Huge Calligraphy Painting Rising Dragon Signed by Mt Koya Monk

A beautiful Japanese hand-painted brush Muryo-Doji Buddhist painting (likely sumi ink) on colored paper featuring three praying women and what appears to be kanji calligraphy - proba...

Ink on paper, Scroll head: wood Image size: 740(W) x 1070(H) [mm] Scroll mounting: 890(W) x 1840(H) [mm] 750g Estimated packing size: 140(W) x 140(H) x 1950(D) [mm] 4kg Dynamic Si...

A Japanese painting depicting Commodore Matthew Perry’s flagship USS Mississippi bringing the coffin with the remains of US marine private Robert Williams who died while serving on t...

A large and powerful pair of Japanese calligraphic works, mid 20th century, Japan. One reading "Dragon", the other reading "Tiger". Ink on handmade paper, framed. The brush strok...

Saeki Kishi Ganku "NoboriRyuzu" silk painting hanging scroll with box Size Axis ... vertical 163.5cm horizontal 43cm picture ... vertical 96cm horizont...

Japanese Two Panel Screen: Mountain Landscape with Calligraphy. Late Edo (c. 1850) painting of a dramatic mountainside carved by a waterfall with a crane flying in the foreground an...

A Japanese sumi ink calligraphy Buddhist mandala mounted as a paper hanging scroll known as Kakejiku or sometimes Moji mandala. Termed as gohonzon in Japanese, it is a venerated object within Nichiren Buddhism (Hokkeshu; lotus sect). The originally concept was developed by the 13th century Buddhist priest Nichiren to guide the energy of the devotional chanting to...

Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677) Tiger and Dragon Early Edo Period, Circa 1650 A Pair of Six-fold Japanese Screens. Ink and slight color on paper. Dimensions: Each screen: H. 171 cm x W. 380 cm (67.5’’ x 149.5’’) In this pair of early Edo period Japanese screens a group of tigers prowl in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds and mist. The dragon embodies elemental qualities - looming out of the mist, the coils of its body disappearing in the clouds. The dragon is calling for rain, symbolizing spring which is considered the fountain of life. On the other side, the tigers calls for the wind, symbolizing autumn which is considered the end of life. Tigers were familiar motifs within Japanese art from ancient times though the animals were imaginary to the people in the 17th century. While dragons and tigers are usually associated as sacred and ferocious, in this painting, both animals have rather amusing expressions. The tigers appear to glare at the dragon with cat-like eyes, and the look on the swirling dragon’s face appears almost affectionate - lending a playful flair to an otherwise magnificent theme. The tiger and dragon are cosmological symbols of the balancing forces in the world. Screens such as this were originally meant to express the fluctuating nature of the world. For Japanese in the early Edo period, they likely suggested the powers of the cosmos. In Japan the tiger and dragon motif was originally absorbed into the circles of Zen monasteries before spreading into the secular world. The theme especially appealed to the military classes with the Kano school, the official painters to the Shogun and the samurai, being the leading contributors. The painter of this pair of screens, Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677), was closely patronized by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. In his later years he worked with Kano school artists...

Painting of a perforated garden stone with red bamboo growing behind. Chinese zekku poem reads, "Returning home to my grass hut on a spring evening," by the Tang-poet Qian Qi. Screen...

A large Chinese hand carved shop sign from the early 20th century, with calligraphy. Created in China during the early years of the 20th century, this shop sign features Chinese char...