Japanese Kanzashi hairpin, lacquer on hand carved wood. Dadaiko (large drum used in court music) and maku (outside cloth fense) under the maple trees are pictorial subjects based on The Tale of Genji, Chapter 7, entitled ‘Momiji no Ga’, translated as ‘An Autumn Excursion’. There is a famous scene frequently illustrated from this chapter where Genji dances ‘Waves of the Blue Ocean’ (Sei Kai Ha) with a maple branch on his crown. Here, without the presense of Genji, you are inside of the Imper ...click for details
Antique Japanese inro, makie designs of phoenix (ho-o bird) on black lacquer. These large inro are sometimes referred to as sumo wrestler's inro, written "Kahei nuri". The last letter (kao like) is probably "nuri" which means painted or coated with. To roughly quote the Wrangham Index of Inro Artists – according to Soken Kisho, Kahei was a mysterious makie artist that lived in Kyoto during the 18th century. He was prominent enough to have his work called Kahei–nuri ...click for details
Japanese makie lacquer sake wine Dishes with an auspicous design of Sho-Chiku-Bai (pines,plums & bumboos). This design is a happy ceremonial symbol for the gold taka-makie (raised design) designs with kirigane (small gold leaf squares) on brownish red (with purple tone) lacquer. Each piece is very thin and light and in new condition. There is no wear to the gold and lacquer except one small repair on one dish. This type of set is often used as a set of three. Each dish is numbered 1 to ...click for details
This is an old Japanese towel rack, sometimes called a children’s kimono stand. The metal work is in traditional style and the mounts have been used on many different kinds of lacquer pieces throughout the Edo period. The chrysanthemum mons (family crests) on each end of the mount, were used by the Emperor, Royal princes and others outside the Imperial family, in a variety of forms. Although the 16 petal mon was designated for use by the Imperial family, others were entitled to use it. For ...click for details
