Dear Friends
Welcome to our October newsletter.
September bought us a mix of Autumnal weather ranging from a brief cold spell where the boiler kicked in way too early in the year for my liking, right through to a spell of beautiful summer like temperatures just perfect for end of season boating, and everything in between. Ted and I enjoyed some crisp early morning beach walks with stunning scenery whilst awaiting Mrs Slys welcome home from her holiday in Devon.
We had just about coped in her absence, the coffee machine managed to function, as did the dishwasher and even the oven, although as much as I love them there are only so many days you can live on Jacket potatoes and salad 😊
One morning I was inspired to pause and capture this image of mist rising over a dead calm sea with the famous needles as the backdrop.
Aside from the laborious housekeeping duties business certainly kept me on my toes. The Nogawa shakudo vase that featured as September’s exclusive item was readily snapped up by a UK client who was eager not to miss it. As such this client purchased it prior to going on holiday with delivery scheduled for his return, upon receipt I received the following feedback.
“Dear Steve, Thank you for the lovely little Shakudo vase. It is everything the photos suggested, and we are thrilled with it.
Kind regards, Mr & Mrs B.”
Another item to be snapped up this month was the lovely quality damascened iron box by Okuno company of Kyoto, on this occasion the box was winging its way over the pond to a longstanding client in the USA.
Another item staying in the UK was this delightful bronze okimono of a long-eared owl upon a root wood base, he is off to join a collection of okimono and other Japanese metalware’s that I have been privileged to supply to this gentleman over the years.
You may recall earlier in the year that I featured this very charming iron panel of puppies playing with wisteria, an item that I was fortunate enough to discover on my trip to Japan last November. I was pleased to be contacted by a new UK based client who safely received this delightful panel complete with its original tomobako.
A sincere thank you once again to the above clients both existing and new to SSJA, your support and patronage is very much appreciated in what are clearly turbulent times around the globe.
The iron puppies panel was not the only piece of ironwork that I discovered on that journey, in fact the other example is now at plate 3 of my Autumn 2024 Exhibition catalogue exclusively for your enjoyment in the coming days, having been in hibernation at my home since its arrival.
This is not an object that I am usually able to purchase, due in part to the scarcity and highly collectable nature of these wares, but fortunately I was in the right place at the right time and managed to secure this quite dramatic work of art. This particular item started me out on the journey to complete an exhibition catalogue that I am extremely proud of.
As loyal subscribers you will receive an exclusive preview online on Tuesday 8th October at 13.00 hrs GMT, hopefully enabling access to all our clients around the globe at that time.
I hope that you enjoy the content, I look forward to answering any enquiries that you may have.
Finally for this month, I am delighted to offer another item that I previously sold having now been returned as part payment of the latest acquisition of a young collector refining their Japanese Metalwork collection. This delightful silver and mixed metal kogo is artist signed and features Benten as the only female member of the seven lucky gods, for further details simply click the image above.
Best regards
Steve