Antique Japanese Oribe Pottery Ogata Kenzan Pitcher

Ogata Kenzan ( 尾形 乾山 1663-1743) Edo period Oribe glaze pottery pitcher water vessel with shrimp, or is it a lobster, signed.  6 1/2" tall. Base approx 5" wide  Excellent condition.  Signed

For Sale; $15,000 usd / obo + shipping & insurance.

More items for sale

Antique Japanese Meiji Period Cobalt Blue Satsuma Vase Signed Hotoda 保土田 薩摩焼

Antique cobalt blue Satsuma vase   Meiji period   signed Hotoda ( 保土田 ).

The vase is a six sided panel vase standing 8" tall with an image of 8 Rakan & 3 little girls flanking Kannon. 
 
Rakan are legendary disciples of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. Following his example, they attained enlightenment through their own efforts and they remain in the world to preserve the teachings of Buddha until the coming of the future Buddha, Maitreya.   Kannon is the Japanese name for the Buddhist bodhisattva Kwan Yin, aka Guanyin, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara






The other side of the vase is a scene of 5 geisha and 3 hangyoku maiko (little girls bonded to the geisha house, in training to become geisha).

The vase is marked with the signature seal of Hotoda 保土田

  Hotoada was a well-known painter of Satsuma wares during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). 
The Hotoda mark is usually associated with some of the best quality wares to bear a Satsuma mark during the Meiji period. 


For Sale:  $3500 usd/ obo + shipping & insurance.

More items for sale

Meiji Period Cobalt Blue Satsuma Painted Geisha Vase Marked Shozan 尚山

 Antique Japanese Meiji period cobalt blue Satsuma vase signed with the mark of Shozan / 尚山

This cobalt blue Satsuma vase is hand-painted with Geisha and a makyo child with Mount Fuji in the background.  The base is marked with the signature of Shozan. 尚山  It is late Meiji period, circa 1880s to 1900 and is approx 8 1/2" tall.  The reverse panel shows the landscape and water below Mt. Fuji.





Shozan mark: 尚山

It's worth mentioning that Gotheborg identifies the Shozan mark 尚山 as Shuzan 珠山 which are not only two entirely different and separate identities with completely different marks, but that the kanji for Sho & Shu are not even remotely similar nor are they interchangeable.   An overwhelming amount of the information contained therein that site is inaccurate.



 For Sale.  $100 usd / obo + shipping & insurance

Japanese Edo period Matsuyama Gama Aode Kutani Double Gourds 松山窯 青で 九谷

Here's another one of my most recent auction acquisitions, a pair of Japanese Edo period Ao-de Kutani double gourd shaped vases from Matsuyama Gama, signed with the kaku seal of Matsuyama Kiln, 松山窯

Matsuyama Gama existed from 1848 to 1863.  In 1863 the name was changed to Matsuyama Okami Kiln.  Matsuyama ceased production in 1872.   The color and style of original Matsuyama Ao-de Kutani look like Yoshidaya Kutani which was the revival of Ko-kutani, aka old Kutani.

Matsuyama Gama mark:  松山窯

 This style of Kutani is referred to by a few different, but similar names,  often mistakenly called Ao Kutani, but the correct term is Ao de Kutani, Aote Kutani or Aode Kutani.

Ao-de Kutani uses four colored overglaze enamels: green, yellow, blue and purple to cover the surface of vessels. Ao-de Kutani is characterized by its deep green color. (Ao means blue in modern Japanese). Ao-de Kutani originated from Ko Kutani ware , which was produced between the mid-17th century and the early 18th century. About 120 years after the production of Ko Kutani ware stopped, Yoshidaya kiln revived the Ko Kutani style and produced aote Kutani in the early 19th century. After Yoshidaya kiln stopped production, aode Kutani was produced by Matsuyama Kiln from 1848 to 1863.

Matsuyama gama is well known as the ’good’ kiln which production was devoted at the beginning for the sole usage of the Han.

For Sale.  $4000 usd/obo  + shipping & insurance

Meiji Period Thousand Faces Satsuma Nikkozan Plate 日光山 薩摩焼

I'm super thrilled with my latest auction purchases this past week, among them this Meiji period Thousand Faces Satsuma plate marked Nikkozan , 日光山 and the bonus is that 100% of the proceeds of the auction went to a non profit charity to support an animal shelter..

It's my belief that Nikkozan marked Satsuma is likely among the rarest of Satsuma wares because a quick Google search reveals only a few examples, all of which were auctioned off several years ago by Bonham's and Christie's auction houses.  There are no other Nikkozan marked Satsumayaki listed in Google other than these few, and now my own post.

Doing a similar search in Japanese also netted less than a couple of links for Nikkozan Satsuma wares.

I'm rather perplexed why so many sites, particularly online auction sites, refer to this design of Rakan with Kannon and dragon, etc as "Thousand Faces".  I have yet to find any information whatsoever on the story behind this design and insofar as Japanese websites go, the term 1000 Faces in relation to Satsuma is non existent.   It is my belief that the name "Thousand Faces" when applicable to this design of Satsuma is a false one.   

