TISHU Wall Decorations

Made entirely from luxuriant woven brocade (kinran) for the exterior, this Japanese sleeveless jacket is called Jinbaori. Commonly worn by the Samurai warriors during 16th century when warfare was common in feudal Japan, this type of loose jacket, as a surcoat on top the armor, served as an extra protection, and more importantly as an identification in the battlefield with its bright colors and often Mons. In Edo period, the society was stabilized and Jinbaori gradually shifted toward a pure ceremonial function. The jacket on offer was unusual as it was tailored entirely from the bright Chinese brocade...

An embroidered silk collar from China dated to late Qing Dynasty circa 19th century. Known as Yunjian (Cloud Shoulder or Cloud Collar). This striking example features a two-tiered design with eleven inner and outer lobes radiating in a circular fashion. The red inner lobes feature floral embroidery design in satin stitches, the border with twisted chain stitches. The outer lobes are in the shape of auspicious "ruyi", which represents the head of Lingzhi mushroom, a symbol of longevity. Each showcases fine needlework of butterfly with spread wings and various floral motif. A small ball clasp remains on the front. This textile art is beautifully presented in a giltwood frame floating within a double mat of conforming shape. Detachable collars such as this were worn around the shoulders as part of the traditional Chinese garment...

A fine matching pair of embroidered silk civil rank badge panels (known in Chinese as Buzi) unframed. The panels feature borders of fret archaic key a...

A framed Japanese woven textile circa late 19th century of Meiji Period. Likely a fragment of a priest robe or kesa, the multi-paneled textile was finely woven with gold foiled threads that depicts a five-clawed dragon slithering in the clouds and water...

A finely embroidered silk military rank badge panel framed in a wood frame circa late Qing dynasty 19th century. The square rank badge is known in Chinese as Buzi which was displayed...

A finely embroidered silk civil rank badge panel framed in a wood frame circa late Qing dynasty 19th century. The square rank badge is known in Chinese as ...

A Japanese formal silk Kimono in a light blue color with striking floral design. The garment is hand-stitched from a crepe like silk and dated to circa 1940-60s. The garment is spars...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Upright) Number: 40 Chiryu: The Former Site of the Irises at Eightbridge Village (Chiryu, Yatsuhashimura kakitsubata no koseki) Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1855 Format: Vertical Oban Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizo Seals: Aratame and date Signature: Hiroshige hitsu...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Upright) Number: 6 Totsuka: View of Fuji from the Mountain Road (Totsuka, Sando yori Fuji chobo) Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1855 Format: Vertical Oban Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizo Seals: Aratame and date Signature: Hiroshige hitsu...

A Japanese festival Kimono robe circa late 19th to early 20th century (end of Meiji Period) for fishing ritual. Made in a cotton fabric, the kimono was elaborately decorated by Tsuts...

Artist: Utagawa Hirokage (active 1855-1865) Series: Comical Views of Famous Places in Edo Number: 40 "Towboats on the Yotsugi-dori Canal" Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1859 Form...

Artist: Utagawa Hirokage (active 1855-1865) Series: Comical Views of Famous Places in Edo Number: 21 "Cherry-blossom Viewing at the Middle Hall and the Double Hall in Ueno" Mediu...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: Pictures of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces Number: 5: Settsu Province: Sumiyoshi, Idemi Beach Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1853 (Kaei 6), 7th month Number of Prints: 70/70 (inc. Title Page) Format: Vertical Oban Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Publisher: Koshimuraya Heisuke (Koshihei) Block Cutter: Yokokawa Takejirô (Hori Take) Signature: Hiroshige hitsu Additional marks: Censors' seals: Mera, Watanabe, Ox 7 Displayed with mat and gilt wood frame. Reference: For an identical print, see the collection of MFA Boston...

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-58) Number: 39 Distant View of Kinryuzan Temple and Azuma Bridge Publisher: Uoya Eikichi Format: Vertical Oban Number of Prints: 120/120 (inc. title page and a replacement print by Hiroshige II) Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1857 (Ansei 4), 8th month Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Signature: Hiroshige ga Censor's seals: aratame, Snake 8 No blockcutter's mark Reference: For a similar print, see the collection of Art Institution Chicago Accession Number 1938.536 and 1965.1062; MFA Boston...

A silk collar from China dated to late Qing Dynasty circa 19th century. Known as Yunjian (Cloud Shoulder or Cloud Collar), this two-tiered, five-lobed textile piece was a detachable collar worn around the shoulders as part of the traditional Chinese garment...

A bespoken hand-crafted wood piece created as a wall sculpture by Don Reagan signed and dated 2002 verso. The highly featured burl was from California Buckeye...

A framed black and white gelatin silver photograph by American surrealist photographer Arthur Tress (1940-). Entitled "Making Leaves", the work was created in 1978. The two intertwin...

