Japanese Ceramics

Vase, attributed to Shoji Hamada, Japan, 1960s. Stoneware. Measures: height: 17 cm / 6 3/4" Diameter: 16.5 cm / 6 1/2".

It is decorated with a frog on the rim and three woven loop ties where a fastner or rope would be applied. Seal on bottom reads: Tozan Original Kiri-wood box.

Meiji Period Set of 10 Ceramic Dishes, Meiji period (1868 - 1912) set of 10 Japanese dishes in a brilliant cobalt blue ground (ruri glaze) with turquoise ...

Ceramic. Measures: H 5 cm/ 2" D 19 cm/ 7 3/4".

Unique, purchased at NK in 1964. Measures: H 5.7 cm / 2 1/4" W 23 cm / 9 1/16".    

A Meiji period floor-standing Kutani vase, painted in polychrome with a central field of ladies and children strolling amongst gardens of flowering chrysanthemum, all within borders ...

We are pleased to offer this small Imari Japanese porcelain bowl, dating from the Meiji era (1868-1912). The bowl is boldly painted with a deep underglaze ...

A large antique Japanese charger with bird-and-flower decoration dating to the Meiji period (1868–1912). In the center a bird is painted perch...

This powerful mizusashi is characterized by the strong asymmetrical decoration; it exudes a raw energy that is inescapable, naturally drawing viewers in closer to ponder the dynamics of its creation. The body is naturally ash-glazed (shizen-yu) on one side, while the rest is left in plain clay with some light effects of koge (burn area) and hidasuki (reddish marks obtained burning straw on the clay). The glazed side, the one to be shown to guests during the tea ceremony, is decorated with a unique pattern as a result of a natural glazing caused by the ashes in the kiln: as more wood is burned, ash builds up to the face of the pot and fuses with the clay body, creating a glaze with stunning effects. The intense and nervous pattern has inspired the name Matsugane (Pine root), inscribed in red lacquer on the mizusashi by Gengensai (1810-77), 11th master and prominent figure in the Urasenke school, and Japanese tea ceremony history altogether. Gengensai also inscribed and signed the mizusashi’s box together with his pupil Somi Fukatsu, while another box is signed by Hounsai (born 1923), 15th master of the school. The interior is richly decorated in hidasuki. The mizusashi is the largest utensil of Japanese tea ceremony; it contains the fresh water used to prepare the tea and to wash the tea-bowl and the bamboo tools. During the Muromachi period (1336-1573) Chinese vessels were used for this task but at the beginning of the Momoyama period (1573-1615), Bizen and Shigaraki wares were already more popular. The production of Bizen pottery (Bizen-yaki) started by the late Kamakura period (13th-14th century), taking its name after the place where it was made, Inbe, in Bizen province (now Okayama prefecture). Bizen-yaki ceramics are recognizable by their almost metallic hardness and their red-brownish color. The natural glazed effect and the eventual markings on the surface are consequences of the action of ashes during the firing process in the kilns; the result is an impressive variety of wares, each with different shape and surface effects. This Ko-Bizen mizusashi reflects the taste of wabi-sabi Japanese aesthetics. Its beauty is discreet and derives from its natural imperfection. Shin’ichi...

With a tactile surface texture decorated with an asymmetrical design painted between green-glazed areas, this dish is a typical example of Green Oribe (ao-oribe) ware. The glaze fire...

Set of two white ceramic canisters with red toggle-handled lids. Designed by La Gardo Tackett for Schmid International, Japan, 1950s.

A set of Japanese vases, hand decorated with paint and gilding in rich reds and blues on white ground. One larger (16 inches high) and two smaller (9 inches high). Japan, Meiji, ci...