Bronze Incense Dishes

 This is a pair of dishes which I believe may have been used for incense. One side of each dish has a bat and the other side appear to have a seedling depicted. These have a lovely, rich brown patina from age. Each dish measures 5 1/8" by 3 inches and approximately 1/2" deep.









Dishes are marked. I am unsure on the maker.

 Close up of one of the seedlings.

Close up of one of the bats.

Jade Hairpin

I found this lovely hairpin among my fathers collection. It is a very pale green jade and appears to be in the shape of a kogai. The end is scooped and could be used as an earpick (I'm not sure if that is what it was intended for).

Locust Netsuke

Netsuke are small carvings often made out of ivory, bone, rosewood and ebony. They were used with tobacco pouches and small boxes called inro. The netsuke would act as a toggle and keep the pouches from sliding through the obi on the kimono. During the Edo period, the craft of netsuke reached it's height. My father had a fairly large collection and the below netsuke is one of my personal favorites. It is of an elegantly carved locust in ivory.