Metals

A Small Saturday Secret…Shrine Sale in Azabu Juban

While not actually a secret, no one ever seems to list or mention the small shrine sale held in the patio square of Azabu Juban. I guess in all fairness, it isn’t an actual shrine sale as there is no shrine, but the feel is the same. No more than 12 dealers come every first Saturday of the month and they usually pack up by 3 p.m. As it is just down the hill from my house, I go regularly and always get lucky. There is something about small sales that makes shopping easier – like going to a favorite boutique instead of a large department store – it just gives you a more focussed view.

There was a bit of everything this past Saturday – lacquer serving pieces and small chests perfect for holding jewelry.

This set of really pretty Imari plates with tiny diapered patterns.

I can imagine them hanging on the wall in Olya and Charles Thompson’s richly colored Brooklyn brownstone.

An adorable collection of tiny shoyu (soy sauce) dishes, particularly the more unusual blue and white and celadon ones, looks like a plate wall display in miniature…

I loved this tiny wooden hibachi (charcoal brazier) with inlaid wisteria. It had its original copper lining and would be perfect for autumn flower displays. I’ve not seen this wooden style so small – it was about the size of a pineapple.

I also loved these two fabulous huge iron hibachi…

…perfect for planting palms in the Schuyler Samperton style. (And if you love palm trees and layered eclecticism make sure to look through her portfolio).

And for myself? OK, I admit I have gone a little crazy – glass crazy that is. Ever since my finds at Kawagoe I am obsessed with blue-green glass, old bottles and floats! I am not sure if my huge bottle will fit where I want it, so what about a small collection of little bottles, just in case?

These two had visible bubbles in the glass and an older hand blown feel.

The smaller bottle had a threaded neck. When I bought it, I hoped to be able to add a spout or pump and use it for liquid soap.

Kind of like this!

More information on the shrine sale schedule can be found in the tab at the top of the blog. Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Image credits: 1,2,4,5, 6, 8 & 9. me, 3. Vogue January 2010 , photo credit: Francois Halard, 7. Domino April 2007, photo credit: Paul Costello, 10. Unknown

Nov 7, 2010 By tokyojinja in Glass, Metals, Porcelain and Pottery, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets Tags: flea market, glass bottles, imari, japanese antiques, lacquer, Olya Thompson, porcelain, Schuyler Samperton, shrine sale

More on Mon…The Polka Dots of Japan

In a post on John Saladino last week I talked about mon or kamon, the heraldic crests of Japan. As they are so prevalent in Japanese design, I thought it would be interesting to showcase some of the variety found. In general, they are stylized symmetrical patterns or small pictures placed inside a roundel. They have a long history in Japan, used first by the aristocratic classes and later by the public at large. You can read more about them here.

The 16 petal chrysanthemum is the kamon of the Emperor of Japan and its use by others was prohibited by law. Chrysanthemums with fewer petals could be used though.

You still see many examples of this Imperial crest. Here it is atop a torii gate.

One of the original uses of kamon related to war. They were placed on standards to identify troops in a battle. Here is a modern-day version – a Japanese battleship adorned with an imperial kamon.

You can find kamon everywhere in Japanese antiques and decorative arts.

The antique indigo cloth above has a traditional wisteria design with a kanji in the center. It is set against a background of sashiko embroidered traditional patterns.

You can see a few historic kamon on this resist-dyed textile including the kamon of Tokugawa, the shogun who unified Japan. It has three wild ginger leaves set in the circle.

Another common kamon is the butterfly – it is a good non-symmetrical figural example.

In this brightly colored vintage kimono you can see many of the same kamon as on the indigo cloth above, including the Tokugawa (wild ginger leaves) kamon and the pine.

This small silver toothpick holder has two kamon – an ume (plum) blossom and a tachibana (wild orange).

While some items are decorated with actual kamon, others are often covered with simple patterns and scenes within the roundels, which are simply called mon. Notice here how the mon are actually etched realistic looking flowers in the rounds and not stylized representations like the kamon above. The design and form make me think that perhaps this Meiji period silver jewelry box was made for export. I was very tempted to buy it (inside it has three gorgeous dark lacquer drawers) but it was out of the price range for a casual impulse buy.

Particularly in porcelain, you see many simplified and stylized (and plain old “made-up”) patterns.

Here again we see fanciful designs in the circles, scattered all over this Imari pot. This kind of patterning is a favorite of mine – I think you can see why I called it “the polka dots of Japan”. I have a memory of two massive urns with a similar mon pattern placed near the entry to the Ralph Lauren store in the Rhinelander Mansion. I wonder if they are still there?

Mon and kamon are seen not only in decorative arts, but in product branding and logos. Two of my favorites below:

The retired logo of Japan Airlines is a crane kamon. What a graceful and beautiful logo and a shame that they changed it to this.

And now for the cutest part of the post! Shu Uemura launched their wonderful cleansing oil in an adorable modern Harajuku version of kamon. Sadly, they are no longer available but I bet that the bottles and containers are probably wildly collectible on eBay. Take a moment and compare these girls to the mon pattern on the silver jewelry box….

Image Credits:1-3 tamamushi; 4,6,9-13 me; 5,7 & 8 Japanese Free Clip Art; 14. Japan Probe; 15. Shu Uemura

Sep 28, 2010 By tokyojinja in Design Motif, Metals, Porcelain and Pottery, Textiles Tags: porcelain, silver, textiles