Catalog (106)

An exquisite Meiji period (19th century) turned wooden bowl covered in black lacquer and clouds of powdered gold, a style known as Nashiji. The thin rim actually leads down ever thicker to a heavy base, perfect for stability. It would be a challenge to knock this over. Meiji period 12.5 cm (5 inches) tall, 30 cm (1 foot) diameter and in excellent condition.

A radical image by the outlandish Doi Goga featuring a black devil and its child. The child reaches up to the monster, while the monster seems to be giving him a raspberry, his toungue flailing in the air. Ink on paper, it has been completely restored in beige cloth border with bone rollers reflecting the original mounting. The scroll is 42 x 181 cm (16-1/2 x 71-1/4 inches) ad is in excellent condition. Doi Goga (1818-1880) was a Confucian scholar of the late Edo to Meiji periods. He was born the son of a doctor serving the lords of Ise (modern Mie prefecture), home of the gods and Ise Shrine. A child prodigy, he studied under Ishikawa Chikugai and Saito Setsudo. The early death of his father saw him succeed the family head at the age of 12. He would serve later as a teacher in the official government school. He held strong opinions and was very critical of the hypocrisy and corruption he saw in military government and in Confucianism itself. His works began to see the light of day in the early Meiji period, however due to their inflammatory nature, much was left unpublished until after his death. Known for paintings of bamboo and landscapes, his Dojin figures are rare and highly sought.

The skeletons of chrysanthemum crests decorate the simple beauty of this elegant cup and stand dating from later 18th to 19th century Japan. The stand is Roughly 8.5 cm square, 6 cm tall and is in excellent condition. There is a stamp on the base obscured by glaze, leaving simply an oval impression. It comes in an age darkened wooden box titled Ninsei Kiku Hai (？) Dai.

A rare hand formed iron koro signed Munehiro created in the Uchidashi manner considered the pinnacle of metal-craft, where a single lump of iron is slowly hammered and worked into a complex shape. This one is made like a tri-legged jar with glaze drips all around. The lid is pierced with a ladle and what appears to be a sake cup. The artists signature is engraved between the legs. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Tetsu Uchidashi Koro. It is 10 cm (4 inches) diameter and in overall excellent condition.

Comic shishi-lions in blue and white prance around the outside of this striking red lined gold decorated kinrande bowl by Eiraku Zengoro XII (Waenclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kinrande Donburi-bachi. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition signed on the base Dai-Nippon Eiraku Zo.
Eiraku Zengoro XII (Wazen, 1823-1896) was one of the most influential potters of his time, setting the stage for the revival of and modernization of Kyoyaki, based on models by Koetsu, Kenzan and Ninsei. Although named Sentaro, he was more commonly referred to by the name Zengoro, and used also the name Wazen after 1865. He was trained under his father, Hozen, who was a compatriot of Ninnami Dohachi and Aoki Mokubei, and rightfully one of the most famous potters of the later Edo. Zengoro was given the reins to the family business quite early, in 1843, and managed the day to day running of the kiln while his father sought to perfect porcelain products in Kyoto. From 1852 to 1865 the family worked from a kiln at Ninnaji temple. Attracting the attention of a Daimyo from Kaga, from 1866-1870 he worked to revitalize a porcelain kiln in that area, coming to produce classic wares which are prized to this day. During this time of working divided from the family kiln, two workers who had been trained by his father shared the title of the 13th generation leader in Kyoto, however Wazen outlived both by decades. He returned to Kyoto in 1870, and also established a kiln in Mikawa in the 1870s to produce more common tableware. From 1882 until his death, it seems he worked from a large kiln in the Eastern Hills of Kyoto. Under both the 11th and 12 generations of this family the name Zengoro took on a life of its own, and came to symbolize the highest in porcelain and tea wares. The family is one of the 10 artisan families producing tea articles for the Senkei tea schools.

Scrolling characters are inscribed into the side of this hand formed elongated basin by Otagaki Rengetsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hissen Chawan (Brush washer shaped Tea bowl). The poem reads:
Shigayama ya On Mount Shiga...
hana no shirayuki flowers like white snow
harahara to flutter down
furuki miyako no in the ancient capital
haru zo kure yuku. Spring is fading
The bowl is 17 x 12 x 7 cm (6-1/2 x 4-3/4 x 2-3/4 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Otagaki Rengetsu was born into a samurai family, she was adopted into the Otagaki family soon after birth, and served as a lady in waiting in Kameoka Castle in her formative years, where she received an education worthy of a Lady of means. Reputed to be incredibly beautiful, she was married and bore three children; however, her husband and all children died before she was twenty. Remarried she bore another daughter, however that child too perished and her husband died while she was just 32. Inconsolable, she cut off her hair to join the nunnery at Chion-in Temple, where she renounced the world and received the name Rengetsu (Lotus Moon). However, this was not the end, but only the beginning of a career as artist and poet which would propel her to the top of the 19th century Japan literati art world.