Late Meiji Thousand Faces Satsuma Vase Signed Hotoda 保土田

   Meiji period Thousand Faces Satsuma vase,


















































The vase is signed Hotoda , aka Hodota &/or Hododa, etc thanks to the asshats at Gotheborg for perpetuating incorrect information , 保土田.  The correct spelling is HOTODA.  My estimate is that it's dated somewhere around the end of the Meiji period circa 1900 to perhaps early Taisho period 1916.

Hotoda was one of the last great master's of Satsuma during the Meiji period

.    The Thousand Faces design features Kannon, the Japanese Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion, aka Kwan Yin / Guanyin, a single male figure which I haven't identified as of this writing, and multiple rakan which are often erroneously referred to as arhat or lohan, and are commonly also referred to collectively as "immortals,  each of them of the same face, and a white dragon intertwines through them.  Rakan, Arhat & Lohan all mean the same thing, but only RAKAN is used in Japanese.  The other terms are Indian and Chinese.

  There are several variations of the Thousand Faces Satsuma design, as well as the Thousand Faces Kutani.  

the wooden stand ise Chinese late Qing Guanxu period to early Republic period.

For Sale:  $800 usd /obo + shipping & insurance

Fuku Marked Imari - Arita Yaki Sometsuke Sansui Kanshi Chuzara - 福 伊万里焼/有田焼 染付 山水 監視 中皿

Fuku marked Japanese Imari / Arita sometsuke sansui kanshi chuzara. 

This small blue & white (sometsuke 染付 ) Imari ( 伊万 ) plate (chuzara 中皿 ) is painted with a scene of a man rowing upstream in a river towards the mountains. (sansui 山水 )  It is octagon shaped and has a short poem ( kanshi 監視 ) that reads 述(?)溪 嵐山 清流遊筏.  Upstream ? Arashiyama, rafting on a clear stream?   The back of the plate is decorated in an underglaze blue, cash and comb pattern and is marked Fuku ( 福 ) the Japanese word for "good fortune".

Arashiyama, ( 嵐山 Storm Mountain) is Mount Arashi, across from the Ōi River on the Western outskirts of Kyoto, Japan.

I'm not certain of this Imari plate's age, but am guessing that it's Meiji period, although it could be earlier, or later.  I'll have to research this further so I can make an accurate determination.  

Inscription translated by my friend Hung-Yueh Hsu, Taipei, Taiwan.

Unidentified Azuchi-Momoyama Period Japanese Kano School Painting

   I recently found an original Japanese Kano School painting in an antiques shop, and although the painting is unsigned and lacks any text or seals, I believe it to be from Azuchi-Momoyama Period , although it could very well be early Edo period, or even Meiji for that matter, since it's difficult to attribute this work to any particular Kano school painter since it is unsigned.

The painting was re-framed sometime between 1943 & 1955.  I know this because the framer's label marked "Boston Book and Art Shop, 12? Newbury Street, Boston 16, Mass", :on the back has a 2 digit US zipcode, 16, which was only used between 1943 to 1963, however, according to a photograph of Boston Book & Art Shop found in the MIT Libraries collection, they were on Boylston Street in 1955..   I also know that this painting was also framed prior to this framing job, because the work contains at least 2 different matte burns of different sizes, the other being smaller than the matte which was in this particular frame.

Unfortunately it has also been mounted on a thick card stock and not in a traditional Japanese way.  It is my belief that the work may have originally been part of a multi-panel work and that the signature was on a different panel, or that it was originally a larger work, mounted on a scroll and that the scroll was possibly in very poor condition with damage and that someone trimmed the work, mounted and framed the remaining undamaged portion, and that the signature was possibly lost, destroyed or trimmed off prior to framing, however, I believer the former is more likely the case given that the rocks and tree to the left would most likely continue both upward and to the left as part of a more complete scene.

I have been researching Kano school paintings extensively attempting to attribute this work to a specific artist, and it's enough to make my brain explode, therefore I temporarily give up, for now, because what I really need, is the advice and opinion of an expert on Japanese Kano School paintings.

This Japanese painting, painted in Kano-ha style, measures approximately 13¼" wide x 10⅞", is unevenly trimmed, & depicts a woman playing a stringed musical instrument to a mother and female child sitting beneath a pine tree.  The stringed instrument rests across the woman's lap.

Naturally I removed the painting from the frame, which I always do when acquiring art pieces.  If there's one thing I have a pet peeve about, it's mattes, cardboard backings and non-traditional mounting methods, so I always remove paintings from whatever frame they're in, and if possible, hope to remove the work from its existing mounting and have appropriate conservation methods applied by a professional conservator.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on who the artist is of this Japanese Kano School painting, please comment.  Thank you

pp20 est1000+

Meiji Period Japanese Kutani Porcelain Shoza Style Tea Set Marked Kutani Zo 九谷ぞ

Meiji period, circa 1880 - 1890 Japanese Kutani, Shoza style porcelain tea set, maker marked Kutani Zo 九谷ぞ, ( Made in Kutani )

 

Meiji Period Japanese Porcelain Kyoto Satsuma Moriage / 明治時代、日本の磁器京都さつま

I found another Meiji period Japanese porcelain Kyoto Satsuma moriage marked さつま.   This piece nearly matches another I have in my collection, posted here.  Circa 1868 - 1890.

Kyoto Satsuma is the common name for Satsuma style porcelain which were predominately made in Awata, Kyoto, Yokohama and Tokyo during the Meiji period.  Moriage is the style of decoration using raised enamel.