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Kimekomi Ningyo: Sambaso Dancer
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Dolls:
Pre 1960 item# 429658 (stock# 4-189)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$120
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This Japanese doll with its high hat, elongated kimono sleeves and uplifted left foot represents a Sambaso dancer. Mid 20th-century. Standing on a separate black lacquered wood base, he wears a purple silk robe with silver metallic accents and designs of orange and turquoise cranes and white and silver cherry blossoms. His hakama pants are tan brocade with gold accents. His face and hand are covered in gofun (crushed oyster shell). He has long black hair beneath a high black and gold striped hat with large orange circles on each side. The black lacquer wand held in his right hand is a replacement -- he would have originally been holding a wand with bells. The term kimekomi is applied to the special dressing technique used with wooden and sawdust (pulverized paulownia wood) mold-pressed figures – “to push textiles into wood to form a pattern” would be a rough translation. This method was first used with the clothes of wooden Kamo dolls. Sambaso is an auspicious ritual dance of ancient origin which was intended to appease the gods and bring good fortune. The Sambaso is supposed to have originated in the 9th century as a religious dance to thwart earthquakes. The Sambaso dance was performed at the beginning of the New Year at the start of the Kabuki season and before certain Noh plays, and it has served as a prelude to theatrical performances since the establishment of theater in Japan. The dancer wears a high hat with a red sun disc on either side, and he carries and shakes a rattle with bells. Condition of the doll is excellent, with only a slight crack in the fingers. The bells are missing, but nevertheless, a charming ningyo in a desirable character form. Dimensions: Doll is 8” high, 6” wide, 4” deep. Base is 6” x 4 ¾” x ½” high.
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Kimekomi Ningyo with Signed Wooden Box
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Dolls:
Pre 1940 item# 401472 (stock# 4-248)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$420
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This simply enchanting little Japanese doll in kimekomi style stands on a black lacquer base alongside his black and white puppy. Early Showa period, 1930-1940. The child is holding a black and gold lacquer fan and a strung paper kite. He is dressed in a blue silk kimono which has been dyed and painted to scale. Face and hands are covered with gofun (crushed oyster shell), and the hair is finished in black lacquer. The doll comes in its original wooden tomobako storage box, which is signed on the outside and has a printed label on the inside. The term kimekomi is applied to the special dressing technique used with wooden and sawdust (pulverized paulownia wood) mold-pressed figures – “to push textiles into wood to form a pattern” would be a rough translation. This method was first used with the clothes of wooden Kamo dolls. Condition of this kimekomi doll is excellent, with only a bit of crazing above his right ear. There are a few small tears in the fragile paper kite, and a small piece of wood is missing on the top of the door of the box. Dimensions: Doll is 4” high, including the 3 ½” x 2 ¾” black lacquer base; wood box is 4 1/8” x 3 ¼” x 4 ½” high.
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Kakiemon Porcelain Dish in Ko Kutani Style
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Porcelain:
Pre 1930 item# 376604 (stock# 2B-721)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$180
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This decorative Japanese Kutani porcelain plate with a raised “pie crust” edge is hand painted with colorful polychrome enamels in a brilliant Kakiemon palette in Ko Kutani (old Kutani) style. Early 20th century. The base is signed with the typical Kutani black “fuku” or good fortune mark within a double lined square washed over with green enamel. Eight roundels containing different flowers, fruits and maple leaves surround a central medallion composed of chrysanthemums. The rich overglaze enamel palette of iron red, blue, green, yellow and aubergine and heavy gilt create a striking contrast to the bright white ground. The crimped pie crust edge has a repeating diaper design within its border, outlined in a reddish brown glaze (“beni ye”). The reverse is decorated with radiating green enamel “spikes” surrounding the raised foot ring, which is encircled within narrow underglaze blue lines. Kutani, which means nine valleys, is a small village in Kaga Province on the northwest coast of the main island of Japan with a long history of porcelain production. Condition is excellent. Dimensions: 9 5/8” diameter, 1” high.
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Japanese Buddhist Monk Figure: Kobo Daishi
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Devotional Objects:
Pre 1930 item# 360477 (stock# 9-089)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$275
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This polychromed clay figure seated on a brightly-colored pedestal in a lacquered chair represents the Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi (774-835). Early 20th century. The figure wears traditional brown and saffron colored Buddhist robes. He holds a Buddhist rosary in his left hand and a vajra (mace with four prongs symbolizing a thunderbolt) in his right hand. He sits on a black lacquered wood chair decorated in gold and the typical red, white, green and blue along the edges of the pedestal. His shoes are placed underneath the front of the chair. Kobo Daishi is one of the most venerated figures of early Japanese Buddhism. He was the founder of the Shingon (True Word) sect of Buddhism, as well as a philosopher, poet, educational reformer, painter and calligrapher. Condition is very good, with only a little surface dust and dirt and a thin crack on the gold lacquer skirt of the chair. Dimensions: 7” high, 5 ½” wide, 4 ¼” deep.
