A small Shigaraki pottery urn of very rough clay dating from the 16th century covered in thin natural ash glaze. The squat form known as Uzukumaru is very popular for its simplicity in Japanese Tea Aesthetics. About the shoulder is a lattice fence design engraved into the earth, otherwise it is unadorned and very humble. It is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, roughly the same height enclosed in an ancient wooden storage box...

A large figure of the Daruma in celadon glaze by Teishitsu Gigei-in Suwa Sozan I set on to a rosewood stand and enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The beautifully carved face and feet are in raw, burnt clay, the rest is entirely robed in pale green. It is 18.5 x 16.5 x 36cm (7-1/4 x 6-1/2 x 14 inches) plus the stand and is in excellent condition, signed inside with his koban shaped oval seal...

An anonymous hyper realistic ceramic version of a skull about which crawls snake, circling down the cheek and exiting through the eye socket, late Meiji to Taisho period. It is 11 x 16.5 x 10 cm. This type of object was popular in the later 19th to early 20th centuries as a talisman. The dilapidated wooden box bears a label reading Mayoke Ko-To-Sei Dokuro (Protective Old Ceramic Skull).

A beautifully formed earthen flask from the Bizen region, the fire-buffed side still gleaming softly while opposite it has absorbed time into the porous clay. It comes enclosed in a box titled Ko Bizen Kaijo Ko-Tokkuri, inside the lid is annotated the dimensions and the dating Momoyama Jidai no Saku (Made in the Momoyama period) signed by the great Bizen connoisseur Katsura Matasaburo. It is 6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) diameter, 13.5 cm (5-1/4 inches) tall and in overall fine condition...

A set of three spouted nesting bowls decorated in the traditional Mugiwara pattern of alternating stripes of russet red, pale blue and orange emanating like rays from the center. The larger bowl is 9.5 cm (just under 4 inches) diameter, 5.5 cm (2 inches) tall. The smallest is roughly 7.5 diameter, 4.5 cm tall and all 3 are in excellent condition, enclosed in an old kiri-wood box.
This traditional pattern is called ``Mugiwarade'' because its vertical stripes resemble ears of wheat...

The surface of this black glazed bowl signed on the base Dohachi has been impressed all over with seals in a style known as In-chirashi. It comes in an ancient wooden box with ebony rim titled inside Dohachi Saku (Chirashi-in) Chawan, while outside a much-worn paper label reads In-chirashi Dohachi Saku Chawan. The original silk pouch, much deteriorated, is included, but no longer strong enough to hold the bowl...

An Edo period Kogo incense case of pale earth tones decorated with geometric shapes and green copper glaze in the oribe style with a scrawling streak of kintsugi gold extending down two sides. Kintsugi is the art of repairing using lacquer and powdered gold. Kintsugi is a traditional Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery or ceramics using lacquer and powdered precious metals...

A masterpiece of Akahada Pottery ware in the shape of a wooden bucket with elaborate scrolling feet from the kiln of Okuda Mokuhaku. It is 18 x 18 x 19 cm (7 x 7 x 7-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition, enclosed in a modern wooden collector’s box.
Okuda Mokuhaku (1800-1871) was born the son of a merchant in Sakai Machi Yamato Koriyama in Nara Prefecture that served the local lords with hair ornaments, make-up supplies and other fashionable items...

A crusty wood fired Bizen dish with looping handle, one hemisphere rounded, the other pinched as if for pouring, dating from the Edo period enclosed in an ancient custom fit lacquered Kiri-wood box. It is 23.5 x 22cm x 12.5 cm (roughly 9 inches diameter, 5 inches tall) and is in surprisingly excellent overall condition, with a few nicks to the edge of the foot consistent with age. Evidencing the centuries, there is a loss near the handle to some thicker glaze encrustation...

A crane rises elegantly from a truncated tree, the legs intricately crafted and the body flowing in a liquid grace. This is Bizen Saikumono, a body of Bizen popular throughout the Edo, Meiji and early 20th centuries. Craftsman carved wild animals, mythical beasts, human figures and many other figures out of the smooth Bizen clay, relying on perfection of form, allowing the firing to add color without overt decoration. This figure is 34 cm (13-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Museum piece Edo Period Ca. 1860-1880 tea leaf storage jar 'tsubo' from Shigaraki, the famed pottery center outside of Kyoto. Natural wood fired glazes and straw cap. Excellent condition. Quite large. 25" tall and 13" in diameter. Ask for shipping quote.

Antique Japanese small Satsuma ware tea pot. Decorated with detailed scenes in color and gold. On one side are seven arhats and on the other side are ladies. Minute detailed pattern and flowers. The tea pot is complete with small, square lid. With Satsuma mark on the bottom.

Age: Meiji Period (c.1880)

Dimensions: 3 3/4" high x 4 3/8" long x 2" wide

Antique Japanese small Satsuma ware ceramic vase. Crackle glaze decorated with a continuous scene of noble men and women with children. Painted with colors and gold. Incised 2 character mark on the bottom.

Age: Meiji period (circa 1880)

Dimensions: 5 3/4" high x 2 1/2"wide

Japanese Mugiwara pottery emerged in the Mino region of Japan during the Momoyama period in the late 16th century. It is renowned for its distinctive straw-rope patterns etched into or painted on its surfaces that typically contains hues of indigo, mustard, hazel, ochre, and sometimes greens...

An unprecedented 19th century ceramic sculpture of a tumble of Shishi lions in a playful fight covered in unusual green-blue glaze. The Banko mark is impressed into the white clay of the base. It is very unusual to find large sculptures or works in Banko ware...

Crafted from locally sourced Bizen clay, this mid-Edo period vase embodies simplicity, beauty, and understated elegance. Originally crafted as a tokkuri, or sake flask, it was recovered from the estate of a tea-practitioner who reportedly cherished it as a vase that would hold colorful flowers and various grasses throughout the seasons.

Thanks to the dedication and passion of a researcher by the name of Katsura Matasaburo (1901-1986) we can be assured that this vase is a...

An E-karatsu Yobitsugi bowl made of various shards attached with wide bands of gold to a discarded base: the pieces dating from the Momoyama to early Edo periods. It is 22 x 20 x 6 cm 8-1/2 x 8 x 2-1/4 inches) and comes enclosed in a modern kiri-wood collectors box titled E-Karatsu Hachi.
This method of using pieces from multiple works with lacquer repair is called Yobitsugi. Yobitsugi is a form of kintsugi that entails combining pieces of different objects together in order to create a ...

A pair of vases in the shape of old wooden well buckets (tsurube) in white glaze upon which is scrawled in beautiful grass scrip a poem by Otagaki Rengetsu. The poem reads: Yamazato wa
matsu no koe nomi
kiki nare te
kaze fuka nu hi wa
sabishikari keri
Which translates as:
Living deep in the mountains
I’ve grown fond
of the soughing pines
On days when the wind is still
how lonely it is
Each is roughly 15 cm (just under 6 inches...