Japanese Kamakura-Bori Red Lacquer Incense Stand, Edo Period, 19th Century

An elegant and refined Japanese lacquer koro, incense burner, in the form of a chaire, tea caddy, Edo Perio, mid 19th century, Japan. The barrel shaped koro formed as a traditional ...

A spectacular Japanese lacquer and porcelain inlaid display cabinet on stand, kazaridana, Meiji Period, late 19th century, Japan. The sumptuous kazaridana of traditional display cabinet form, with several shelves and enclosed spaces for display and storage. The cabinet decorated all over in beautiful maki-e lacquer against a dense nashiji ground and inset with blue and white Arita porcelain plaques. The front of the cabinet of asymmetric design, with two open display shelves at staggered heights, and several doors enclosing storage areas of various shapes and sizes, including one hinged corner door, two pairs of sliding doors, and one pair of hinged doors opening to reveal a rounded inset corner shelf. A pair of drawers below complete the cabinet. All supported on a separate tall fitted stand. The corner door decorated with a bold scene of a samurai warrior fighting a demon. This most likely depicts the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna battling the demon Ibaraki-doji at Rashomon gate, in which Watanabe no Tsuna attempts to help a young girl return home, carrying her on his back, only for the girl to turn into a demon, which he then must fight. The top pair of sliding doors with a scene of a man playing the sho, a Japanese mouth organ, along the banks of a river with a waterfall in the background. The bottom pair of sliding doors with a waterfall scene on one side, while a scholar lounges with his attendants on the other. The pair of hinged doors finely decorated with a pair of fully armored samurai. The two drawers wonderfully decorated in the kodaiji style with a stream of rushing water and various plants and grasses. The cabinet is decorated in the round, with the top, sides, and base of the cabinet decorated with various scenes of flowers and birds, and inset with blue and white Arita porcelain plaques in the form of traditional fan. The fans painted...

A fine and elegant Japanese lacquer box for writing implements or stationery, suzuribako, with an image of a Shinto shrine, Edo Period, mid-19th century, circa 1840, Japan. The exqu...

A spectacular Japanese maki-e lacquer lidded box, possibly a writing box, suzuribako, decorated with images of folding fans, ogi, Edo Period, earl...

A very fine Japanese maki-e lacquer decorated tabako bon, or smoking box, late Edo Period, mid-19th century, Japan. The elegant smoking box of black lacquer decorated with a wonderful gold lacquer takamaki-e design of a gnarled and elegantly twisted plum tree with branches in full bloom. A border of golden cranes in flight to the top. The smoking box, called a tabako bon, is comprised of an open section at the top with inset with two cylindrical metal canisters...

A fine and unusually large Japanese table cabinet or jewelry chest with yosegi marquetry work and lacquer paneled doors, Meiji period, late 19th century, Japan. The oversized tab...

A exquisite, fine quality Meiji period (1868-1912) Japanese black lacquer cabinet on stand with wonderful scrolling gilded decoration. H...

A Japanese lacquered wood fubako (a box used to store document or small scroll painting), circa second half of 19th century late Edo period. The rectangular box features an unusually deep lipped lid with slightly rounded corners, a conforming lower box that is almost entirely covered by the lid which has two bronze medallion rings with tasseled...

A Fine Lacquer Incense Burner with Makie Gold Design. This fine lacquer incense burner is a stunning example of Japanese craftsmanship. It is dated to the Edo-Meiji period, 19th cen...

Antique Japanese export lacquer and gilt bamboo stick stand, see more pictures, 46'' x 27.5'' x 10''.  

A highly important Japanese export lacquer cabinet with depiction of the Dutch East India Company tradepost Deshima and the annual Dutch delegation on its way to the Shogun in Edo Edo period, circa 1660-1680 H. 88 x W. 100.5 x D. 54 cm This cabinet includes a later European japanned stand, but also a modern powder-coated steel frame. The latter can be designed and added to your specific needs. The sides and front of the rectangular two-door cabinet are embellished in gold and silver hiramaki-e and takamaki-e on a black roiro lacquer ground with a continuous design. The two doors depict a long procession of numerous figures travelling on foot and horseback along buildings and a pagoda into a mountainous landscape. This is the annual court journey, Hofreis, of the Dutch from Nagasaki to the Shogun’s court in Edo. Three horseback riders are dressed as Dutch merchants and a fourth figure, probably het Opperhoofd, is seen inside a palanquin, norimon. Just about to cross the bridge, two men are carrying a cabinet like the present one. Many Japanese figures on either side of the procession are engaged in various activities; some play musical instruments on board of small boats, others are fishing; figures inside buildings are depicted playing go, and farmers are tending to their rice paddocks. The upper part of the right door shows a large mansion, probably the local daimyo’s castle, with men kneeling before a man in the central courtyard. The court journey fits in with the foreign policy of the shogunate which accorded a role to the VOC alongside China, Korea, and the Ryukyu Islands who also had to pay tribute. However, the VOC employees were traders, having low status in Japan’s social hierarchy, and they were received with less deference than were the state embassies from Korea and the Ryukyu Islands. Nevertheless, the contacts with the Dutch were a welcome source of information to the Shogun about Europe and European science and technology. The left side of the cabinet depicts, in mirror image, a rare view of the artificial fan-shaped Deshima Island, the trading post for the Dutch in Japan. The island, where the Dutch flag flies, is surrounded by small Japanese boats and an anchored three-masted fluyt (cargo ship), flying Dutch flags, with on the stern the VOC monogram. On the bottom right a busy street of Nagasaki is shown, bordered by shops and leading up to the stone bridge. On the island the trees are beautifully painted, two cows can be seen, and the flagpole, all in very fine detail. Dutchmen and enslaved Malay are visible outside the buildings and two Japanese figures, probably guards, sit in a small hut in the centre. A maximum of fifteen to twenty Dutchmen lived on the island at any time and soldiers or women were not allowed. Restrictions on Deshima were tight, and the merchants were only allowed to leave the island by special permission. The Opperhoofd had to be replaced every year, and each new Opperhoofd had to make a court journey to pay tribute, present gifts, and to obtain permission to Margaret Barclay eep on trading. In the distance, many birds fly above the hills and a four-story pagoda can be seen. The right side of the cabinet is painted with other horse riders and their retinue journeying through mountains. The pair of doors to the front open to reveal ten rectangular drawers. The drawers are decorated with scenes of birds in flight and landscapes with trees and plants. The reverse of the left door with two thatched buildings, one with a ladder, underneath a camelia tree with large blooms; the right door with a three-story pagoda nestled among trees and both doors with a flying phoenix, ho-oo bird. The cabinet, with elaborately engraved gilt copper mounts, hinges, lock plates and brass handles, is raised on an 18th-century English japanned wood stand. A pair of large cabinets...

This is an unusual pair of Late Ching Chinese cinnabar-toned coromandel lacquer small altar or side tables. The tops of the tables feature complementary incised and painted scenes from Chinese every day life. Both tables are in very good condition considering their 100+ years of use. It is unusual to find a pair of coromandel incised lacquer...