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Fresh Asian Antiques @ Moorabool

Chinese & Japanese Antiques at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

Welcome to the first of a series of Asian Specials.
We’re amazed at the Asian items that turn up in Australia. From Ming Bronzes to Japanese Cloisonné, there’s a wealth of fine Chinese, Japanese, Korean & other South-East Asian works to find. This is due to two things; we’re close to Asia, and Australians are great travellers. Naturally, they bring things back with them!

Chinese & Japanese Cloisonné at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
Chinese & Japanese Cloisonné at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong

This week, we have a group of Japanese & Chinese Cloisonné – including a remarkable piece, an oversize Japanese vase notable for the pair of ferocious dragons dramatically writhing their way around the vase. This vase is giant – 61cm high! – and dates to the later 19th century. The bright enamel colours and glossy black background make it a dramatic display piece.

Antique Japanese CloisonnéDragon Vase
Dramatic Japanese Dragon…..
Antique Japanese Cloisonné Quail
Antique Japanese Cloisonné Quail




On the opposite extreme is a tiny – fits in the palm of your hand, so actually life-size – quail in cloisonné, also Japanese & super cute!

Cantonese Enamel dish set c.1900
Cantonese Enamel dish set c.1900
Japanese Horn dragonfly sculpture, Meiji Period
Life-size Japanese Horn dragonfly sculpture, Meiji Period 19th century

There’s also a selection of interesting Shipwreck items. We’re always looking for these, as they have the allure of being under the sea for hundred of years – and are therefore ‘guaranteed’ to be authentic. Compare this to items that just turn up out of nowhere without a rock-solid provenance like a shipwreck: they’re much harder to be certain about authenticity. We have a selection of pieces & shards from various known & dated shipwrecks as our pieces for direct comparison & learning.

Antique Chinese Ivory Children

Coming Soon!

Delightful band of Chinese Musical Children, late Qing Dynasty

Fresh Asian Stock

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Fresh @ Moorabool

Japanese Porcelain

Today, there’s some fine Japanese porcelain & sculpture freshly posted to moorabool.com, including some lovely early 17th & 18th century Edo period pieces.

Three types of Japanese Porcelain, Edo Period (1603-1867) : Arita ‘Sometsuke‘ wares (underglaze blue), Imari ‘kinran-de‘ (gold brocade) wares with iron-red & gold as well as underglaze blue, and a Kakiemon-type enamelled dish, (no underglaze blue) Aritia, early 18th century.

A boat-shaped dish with a ‘boating’ scene…. Imari ware, Edo period , 18th century. SOLD

Japanese

Japanese Screen

Japanese Screen from Purrumbete, Western District Victoria, c. 1890

This magnificent large room-screen is Japanese, and typical of the luxury goods imported from Japan for the wealthy Australian land-owners of the late 19th century. It was purchased at the clearing sale of the Purrumbete Homestead, near Camperdown in the Western District of Victoria, and part of the original Manifold family’s furnishings. This magnificent Arts & Crafts house had been created from a smaller 1850’s house for them in the very early 20th century. This screen was no doubt a fitting from that period, part of the ‘Country House’ look popular at that time, with Japanese & Chinese items mixed in with traditional furniture against the stunning Australian-timber panelled walls and decorative woodwork to the ceilings. See the screen here >>
The large late 19th century Japanese vases included in today’s ‘Fresh Stock’ were also sourced in the Western District of Victoria, probably originating from another grand home of this period.

A handsome George III ‘bachelor’s chest’, the name given to these small useful pieces that often have a pull-out slide shelf at the top, like this example. C. 1780. $2400 See this piece here >>

Remember, we’re currently offering FREE shipping!*
(Australia only, some larger items & furniture excluded. Overseas, we can do a big discount on shipping, or free in some cases, please ask.)

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A golden Japanese Zogan purse, c.1920

A Japanese Goldsmith’s Masterpiece

As the world watches the competition for Olympic Gold in Tokyo, we have a 100-year-old masterpieces of Japanese goldsmith’s work to share.

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We were stunned when this small yet precious object walked into our shop recently. While we have had similar before, they inevitably are plain on the inside – often just with an empty space for cigarettes. This one is special: on opening, we see a place for a few of the required cigarettes – but inhabiting the other side is everything you need for an outing: this case is an all-in-one ‘evening bag’!

The mirror opens up to reveal a compartment with an ivory plaque, while below the small frieze of birds above is a surprise: two coin holders, such as the Victorians used for sovereigns and half-sovereigns.

The work is intensely beautiful, with two tones of gold along with small silver details (dragon’s eyes) contrasting vividly against a patinated iron ground. We call this ‘Damascened’, as Damascus was a point from which the art spread in the centuries after the decline of the Roman Empire. It reached Japan by the Asuka Period (592-710), and ‘Nunome Zo-gan’ ( ‘symbolizing inlaying‘ ) is the Japanese word for the technique.

You may not have noticed the signature hidden in plain sight… the one inside is well isolated, being inlaid gold on a bare iron ground, and depicting Mt Fuji. This is the mark of the “Fuji Damascene Company”, operating 1912-26. The outside has a splendid view of Mt Fuji off in the distance behind the temple tower – but down in the foreground is this same signature, amongst the plants of the garden.

Yoshitoyo Fujii
The Fujii Damascene Co. Mark, c.1912-26

Mt Fuji was appropriate as the mark, as ‘Fujii’ is the name of the firm’s founder – Yoshitoyo Fujii. Born 1868 into a metal-crafters family, he developed the family business into a thriving international ‘luxury goods’ supplier. They produced brooches, cufflinks, necklaces, card cases, cigarette cases, writing sets, vases, table boxes…. a long list of superbly detailed items. Some of his works were selected to represent Japan in the numerous overseas exhibitions that were so popular of in the earlier 20th century, where he won numerous medals. His works were presented to the Japanese Royal Family – he was regarded as the best craftsman of the Damascene ‘Nunome Zogan’ technique. Ironically, his work is not pure to the ancient Zogan technique: he developed a new technique, for which he received a patent: an etching method of housing his inserts, suggesting an acid being used to get the fine lines needed, not just a chisel.

Superb Dragons by Fujii Yoshitoyo

The results are certainly spectacular, as these close-up photos reveal. This is a remarkably beautiful object to hold, and must have been a pleasure to use on a ‘night out’ by the lucky individual who received this as a gift 100 years ago: it certainly would have been a highlight at any party, back in the 1920’s!