A Japanese silk Fukusa Panel housed in a gilt frame circa late 19th century of Meiji Period. Fukusa is a traditional Japanese textile art used as a wrap for presenting gifts at important occasions. On the deep blue background, the elaborate embroidery work depicts a historical scene where street vendors selling goods to a royal household or an aristocratic residence. The scene focuses on the activities at the front gate where the couriers and servants were busying carrying the goods in. A peasant with straw coat...

Artist: Susan Fenton (1949-2018; American) Title: Figure with Pediment. Japan series Year of Creation: 1993 Edition: 1/10 Medium: Toned Gelatin Silver Print; hand painted with Oils Image size: 16"x16" Framed size: 20"x21". Signed and titled verso as shown. Originally purchased in Olga Dollar Gallery in San Francisco Susan Fenton is an American photographer and a faculty member of St. Joseph’s University faculty. Fenton's work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums. The captivating Japan series was made in 1990s after her return from living in Japan. The mysterious series showing figures in geometrical hats was enhanced by oil pigments to create a classical painterly quality that could not be achieved with camera only otherwise. “Fenton’s figures – silent, composed, aloof – represent aesthetic idealism,” Inquirer art critic Edward J. Sozanski wrote, “By avoiding eye contact...

Artist: Susan Fenton (1949-2018; American) Title: Figure with Folded Paper Hat. Japan series Year of Creation: 1993 Edition: 1/10 Medium: Toned Gelatin Silver Print; hand painted with Oils Image size: 16"x16" Framed size: 20"x21". Signed and titled verso as shown. Originally purchased in Olga Dollar Gallery in San Francisco Susan Fenton is an American photographer and a faculty member of St. Joseph’s University faculty. Fenton's work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums. The captivating Japan series was made in 1990s after her return from living in Japan. The mysterious series showing figures in geometrical hats was enhanced by oil pigments to create a classical painterly quality that could not be achieved with camera only otherwise. “Fenton’s figures – silent, composed, aloof – represent aesthetic idealism,” Inquirer art critic Edward J. Sozanski wrote, “By avoiding eye contact...

Artist: Susan Fenton (1949-2018; American) Title: Figure with Rectangle and Cone. Japan series Year of Creation: 1993 Edition: 1/10 Medium: Toned Gelatin Silver Print; hand painted with Oils Image size: 16"x16" Framed size: 20"x21". Signed and titled verso as shown. Originally purchased in Olga Dollar Gallery in San Francisco Susan Fenton is an American photographer and a faculty member of St. Joseph’s University faculty. Fenton's work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums. The captivating Japan series was made in 1990s after her return from living in Japan. The mysterious series showing figures in geometrical hats was enhanced by oil pigments to create a classical painterly quality that could not be achieved with camera only otherwise. “Fenton’s figures – silent, composed, aloof – represent aesthetic idealism,” Inquirer art critic Edward J. Sozanski wrote, “By avoiding eye contact...

A Japanese formal Kimono made with a very fine black linen gauze augmented with applied modern circle pattern. The garment was hand-stitched and dated to circa 1930-50s. The black ga...

A framed photograph by Chinese American photographer Don Hong-Oai (1929-2004) "The Intimate Shadow", a composed landscape photograph taken in Quilin, the world-famous scenic area in China. Signed with title, inscription of location and dated on the top -left, red sealed on the lower right corner and signed and dated 1982 lower left on the mat. The photograph depicts an idyllic scenery on Li-river with the karst peak in the misty background, where a fishing boat floats. The work was created with dark room manipulation to echo the traditional chines ink painting that showcase a surreal ambience. The photograph is housed in the original artist's archive metal frame with an old print of the artist's bio and copyright mark on the back. It was purchased directly from the artist's studio. Sight Approximately 13.625" w x 10.125" h. Don Hong-Oai was born in Canton, China but raised and educated in Saigon, Vietnam. At age 13 he began an apprenticeship at a Chinese photo and portrait shop. In 1979 he immigrated to the United States and settled in the Chinatown of San Francisco. Don began making a living by selling his landscape photographs in front of Macy’s and began to receive recognition for his craftsmanship. His style was heavily influenced by the legendary photographer Long Chin-San and his technique of layering negatives for ideal composition, by taking three negatives, foreground, middle ground, and far ground, and selecting a subject from each negative. The photographs of Don Hong-Oai are made in a unique style, which can be considered Asian pictorialism. This method of adapting a Western art for Eastern purposes probably originated in the 1940s in Hong Kong. One of its best-known practitioners was the great master Long Chin-San (who died in the 1990s at the age of 104) with whom Don Hong-Oai studied. With the delicate beauty and traditional motifs of Chinese painting (birds, boats, mountains, etc.) in mind, photographers of this school used more than one negative to create a beautiful picture, often using visual allegories. Realism was not a goal. Don Hong-Oai was one of the last photographers to work in this manner. He is also arguably the best. He has won hundreds...