Japan Pair Antique Hand-Carved Dragon and Tiger Temple Carving Garden Ornaments

From our recent Japanese acquisitions A lovely example of a Japanese antique bronze dragon water spout miraculously saved from a temple vessel and dating to the late Meiji period, 1...

Japan, a beautifully handmade and hand carved black lacquer colored antique shop sign -kanban- for a Japanese currency exchange shop. The kanji translates to "currency exchange". Many antique Japanese shop signs...

Japanese Classic Garden "Sun And Moon" Lantern With Cicada On Handle - Hard To Find, Signed Japan, unusual large antique lantern design in an attractive craftsmen form perforated pa...

Magnificent Swan Pair "Mates for Life" A fine matched pair (2) of large scale Japanese original hand-cast and hand painted garden swans from the 1930s-194...

Pair Garden Cranes Fine white pair garden cranes offer convenient portability for your special indoor display or your favorite outdoor space. Japan, a fine set of two hand caste bronze detailed cranes in an attractive white color Handmade. Hand cast. Hand cast detail with detailed feathers...

From our recent Japanese Acquisition Travels- a big and lovely big 13 inch diameter hand painted bowl from Japan. Japan hard to find early hand painted ceramic lush "garden scene" serving bowl, circa 1910. Inside painting depicts elite individual with his attendants seated amidst a three some of cranes, plush patterns, foliage and seas. The exterior a dragon style...

A pair of exquisite, large six-panel byôbu (room divider) featuring paintings in black ink of the iconic pairing of a tiger (tora) and a dragon (ryû). The screen on the left shows a...

Rare pair of Antique Carved Stone Garden Panels in all original very good condition having a desirable deep patina from decades of weathering. Calligraphic inscription along the top ...

Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677) Tiger and Dragon Early Edo Period, Circa 1650 A Pair of Six-fold Japanese Screens. Ink and slight color on paper. Dimensions: Each screen: H. 171 cm x W. 380 cm (67.5’’ x 149.5’’) In this pair of early Edo period Japanese screens a group of tigers prowl in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds and mist. The dragon embodies elemental qualities - looming out of the mist, the coils of its body disappearing in the clouds. The dragon is calling for rain, symbolizing spring which is considered the fountain of life. On the other side, the tigers calls for the wind, symbolizing autumn which is considered the end of life. Tigers were familiar motifs within Japanese art from ancient times though the animals were imaginary to the people in the 17th century. While dragons and tigers are usually associated as sacred and ferocious, in this painting, both animals have rather amusing expressions. The tigers appear to glare at the dragon with cat-like eyes, and the look on the swirling dragon’s face appears almost affectionate - lending a playful flair to an otherwise magnificent theme. The tiger and dragon are cosmological symbols of the balancing forces in the world. Screens such as this were originally meant to express the fluctuating nature of the world. For Japanese in the early Edo period, they likely suggested the powers of the cosmos. In Japan the tiger and dragon motif was originally absorbed into the circles of Zen monasteries before spreading into the secular world. The theme especially appealed to the military classes with the Kano school, the official painters to the Shogun and the samurai, being the leading contributors. The painter of this pair of screens, Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677), was closely patronized by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. In his later years he worked with Kano school artists...

A large and powerful pair of Japanese calligraphic works, mid 20th century, Japan. One reading "Dragon", the other reading "Tiger". Ink on handmade paper, framed. The brush strok...

Rare and complete Antique Japanese carved stone architectural model of a traditional Folk Cottage. Having a doorway and grid window at the fron...

Rare and complete antique Japanese carved stone architectural model of a traditional Folk Cottage. The front of the cottage has an entrance doo...