Saishiki netsuke of Ryujin

Large wood netsuke of a shishi Kyoto school, 18th/19th century Height: 5.7cm The large netsuke with a very nice patina, showing the mythical creatu...

This pair of screens belongs to a genre of lyrical paintings of flowers, grasses, and other plants that flourished around the middle of the 17th century and became a specialty of the Sôtatsu studio. The use of a rather complex composition of clusters of flowers and the puddling of ink was initiated by Tawaraya Sôtatsu, the founder of the Rimpa School, who was active from 1600 until 1642. The screens are abstract and decorative but there is, at the same time, a keen sense of naturalism not only in the attention to accurate detail but in the profusion of vegetation. The passage of the year is symbolized by the variety of plants that bloom in different seasons. The tarashikomi - here used on leaves, petals and trunks - is a Classic Rinpa technique in which pale black ink or a color is brushed onto an area of a painting and then either darker ink, or the same or a contrasting color, is dropped into the first before it has completely dried, creating an effect of pooled colors with softly blurred edges. Its delicacy, preciousness, and effeminacy are identified with the over-refinement of its patrons, while the vigor, monochromatic discipline, sharp observation, and virile forms of the Kano school are a testament to the vitality of the rising warrior class. The plants are almost all identifiable: in the summer-spring part, you can find wheat, buttercups, irises, begonias, hydrangeas, coral bells...

Hiramaki-e lacquer, nashiji and fundame Edo period, 19th century Length: 10.5 cm, height: 6.5 cm Since the Heian period, The theme of deer and autumn plants has been ut...

What is immediately striking about the work of Yabe is his keen and natural sense of line. The artist, in fact, takes great care in first drawing an image of the work, and after hand-building the basic form a blend of Bizen mountain and rice-paddy clays, the work is carved with a knife into the form he had envisioned. After carving, the work is first bisque-fired and then its main-firing is executed in a small wood kiln for 3 days at a temperature reaching 1180 degrees. The resulting futuristic forms of Yabe’s stoneware present fresh new possibilities for Japanese Bizen clay in the 21st century. Shunichi Yabe...

Jizai Okimono A russet-iron articulated figure of a crab Edo Period (1615 - 1867), 19th Century Length: 15 cm with extended limbs The iron crab...

The Amitabha (Amida in Japanese) Buddha is shown standing with his hands forming the Amida raigo-in mudra. The face has a serene expression, with closed eyes under delicately arched brows and a severe face. The hair is arranged in rows of coils that also cover the "ushnisha", the protuberance on the head. The drapery is folded in elegant pleats falling from the shoulders to the feet. The antique sculpture is placed on a lotus flower which is located on a richly decorated base. Faith in Amida Buddha remained largely confined to a small segment of the Japanese population until the Kamakura Era (1185-1333) when it was popularized by new Pure Land sects committed to bringing Buddhism to the illiterate commoner. These sects expressed concern for the salvation of the ordinary person and stressed pure and simple faith over complicated rites and doctrines. Amida Nyorai...

Boxwood netsuke depicting a snake coiled around itself. Signature engraved under the base. Origin: Japan Period: Meiji late 19th century. Dimensions: 4 x 3.5 x 2 cm. State of co...

Boxwood netsuke depicting a snake wrapping around a pumpkin. The snake is a symbol often associated with rebirth, transformation while the pumpkin is a symbol of fertility, abundanc...

Boxwood netsuke depicting a Dutchman with a child on his shoulder and a trumpet. Excellent blond patina on the front contrasting with the darker part on the back. Large himotoshi h...

Boxwood netsuke depicting a toad resting on an upside-down sandal (waraji), with horned eyes. Signed Masanao on a rectangular gusset in the center of the sandal. Origin: Japan Per...

A boxwood netsuke depicting a monkey trying to catch a turtle, which retracts its head and legs inside the carapace. Origin: Japan Period: Edo 19th century. Dimensions: 3.4 x 3 x ...

Black monochrome horn netsuke emulating an asymmetrically sectioned tree trunk. Along the top climbs an insect carved in lapis lazuli and finished with gold details. Japan, Meiji per...