Japanese Works of Art

Discovered in a cupboard in a house in the Cévennes wrapped in newspaper dated 1937 were two albums containing a series of Japanese prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), one of the most sought-after Japanese woodblock print artists.

Malcolm Fairley of St James’s deals in Japanese applied arts of the 19th and early 20th centuries with a focus on cloisonné enamels and metalwork.

Jane Orde specialises in Japanese 19th and 20th century prints and most recently exhibited at Two C’s Burford Antiques Fair and is a regular at The International Birmingham Antique Arms & Militaria Fair (September 17).

A new auction record for netsuke – over three times the previous high – has been set in France.

The June 8 sale at Toovey’s (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Washington, West Sussex included a fine example of Meiji cloisonné by Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927).

Galerie Mingei, based on the rue Visconti in the Saint Germain des Prés area, specialises in antique and contemporary Japanese decorative arts.

This massive Japanese silver incense burner weighing over 641 troy oz proved to be one of the major attractions in the silver and vertu sale held by Heritage (25/20/15% buyer’s premium) on May 16.

A London exhibition highlights the intricate art form that uses Japanese bamboo.

Wooden examples of the art of netsuke are now the focus of collectors following ivory restrictions.

I am very sorry to report the death of Chinese and Japanese ceramics dealer and expert Richard Barker at the age of 72.

Allard van Halm runs van Halm & van Halm, specialising in 17th and 18th Chinese and Japanese export porcelain from his base in Portobello Road. He will be exhibiting at The Decorative Fair in Battersea from May 9-14.

This special edition of A Japanese Collection (1898) by Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) is one of the first 25 copies printed on Indian paper and is signed and dedicated by the author to his daughter Dora.

This blue and white drug jar was made in Edo period Japan, c.1650, for the Western market.

This lacquer painting on lacquered paper, a study of a leafy branch with chestnuts, is signed by Shibata Zeshin (1807-91).

Bonhams is conducting a sale on May 18 titled Samurai Beauties and Townsmen: Japanese Art in Peace and War.

The sale at Ma San in Bath on May 4 includes this Japanese double gourd carp vase by Makuzu Kozan (1842-1916).

Among the most striking Japanese works of art in Chiswick Auctions’ sale is this life-size model of an eagle with wings outstretched on a gnarled branch.

The oshi-e technique, meaning ‘pressed picture’, involves folding and pressing scraps of fabric, such as kimono cloth, and washi paper to create an image.

The sale of Asian art at Lyon & Turnbull in London on May 16 includes this late Edo or Meiji period boxwood netsuke of a recumbent deer signed Masakiyo.