Yamahiro Pottery Heike Monogatari Ginger Jar by Hayashi Gyokko

  I picked up this Japanese porcelain ginger jar on eBay awhile back and have been intrigued by it ever since.

For me, one of the most fascinating parts of collecting Asian art and antiques is the enormous amount of history learned though researching individual pieces and this ginger jar is no exception.

The jar depicts a Japanese Samurai mounted on a horse and has an inscription with two rakkan seals.

I am told by my friend Seth Lim of Singapore that the inscription is in reference to The Heike monogatari tale of a competition between Japanese Samurai commander Sasaki Takatsuna (佐々木 高綱, 1160 – December 8, 1214) riding a white horse and Samurai warrior Kajiwara Kagesue (梶原 景季, 1162 - February 6, 1200) on a black horse, racing to be the first to engage in battle at the 1184 battle of Uji (宇治川の戦). Takatsuna was first (高綱先陣).

 I believe that the Samurai on the jar is Kajiwara Kagesue since the horse on the jar is dark, even though not entirely black, but more brownish.

 Next to the inscription is a signature and
two rakkan seals that read 林 玉光 , Made by Hayashi Gyokko who was the artist that painted the scene on the vase.   A decal is applied to the vase and is then glazed over with a clear glaze.

The bottom is maker marked with the Kaku seal of Yamahiro Mfg Co. Seto, Aichi, Japan.

The seal reads 山弘陶苑, Yamahiro Toen, which translates as Yamahiro Pottery Studio.(or center).

The pseudo-quasi "expert" Gotheborg erroneously claims the mark says "Sanko Toen" which is not even remotely close.  It's flat out false.

The only thing they got right on this mark is Toen, but I suppose that's the be expected considering the source.




Fact is, the term Sanko is used when counting small objects and literally means 3 pieces, so how some pretentious fool came up with the BS about "porcelain in the big mountain" is beyond me.  Second, there is no character for any form of KO anywhere in the seal, so even though 山 sometimes does mean San, it's usually  at the END in Japanese porcelain marks as "zan", and when it's the first character, 山 is usually always YAMA.   If the seal said Sanko Toen, it would be written as 三 個陶苑 and would translate as 3 pieces pottery center.    It's understandable for someone to misread 山 as San, since several Japanese language characters have more than one meaning, and is an easy mistake to make, but there's no way possible to mistake 弘 as Ko.  It's not even remotely close...


Seals translated by Hung-Yueh Hsu, Taipai, Taiwan.

Zhou Guizhen Yixing Teapot, Cups & Original Box - 周桂珍 宜兴 茶壶

 Zhou Guizhen Yixing Teapot, Cups & Original Box - 周桂珍 宜兴 茶壶

Complete vintage Yixing tea set in its original box, but it's not just any ordinary Yixing Zisha purple clay tea set, it's a Yixing tea set made by famous master potter & Chinese living national treasure,  Zhou Giuzhen. (Born in 1943).


Yixing clay teapots , also called "Zisha", or Purple clay are made from Yixing clay. This traditional style of tea pot originated in China, dating back to the 15th century, and are made from clay produced near Yixing in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

The Yixing tea pot is marked with a signature chop seal on the bottom that reads 周桂珍 制 ,  Zhōuguìzhēn zhì, Made by Zhou Guizhen.   Next to the chop seal are two additional seals, one that reads Zhou 周, another that reads Giuzhen 桂珍.    Each of the handles is also signed Zhou 周.    The label on the box reads 周桂珍 制, Made by Zhou Giuzhen with a chop seal beneath it that reads China Yixing, 中國 宜興.  

Zhou Giuzhen was born in 1943 in Yixing, Dingshan, Jiangsu province, China.  She started her apprenticeship in crafting Yixing pottery in 1958 at Yíxing Zisha Factory Number 1 under the tutelage of renowned masters Yin Chun Wang and Gu Jingzhou

In 1989 she was awarded the "Ceramic Art and Design" award by the China Arts & Craft Association.  During that same year one of her Yixing teapots was added to the  Nanjing Museum collection.  Ms Zhou Giuzhen has earned several awards and recognitions for her work over the last several decades and has been designated a living national treasure by the Chinese government.

Several of her works are in Museum collections in various Chinese museums.  Zhou Giuzhen's Yixing Teapots are highly sought after by collectors all over the world, often commanding astronomical prices at auction.

Here's a video of Master Zhou Giuzhen hand crafting a Yixing tea pot.

For Sale. $25,000 usd/obo + shipping & insurance

Original Chinese Shan Shui Paintings by Chen Hongchou 陳 洪疇 山水

Not too long ago I bought these original Chinese Shan Shui (Mountain-Water 山水) landscape paintings by Chen Hongchou, ( 陳 洪疇 ) on eBay.   They're fairly recent I believe, and I also believe that Chen Hongchou is most likely a Chinese American, or at the very least, living in a Western country, because the works are painted on Western paper, not a traditional Asian paper used in traditional Chinese painting.   They're painted on Watercolor paper, not a rice paper like Xuan or Kozo, etc.  The sharp, bright colors also tell me that this is a newer painting, most likely painted within the last 10 years.

I couldn't find any information online about the artist Chen Hongchou, because another painter, from Ming Dynasty period China, shares a similar name, Chen Hongshou, and when I do Google searches, anything relevant to Chinese paintings by Chen Hongchou ends up showing results for Chinese paintings by Chen Hongshou.

This Chinese shan shui landscape painting is signed 洪疇, Hongchou, and is stamped with his chop seal, 陳洪疇, Chen Hongchou.  The Chinese calligraphy reads: 影落明湖青黛山. ( Green mountain shadow reflected on the lake )

On this shan shui landscape painting, the Chinese calligraphy reads:登高壯觀天地間 大江茫茫去不還 and is signed Hongchou, 洪疇 above his chop seal 陳 洪疇 , Chen Hongchou.  In English, it translates as Climb the high can see spectacular scenery. Vast big river flow away never come back.

Much gratitude and thanks for my friend Hung-Yueh Hsu for his invaluable assistance in translating the calligraphy & seals for me.