Door of Hope dolls have become highly collectible treasures, in part, because of their fascinating history. In 1900, five missionary ladies started the Door of Hope Mission in Shanghai. They opened schools for destitute young girls so they could learn to support themselves. As a means to learn sewing skills, the girls dressed dolls. These beautifully created and utterly different dolls are magnificent in their carvings and costuming. Heads and hands were carved from Chinese “Niponga wood” or pear wood, a light colored hardwood that is tough and difficult to carve. In its natural color it resembles the ivory of the Chinese skin. Touches of paint were then added for the lips, eyes and hair. The dolls were supplied by craftsmen skilled in wood carving and then meticulously dressed in Chinese clothing with amazing detail by the young girls. Frog closures, tiny undergarments and minute embroideries all accented these wonderful garments. There were approximately 26 standard and premium characters representing differing Chinese social classes. Each girl could dress only about one doll a month, and the relatively low volume of production of these dolls has increased their scarcity. Production of Door of Hope dolls continued until the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, at which time most of the estimated total production of 20,000 Door of Hope dolls had already been made.

The Inaba Company, founded by Inaba Nanaho in 1887, was one of the foremost cloisonné workshops during Japan’s Golden Age of cloisonne. It continues to produce cloisonné of the highest quality in Kyoto. Cloisonne is an artcraft which requires great technical knowledge as well as the skill to produce an aesthetically pleasing item using a combination of vitreous enamel and metal wires. The wires are arranged in designs upon the metal body, into the compartments (“cloisons”) of which the enamels are packed. The item is then fired repeatedly to bring the enamels above the level of the wires and then buffed and polished many times.

The upper tray held finely sifted wood ash, tamped flat and smooth, over which the wooden grid template was placed. A furrow was cut into the ash in the shape of the grid lines and then filled with powdered incense which burned at a uniform rate. Once the incense was placed into the continuous track, the grid was removed and the incense ignited. The latticework cover was then put in place to prevent a breeze from accelerating the rate of combustion of the burning incense. The incense would burn continuously for hours as the lighted edge made its way around the grid design. Continual offerings of incense using a jokoban were often found in Japanese Buddhist temples during religious rites. Because long periods of time could be measured by the amount of incense burned, this type of Japanese incense clock was also used in community life as well as in the temples. (See Figure 115 in “The Trail of Time: Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia” by Silvio Bedini.) Examples of old kobandokei show burn scars, overall evidence of handling and the presence of ash or powdered incense. Relatively few examples of antique incense clocks have survived.

Shell-matching (“kai-awase”) was a popular amusement of the Edo period, and its equipment was often included in the suite of lacquer furniture that was part of the bridal trousseau of a daimyo lady. Each half of a shell was decorated with an identical miniature painting based on a scene derived from Japanese classical literature. The “Tale of Genji” and other romances were the most common sources of imagery. A complete set comprised 360 shells. The game was basically a test of memory: one set of shell halves was placed face down on the floor, and as shells from the second set were removed face up from an octagonal shaped lacquer container (“kaioke” or “shell bucket”), competitors took turns inverting shells to see if images matched. Since each side of the bivalve shells will match properly with only its original mate, the game came to be associated with marital fidelity. (See “Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868” by Robert T. Singer.)

This type of bulbous bronze flower vase was used by the Ikenobo school, which is the oldest school of Japanese flower arrangement (ikebana). Kyoto was the birthplace both of ikebana and of the bronze flower vessel, and scrolls dating from the second half of the 17th century show the first examples of this most characteristic of Japanese bronze forms, the so-called futabana (two-flower) vase. By 1698, the futabana seems to have become one of the most popular ikebana vase forms, with handles that predominantly included shishi, butterflies, dragons and hares. With the emergence of flower arrangement and the tea ceremony as distinctively Japanese cultural pursuits, bronze casters began to develop new and innovative forms of vessels loosely based on Chinese originals but with an unmistakable Japanese elegance. These culminated in large bronze vases cast in exaggerated form for the classic, formal rikka style of flower arrangement, prevalent in the 17th century and early 18th centuries. (A similar flower bronze is illustrated on Plate 47 in the sumptuous book entitled FLOWER BRONZES OF JAPAN by Joe Earle.)

Since the beginning of the 19th century, sometsuke (underglazed blue and white porcelain) has played an important role in Seto’s long ceramic history. In 1807 Kato Tamikichi, who had spent years studying the various kilns in Hizen Province, including the Arita kilns, came to Seto and started the production of porcelain. He successfully produced high fired, cobalt blue and white decorated porcelain wares, known as “Seto-Sometsuke.” By the middle of the 19th century, many other famous potters had settled at the various Seto kilns, and high grade porcelains decorated with underglaze blue designs continued to be made.

“Hariko” is a papier-mache folk toy. The dog (“inu”) is much feared by evil fox, badger and cat spirits, as it can instantly recognize them when they have taken human form. Dog images, particularly the inu hariko, were protective charms believed to offer protection for a safe birth and for babies.

The alloy paktong also has a fascinating history. Centuries before nickel was isolated in the west, the Chinese had produced an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel which had the lustrous sheen and color tone of silver, was appreciably harder than silver, and did not tarnish in use. Many examples of this alloy have a particularly pleasing color which is silver bright but possesses what has been termed a “soul of gold.” For additional information about paktong, see our article in ARTS OF ASIA, Nov/Dec. 1992.

Nabeshima porcelain was made at Okawachi, north of Arita, and was named after the prince who founded the kilns at the end of the 17th century. The porcelain was of much higher quality than that made for export and was originally made as presentation ware for the local nobility. Production was limited, and less than perfect specimens were destroyed. From 1868 on, Nabeshima wares were produced for domestic use and Western export. The motifs found on Nabeshima wares were usually simple, naturalistic and structurally bold.

It is quite rare to find examples of Nabeshima porcelain in forms other than dishes, and this important bottle is well represented in major collections. Similar examples can be found in the Baur Collection (see Plate E-119 of the Baur Catalog); the Oriental Ceramics Society Exhibition Catalog “Japanese Porcelain”, London 1956; and page 186 in “Japanese Porcelain 1800-1950” by Nancy Schiffer.

Incense (“ko”) played an important role in the tea ceremony, which provided a setting for the admiration of the utensils associated with it. Among the most charming of these were the kogo, small covered containers used to store aromatic wood chips which were burned at certain points during the formal tea ceremony. They were also sometimes set out as display objects within special waiting rooms where guests could relax before the ceremony began or during scheduled interludes. Exhibiting a great deal of imagination, careful observation of nature and a playful sense of humor, kogo naturally came to be enjoyed outside their role as objects to be used and admired in the tea ceremony. They were exchanged as gifts and treasured for their own sake, and their popularity gave rise to a seemingly endless variety of shapes and decorative styles.

The potters who made kogo took pride in creating highly original and often intricate forms. Many of the boxes have ornamental surface decorations, and others are treated as miniature sculptures. The production of kogo was at its peak during the first half of the 19th century. During this period, it was common practice for potters to sign or stamp their names on their work. The most extensive collection of antique Japanese ceramic kogo – more than three thousand -- can be found in The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (See “Japanese Incense Boxes Rediscovered: The Georges Clemenceau Kogo Collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.”) This piece was part of a private antique ceramic kogo collection which we acquired.