A long verse is incised into the side of this tea bowl by Otagaki Rengetsu. The poem reads:
Yorozuyo mo 10,000 ages
tae nu nagare to enduring the surge
shimetsu ran so well
sono kame no o no From Turtle Tail Mountain
yama no shitamizu. The water flows
The bowl is 12.2 cm (5 inches) diameter and in perfect condition. It comes wrapped in a silk cloth pouch, enclosed in an old box with original lid inside of which is a long verse. It has been appraised by the head priest of Jinkoin Tokuda Koen on a separate newer lid titled Rengetsu Ro-ni saku Chawan.
Otagaki Rengetsu was born into a samurai family, she was adopted into the Otagaki family soon after birth, and served as a lady in waiting in Kameoka Castle in her formative years, where she received an education worthy of a Lady of means. Reputed to be incredibly beautiful, she was married and bore three children; however, her husband and all children died before she was twenty. Remarried she bore another daughter, however that child too perished and her husband died while she was just 32. Inconsolable, she cut off her hair to join the nunnery at Chion-in Temple, where she renounced the world and received the name Rengetsu (Lotus Moon). However, this was not the end, but only the beginning of a career as artist and poet which would propel her to the top of the 19th century Japan literati art world.

Additional photos of the 4 unique bowls dating from the 17th to 19th centuries with old gold repairs. All are between 11 and 12.5 cm diameter. The Hakeme Brush patterned bowl has gold repairs and a break which is currently glued but not repaired with gold.

Tiny repairs of gold glint along the rim of this misshapen wan-gata bowl from the Utsutsukawa tradition of Nagasaki. The bowl comes with a silk pouch enclosed in an old wooden box. There is a kutsuki on one side, where it adhered to something else in the kiln. The bowl is 12 x 10.5 x 6.5 cm (4-3/4 x 4-1/8 x 2-1/2 inches) and is in overall fine condition, dating from the 19th century.
Utsutsukawa-yaki originated in Nagasaki in the late 17th century. It is said it began when Tanaka Gyobusaemon opened a kiln around 1690. It is characterized by brown orange clay with a heavy iron content and was most often decorated with Brush strokes in white slip. Although at one time it was called the Ninsei of the West, the manufacture lasted only about 50 years due to the financial aspect of the clan, and it disappeared until the Meiji period, when there was an attempted revival, but that too failed to last. In modern times the art was revived by Yokoishi Gagyu, and has been named an important cultural property of Nagasaki Prefecture.

A vibrant landscape separated by crimson clouds surrounds this koro signed in gold Seifu-zo surmounted by a fabulous solid silver lid. It is 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Seifū Yohei I (1801-1861) was born the son of a Samurai in Kanazawa however aspired to be a potter. In 1815, he moved to Kyoto where he apprenticed under Nin'nami Dōhachi (1783-1855). He opened a studio in Fushimi before establishing another studio in the Gojōzaka pottery district. In 1847 the lord of Bizen invited him to assist at the Mushiage kiln. After returning to Kyoto he established another kiln, eventually passing this on to the second generation Seifu. He was a known literatus, and many works decorated by painters and scholars were made by him. He is held in the collection of The Met New York and the British Museum among many others.

Rustic Irabo style glaze covers this Edo period Hidaka-yaki Mizusashi covered in a black lacquered tsukuibuta sculpted wood lid. It is 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter, 16cm (6-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. The piece is published in the book Kishu Zenmyoji yaki (1986) figure 46. A copy of the book is included. It comes enclosed in an old wooden storage box with separate compartment for the lid.
This type of earthenware is from one of the commissioned kilns of the Kishu Domain. Also known as Zenmyoji-yaki, the kiln was established by Genryo, the 6th generation chief priest of Zenmyoji in Shima Village in Hidaka Country, during the Kyoho era (1716 – 1735).

An Edo period lacquered Bashaku Water Scoop covered in mother of pearl flakes decorated with the Kikusui-mon Crest in gold, vermilion lacquer within. It is 59.5 cm (roughly 2 feet) long and in overall fine condition with minor losses typical of age and use. The name Bashaku literally means horse scoop, and indicates these were used for watering horses on the road.

