Beautiful blue lantern with butterflies galore- An unusual find in original handpaint and bursting with evocative night light (see photo)

Japan, this handsome heavy hand cast quality old “Butterfly” motif tea garden lantern is a charming example of the best Japanese design and craftsmanship.

In a convenient portable size and displaying exceptional butterfly motif perforations on its top and hexagonal side panels , it may be suspended from the loop seen at the top or installed on any surface.

Dimensions: approximately 13 inches tall to top of loop handle and 6.5 inches wide

Good garden candidates- it is an ideal accent size for your indoor gallery display or for your out of doors favorite garden space.

Provenance: Old American- Japanese garden.

Many of our customers place LED or candles inside the main section door entry making a romantic and enjoyable decorative accent for entertaining friends and family. It’s a perfect choice for your indoor or outdoor garden space.

Lifetime guarantee of authenticity: All of our Asian works of art come with our lifetime authenticity guarantee.

We have been dealing in fine authentic Japanese antiques including screens, garden ornaments, lanterns and water basins for many years. Our president personally travels to Japan each year to meet his network partners who assist him in finding best examples. He personally inspects each antique to ensure its old age, authenticity, and quality condition.

History of Japanese lanterns:

In Japan a to¯ro¯ (lantern) is a traditional lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Like many other elements of Japanese traditional architecture, it originated in China. In Japan, toro were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and illuminated paths and lighted lanterns were then considered an offering. In its complete, original form the lantern represents five elements of Buddhist cosmology: Bottom touching the ground, represents chi, the earth, the next section represents sui, or water, ka or fire, is represented by the section encasing the lantern’s light or flame, while fu (air) and ku (void or spirit) are represented by the last two sections, top-most and pointing towards the sky. These last two sections express the idea that after death our physical bodies will go back to their original, elemental form.