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Large Mashiko Folk Pottery Dish, Kaki Glaze
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Pre 1970 item# 351230 (stock# 2B-709)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$250
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This impressive heavily-potted Hamada style Japanese ceramic plate is skillfully decorated with a transparent wax resist design against a brown, black and traditional kaki glazed background. Mid-20th century. The kaki glaze drips over the edge of the lip onto the transparent glaze covering the back in places. The high foot ring is unglazed. Mashiko has been a major folk pottery center since the 1850’s producing primarily utilitarian table wares. Kaki (persimmon red) is one of the most popular Mashiko glazes used on the standard kitchen wares. In the early 1900’s, Shoji Hamada established his kiln there and became internationally famous. The traditional pottery concept was to not pursue artistry apart from everyday life but to create practical beauty as a part of the crafted items to be used in daily living. Folk-craft products or “mingei,” of which this plate is representative, are objects used by common people. These commonplace, functional artifacts are endowed with a beauty directly connected with their utility – a beauty that is simple, humble and unassuming. Condition is excellent. Overall dimensions: 12” diameter, 2 ¼” high.
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Large Japanese Hagoita Paddle or Battledore
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Dolls:
Pre 1940 item# 343122 (stock# 4-239)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$180
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This richly decorated hagoita paddle in unusually large size features a court lady dressed in brightly colored silk attire. Early Showa period, ca. 1930-1940. The figure of the noblewoman wears a heavily padded silk brocade kimono decorated in green and gold with a hand painted red silk outer kimono. Her headdress is made of gold foil paper with silver flowers, and her hair is made up of thousands of fine individual black threads which are padded in traditional Japanese style. Her face is finely hand painted, down to the individual hair strokes in her eyelashes and hairline. Pine branches are painted on the silk background behind her head, and the reverse is painted with green bamboo and a sprig with red and pink plum blossoms (shochikubai). The shochikubai is a widespread decorative and symbolic motif made up of the pine, plum blossom and bamboo. Sometimes referred to as the Three Elements of Happiness or the Three Friends of Winter, they are symbolic of staying true to high ideals of scholarship, strength and beauty in time of hardship. The handle is wrapped in black silk fabric. Hagoita, or battledore, are rectangular wooden paddles used with a shuttlecock in a New Year’s game for girls (called “oibane” or “hanetsuki”), and the majority of them are decorated with patterns that would appeal to young ladies. Since most young girls dress in bright colorful kimono for New Year’s celebrations and wear special styled hairdos, the rules of oibane are worth mentioning. With their long sleeves waving, the girls bat the shuttlecock back and forth with the hagoita paddle, with the player missing the most shots being branded at the end of each set with a smudge of charcoal on her face. A unique holiday gift! Condition is excellent. Overall dimensions: 24 ¼” long, 9” wide at top.
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Rare Full Set of 24 Gosho Doll Prints by Hasui
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Woodblock Prints:
Pre 1940 item# 321515 (stock# 7A-098)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$3,600 for Set of 24 Prints
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Complete boxed set of twenty-four original Japanese woodblock prints by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) entitled “Ningyo Gashu” (“The Japanese Dolls Gosho-Ningyo”). Published by Meiji-Shobo Publisher of Tokyo in 1935, the series was printed in celebration of “Children’s Day” on May 5th and sold in sets. This set is complete with all 24 designs, each tipped in its original presentation folder and in the original folio box, along with title pages in Japanese and English and a cover sheet in Japanese. Each doll print is signed “Hasui” and sealed. Although prints of gosho ningyo (imperial palace dolls) form the majority, other types of traditional Japanese dolls such as isho ningyo (costume doll), doro ningyo (clay doll) and karako ningyo (a doll dressed in Chinese clothing) are also included. This charming doll series is a rare and curious item from a woodblock artist who was the foremost shin hanga (new print) landscape specialist of his day. Condition: Overall good impressions and color. Several of the prints employ the use of metallic pigments and other deluxe printing. The prints are lightly toned from their original folders, and there is light foxing on some of the images and folders. The spine of the folio box is worn in places. Due to space limitations, we have only pictured a sampling of the doll prints. If interested, please e-mail us for close-up images of all 24 prints. These prints are seldom encountered, particularly in complete sets. The dimensions of each “squarish” print, including the printed background, are approximately 9 3/8” by 8 3/8”, plus small margins, and the folio box measures approximately 13 ¼” by 11”.
