Catalog: Antiques (248)

These dolls are a part of the Hina doll set displayed for the Japanese Girls Day, Hina Matsuri (Festival) in March. The day is also called Peach Festival. When the peach blossoms open in February to March by breaking through the snow, it is an announcement of the beginning of spring in Japan. The blossoms are very much associated with women’s strength and for this reason, along with their beauty, daintiness and softness, these are all desirable characters for women...

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, after his name...

Breathtakingly beautiful Japanese silk wedding kimono gown, Meiji/Taisho period, lined with the contrasting color red, very soft silk. It has a beautiful, rich texture woven in a mixture of flat, diagonal and shusu satin ori (weave). Under the sun, you can see the diagonal lines of woven gold threads crossing inside (photo #5). Gowns made in the early Meiji period are not only shorter but the colors are darker with a combination of earth tones (Shibui) comparing to brighter modern gowns...

Antique Japanese Fukusa (gift cover), an old Chinese koto player by a waterfall. Embroidered on silk satin, lined with soft crepe silk, circa 1800s. 27 1/2" x 30 1/2"

A large cloud moves in and stirs the air in the forest. Water falls to the river as if it were falling from the sky and ripples it to shore. The resonance of the koto breaks the silence of the forest. The design on this fukusa is likely to have come from one of the old Chinese poems...

A pair of Japanese lacquered iron abumi (stirrups) decorated with gold lacquer on a roiro ground. It has butterfly family crests (mon) in the center of a scrolling leaf and flower border, the interior in red lacquer.

The butterfly design was a favorite among the aristocrats and was seen in their belongings, ox-carts and attire during the Heian period (794-1192). They were also seen in armor of the Heike (Taira family) before power was shifted to the Genji (Minamoto family) samurai...

A hexagonal Chinese covered dish, decorated in overglaze enamels win the Famille Jaune pallette. The motifs seen in the shaped collar (in the form of a ryui fungus) around the lid are Buddhist precious objects. the flowers are those usually found on such porcelains and include hawthorn (prunus), lotus, orchid, peony, chrysanthemum, etc. The mask handles on the sides would originally have had wire carriers fitted...

The Tachi bina is an older form of Japanese Hina dolls from the early Edo period(1603-1827). The earlier Tachi bina were not made to stand up, instead they were made to lay down or lean on the display. The faces of this set appear to be old with a beautiful sparkle on white gofun crashed/ground oyster shell, Kyoho-bina from mid Edo period. The silk brocade has washi paper backing (with washi hand made Japanese paper)...

Japanese hair comb decorated with a pair of love birds, Oshidori (Mandarin ducks) perched on a plum tree, raised gold makie with silver, kirikin and shells. The theme here is auspicious. We counted 33 teeth in 3 cm, amazingly skillful hand work. Excellent condition - actual color loss in the center area of wooden teeth is not so obvious as shown in the photos. Circa, Meiji period (1868-1912) Dimensions: 3 1/4" x 1 1/8"

This panel was taken from Japanese "futon" bed cover. It is decorated with a chagama and other utencils used in the tea ceremony. They are drawn in the paste resist dying technique called tsutsugaki. The green area appears to be dyed with two colors, "ai" indigo blue first then yellow dye. The fabric (cotton) is loosely woven with one repair as shown in the photos. Meiji Period(1868-1912). Dimensions: 61" x 48"

Japanese antique hina dolls (ningyo), the muscician dolls from the late Edo period (1603-1868). All five dolls have dimples on their cheeks; one doll in the center is carrying an inro (medicine case) and another has a pouch on her back of the belt area -- shown in the last photo...

The carps and nobori Japanese banners, warrior's Yoroi and Kabuto helmets, samurai dolls and swords are all a part of the display used for Boy's Day (renamed Children's Day) on May 5th in Japan. They reflect the parent's wish to inspire their boys in manliness, discipline, bravery and the honor codes which are associated with them.

Originally, Nobori was used in the battle field to identify the troops, some were to show the warriors where their taisho (general) was...

A set of old Japanese wooden combs with a cloth comb holder. These are hair styling combs used when most women had the hairdo of today’s geisha. Each comb had a different function which was basically to comb, style and clean the hair. The combs here are all hand cut and it appears that some were added later. All combs are cleaned.

The outside of the folder is covered with a fabric called sarasa...

Takeda dolls are modeled after the characters from 17th to 19th century Japanese theater. They are known for exaggerated postures and often with a vivid facial expression of the Kabuki actors or Jyoruri puppets on stage from the period.

This doll is holding up a "takafuda" bulletin board in one hand and a brush in the other. "takafuda" was an official bulletin board for Tokugawa government (1603-1868) to announce any regulations, or changes etc.

Little was known about Takeda do...

A fine embroidered purse, probably made to hold tissues at a tea ceremony. The exterior is embroidered with Sagara embroidery (Peking knot), and has a sarasa design of stylized butterflies, birds and flowers. The sarasa (Indian Chintz), first came to Japan through the Nanban trading in the late 16th century and was tremendously favored by the tea masters and some daimyo (regional lords) during the Edo period. The colorful and exotic fabric originated in India (spread to Java, other parts o...

This is the upper part of a kamishimo; samurai's formal attire without the trousers. It was worn over a kosode (kimono with small sleeves) with trousers. The texture is hemp like; coarse, slightly translucent, thick threads (thicker than other kamishimo). The family crest is the feathers of a hawk. Kami-shimo (upper-lower) that we currently have are quite dandy and fashionable. The amazing thing is the work that is involved when making these fabrics. You can make a kamishimo top into a g...

Fukusa, Japanese Gift Cover, Pine, Bamboo and Plums on Fans: This type of fukusa is a covering placed over a gift at the time of a gift-giving ceremony such as "Yui-noh" which is held prior to a wedding. This is an elegant old satin silk Fukusa in excellent condition. It is not as shiny as it looks in photos. The lining is an old, red (light red color, not orange as it appears in some photos) crepe silk with padding on the rims. Exceptionally beautiful work of embroidery and silver couc...

Exceptionally beautiful Japanese lacquer box with a small doll, mame (pea sized) Ichimatsu nigyo (doll) inside - she actually is 4 ½” tall. This must have been some girl's (or woman’s) treasure box years ago. It may have been a gift from her mother or grandmother. The lacquer box is decorated with auspicious designs; a long tailed turtle emerging from a stream, pine, bamboo and rocks on the bank with a crane flying above. The combination of pines, bamboos and plums (painted in inside) ...

This is a wonderful set of Japanese bridal kanzashi (hair ornaments) from the Meiji to Taisho period, late 1800s to early 1900s, made out of tortoise shells. We assume that this kanzashi was decorated with the auspicious emblem, a phoenix bird in paulownia tree, with some elements (leaves, flowers and birds) altered to the family of the bride. It has an aura of nobility and power. The family crest on the box is three ivy leaves. There is always a chance that the box may not be original but ...