A lifelike turtle from the Kikko kilns of Osaka, the bottom stamped and covered in brown lacquer, the top traditional kikko ocher tinged colors. There are chips around the edges, without which it would be tough to define this hyper realistic piece as pottery. It is 16.5 x 11 x 6 cm (6-1/2 inches long), dating from the later Edo period. The Kikko Kiln was established in Osaka in the opening years of the 19th century by Iyo native Toda Jihe, who had learned the ceramic arts in Kyoto under all of the great names of the time, Kiyomizu Rokubei I, Ryonyu the 9th generation head of the Raku family, and Ninnami Dohachi among others. He would be known as Jusanken Shogetsu. After being noticed by then Daimyo of Osaka area Mizuno Tadakuni, he received the kiln name Kikko. His works were distributed as gifts among the Daimyo, and he was called to work in many fiefs creating “Niwa Yaki” kilns throughout Japan. During the Meiji the kiln would be split into two continuing lineages, one using Jusanken stamp, the other Kikko Shogetsu.

A rare stacking Bento (picnic) box in the shape of a tea leaf storage jar decorated in a realistic fashion with black, silver and gold maki-e lacquer. It consists of four pieces, stacked they are 28 cm (11 inches) tall, and all are in excellent condition.

A quintessential Iga vase dating from the Edo period, the rough clay covered in thick ash glaze. It is viciously charred, testament to the tempest in the kiln, with molten ash flowing freely over the surface. This is a perfect complement to a Japanese chashitsu tea room or traditional flower display. It is 24.5 cm (9-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition. In a Japanese tea ceremony room, historically vases were made to match the ambiance of the humble setting. Although I did not write it: Starting in the Momoyama period (16th century), Mimitsuki Iga ware vases with characteristic "ear" lugs appeared. and thus became the popular norm. Since then the ears have become a mark of not only Iga flower vessels but also Mizusashi water jars. They were used as Japanese tea utensils under master Sen no Rikkyu and others. Old Iga ware, which is known as Ko-Iga, generally reflects Wabi-Sabi aesthetics with a rustic appearance and purposefully deformed shapes, given extra character by the addition of "ear" lugs and intentional gouges and dents.

A rare iron hanging censer in the shape of a Mongolian Saddle Stirrup (Abumi) with silver mesh lid covering half the top. It comes in an age-darkened and worm-eaten kiri-wood box titled simply Tsuri Koro. The receptacle is 13.5 x 7 x 15 cm (5-1/2 x 3 x 6 inches) and is in excellent condition, dating from the Edo period.

Joyful maple leaves in gold and silver float on the festrive red surface of this set of three stacking lacquered cups dating from the later Edo period. The larger cup is 12.5 cm (roughly 5 inches) diameter and they are in overall fine condition. They come in a paper lined black lacquered wooden box. There are a couple stable cracks in the wood substrate visible as ridges in the lacquer of the largest bowl (see close-up photos).

A striking soft-glazed six-sided incense burner by Maki Hokusai decorated with white flower blossoms on soft flesh colored glaze surmounted by a silver lid pierced with the character Kotobuki (Fortune) by Hata Zoroku. The pot itself is 10 cm tall, plus the sliver lid. It comes in an ancient wooden box signed by Zoroku.
Hata Zoroku I (1823-1890) learned metalwork techniques in the studio of Ryubundo in Kyoto. Hata produced works for the Imperial Household and it is known that he made the gold Imperial seal and national seal by order of the Imperial Household in 1873. He was under consideration as Artist to the Imperial Household (Teishitsu Gigeiin). He died several days before the announcement of these designations in 1890. For bronze works by Zoroku in the collection of the Imperial Household, see The Era of Meiji Bijutsu-kai and Nihon Kinko Kyokai, in Meiji bijutsu saiken I (Reappraisal of Meiji Art I) (Tokyo: Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, 1995), pp. 40-41.
Maki Hokusai (Bunshichi, 1782-1857) established a pottery workshop in the West district of Nagoya city during the Bunka era (1804-18). Hokusai was a master at sculpture and studied painting technique under Gekkoku. He decorated with bright colors and vivid detailed landscapes. Known as a master craftsman for making tea utensils, sake utensils, ornaments, etc., he worked for the 12th lord of the Owari clan, Tokugawa Naritaka, and produced works in the Hagiyama Niwa-yaki kiln of the Feudal lord. The kiln continued for three generations, but due to the expansion of Nagoya Station, the kiln was abandoned around 1923.