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Japanese Karuta Cards: 100 Poets
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Pre 1950 item# 319782 (stock# 9-088)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$235
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This fascinating deck of Japanese karauta cards for a New Year’s card game comes in its original covered lacquered paper box and dates from the early to mid-20th century. Known as the “100 Poet Cards,” the 200 cards used in this game feature short Japanese compositions from “Ogura Hyaku-nin Isshu,” a classic anthology of 100 poems that was compiled in the 13th century. Each of the 100 poems, whose themes are love, the seasons and several other subjects, is by a different author. The deck consists of 100 “yomi-fuda” (“cards to be read”), each containing the full 31 syllables of the short Japanese poem above the portrait of a Japanese man and woman wearing traditional Heian period clothing. The personages pictured in each yomi-fuda card are the actual authors of the verses. The remaining 100 “tori-fuda” (“cards to be gotten”) have shorter and larger text and no picture and contain the last two 14-syllable verses of the matching poem. To play the game, tori-fuda are scattered randomly face up on the floor. A non-participant “reader” then picks one yomi-fuda and starts reading its text. The goal of the players is to quickly recognize the poem and grab the corresponding tori-fuda faster than anyone else. In order to win, players must memorize not only each full 31-syllable poem, but also the position of each scattered card on the floor. The best players are often able to tell the right card upon hearing just the first one or two syllables which are read. The 100 poems card games are so popular in Japan that competitions are held regularly, particularly at New Year’s. The covered red lacquered box, which is divided into two sections, is decorated with a gold lacquer origami crane. The cardboard cards are all in excellent condition, but one yomi-fuda card is missing. The storage box has wear and seam cracks consistent with age and usage. Dimensions: each card is 2 7/8” x 2 1/8”. The box is 6 ¾” x 5” x 3” high.
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Okinawan Tsuboya Ware Hip Flask
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Pre 1960 item# 317930 (stock# 2C-386)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$225
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This portable crescent-shaped ceramic sake container, called a “dachibin,” is one of the classic shapes of Tsuboyan pottery (tsuboya-yaki) and unique to Okinawa. Mid-20th century. The body is randomly covered with a buff colored glaze which exhibits the normal glaze crazing. The pottery biscuit shows through areas along the shoulder and side where the glaze did not spread. There are splashes of rich speckled copper green glaze around the spout and both lugs. The neck is finished in a rich brown glaze, and the unglazed base has the texture of fabric. This flask’s unique shape conforms to the curve of a person’s hip. The flask is filled through the neck in the center, and the inclined, tubular spout directs a stream of sake or water into one’s mouth when the flask is tipped. The flask’s two perforated lugs would accommodate a shoulder cord, so the flask would be handy for journeys or for festivals. Over the centuries, Okinawa has become quite well-known for its cultural heritage and art. One of Okinawa's most distinct and well-known art forms is pottery, and the center for the pottery movement for the past three hundred years has been Tsuboya. This flask is an example of “joyachi” tsuboya ware, which is glazed and often colorful. Throughout the 20th century, Tsuboya had to overcome many challenges, including World War II, but it still remains famous as the center of quality art form pottery on Okinawa. CONDITION is very good, with just a tiny nick in the unglazed corner beneath the spout. DIMENSIONS: 6” long, 2 ½” wide, 4” high.
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Signed Japanese Bronze Okimono Two Koi
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Metalwork:
Pre 1930 item# 316105 (stock# 6B-341)
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B & C ANTIQUES
203-929-7312
$975
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This elegant pair of bronze fish (koi or carp) are so realistically cast that you can almost envision them gracefully swimming together though the water. Ca. 1930. They are signed Shinsui and have their original signed kiri wood storage box (tomobako). Both fish are reflected in their shiny footed oval black lacquer display stand, making for a wonderful presentation. The larger fish is crafted in a deep dark brown shade of bronze, and the smaller one is finished in a light reddish brown. Both fish have sinuously molded fins and tails that appear to actually undulate. Scales and facial features are very well defined, and both have a beautiful rich patina. “Okimono” is the generic name for Japanese decorative objects which have no utilitarian function but are merely created to please the eye. They are usually of metal or ceramic, and most frequently represent human figures, animals and birds. Condition is excellent. Dimensions: Large fish is 9 ½” long, 4” high, and weighs 2 ¼ pounds. Smaller fish is 8 ½” long, 3 ½” high and weighs 1 ½ pounds. Lacquer display stand is 16 ½” x 11 ¾” x 1 ½” high. Tomobako is 12” x 8 ½” x 5” high.
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