The Kura - Japanese Art Treasures
Robert Mangold has been working with Japanese antiques since 1995 with an emphasis on ceramics, Paintings, Armour and Buddhist furniture.
All Items : Antiques : Regional Art : Asian : Japanese : Metalwork : Pre 1900 item #1490730
The Kura
$1,500.00
A smoke tendril rises from the mouth of a bloated toad forming an Usubata flower basin in heavy olive patinated yellow bronze. The basin is 19.7 cm (7-3/4 inches) diameter, The entire 24.5 cm (9-3/4 inches) tall and it is in excellent condition. In Japanese the word for Frog is Kaeru, a homonym for: To Return. Thus the symbol of a frog means money going out will come back, a child growing up or a daughter marrying will come back to visit etc. Gama Sennin is one of the most depicted Sennin (Saints), a Daoist sage based on Liu Hai of ancient China. He has great magical powers and carries around on his back a large toad. In Chinese legend he learned all the secrets of Magic and the universe from the toad. Frogs have been known as a symbol of prosperity in ancient Chinese culture since time immemorial. As per Feng Shui, keeping frog figurines at home or in the office area, offers protection to the space and brings prosperity to one's life.
All Items : Antiques : Regional Art : Asian : Japanese : Stoneware : Pre 1930 item #1490803
The Kura
$450.00
An elegant tall vase in signature soft blue by Shinjo Tozan III of Yamagata enclosed in the original singed wooden box dating from the early half of the 20th century titled Yohen Kabin. It is 15cm (6 inches) diametr, 41cm (16 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Higashiyama (alternatively read Tozan) is the common name for the hilly area in the eastern part of Shinjo City, Yamagata prefecture, and the geology of the village is covered with a thick layer of clay. Yahei Wakui, (1801-1872) the founder of Higashiyama ware, was a potter from Kosugi in Echigo, modern day Toyama prefecture. While traveling the country for training, he fell in love with the clay of Higashiyama, and in 1841 opened a pottery as the official kiln for the Shinjo Tozawa clan.
The third generation Yahei was born on January 29, 1896, as the second son of Yahei II. From an early age, he learned pottery skills from his father and helped the family business. The era in which the third generation Yahei was active was a time of great change, including the global recession after World War I, the Sino-Japanese and the Pacific War. Utilizing the characteristics of Higashiyama's clay, he produced earthenware pots, yukihira, suribachi, blanched pots, kataguchi, and other miscellaneous everyday utensils, and laid the foundation for the fame of today's "Higashiyama ware." The folk-ware researcher Yanagi Soetsu, who was exposed to the pottery of the third generation of Yabe, writes in his book ``Japan of Handicrafts'' that ``They used a beautiful bluish sea cucumber glaze to fire earthenware pots...'' (Omitted) As an earthenware pot, it is said to be the most beautiful in Japan. Yahei III passed away on October 23, 1945 at the age of 73. Currently the 7th generation works alongside his father