

White jade carving of a ruyi shaped belt hook. Scrolling clouds are carved around the handle of the ruyi scepter and the hook area and the top are shaped in the form of the lingzhi fungus. Age: Qing Dynasty 18th century Size: height 0.75" width 0.5" length 3.5"

A intricately done Chinese fencai with motif of dragons scrolling vines, and peonies. Fine brushes made from different materials with caps to cover the tip were often part of a scholar literati's desk and were called the four treasures of the scholar's studio. The end of the brush contains a seal script mark, reading Da qing Jiaqing nian xing. Age: 19th-20th century Size: length 19" diameter 0.3"

Antique Japanese set of 13 lotus leaves and blossoms. Carved of wood and lacquered gold. Made for a Buddhist temple altar, they symbolize the stages of the path toward enlightenment. This set is especially lavish with giant sized lotus leaves and towering lotus blossoms. They fit into a bronze vase.

Age: Early Meiji period (circa mid 1800's)

Dimensions: Total size: 57" high x 44" wide

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant store chest) made of Kuwa (old Mulberry) and Kirinoki (Paulownia) woods. All original hand made iron fittings and finish. Two center hinged doors are removable with the hook and loop style hinge design. Front Warabite handles with two carrying handles on each side for positioning the chest and the additional swivel handles used with a wood pole to carry the chest from place to place. Lower right hinged door hides 3 smaller drawers.

Merchant che...

A simple line drawing of the portrait of the founder of the Chinese communist party, Mao Zedong. The work is attributed to an artist named Li Qi (1928-2009). Li Qi is known for composing portraits of important political figures in China and developing his distinct style within Modern Chinese art. Age: 1960-1970. Size: Height 25.5" Width 19.5"

Serene and calm landscape of the mountains with three figures, two men and a boy, sitting by the river bank. There are two inscriptions at the top with seal marks below them. It is mounted on a yellow paper with a medallion pattern. The image measures 17" wide 50.25" long, overall 24" wide 90" long.

Antique Chinese tassels from the 18th centur, Sino-TIbetan. The tassels are inlaid gilt and lacquered iron with red horse hair, probably used as ornaments on a horse for the saddle. The decoration has fret key bands and an endless knot pattern. The tassles are displayed in a plastic case. The top of the tassle measures 4" long(10.2 cm).