Unusual Find

Japan, a fine matching pair (2) of large 17 inch diameter antique “signed” top hand cast Yukimi lanterns with handsome details from the late Meiji period, 1910.

The striking and well proportioned old yukimis are fashioned from solid iron as roof kasa and light chamber or base Hibukuro or kiso and depicts its trade mark scalloped top, base, and signed roof, four pieces.

The tops are signed by their lantern maker.

Dimensions: Each is 13 inches tall and 17 inches diameter, each crafted in four pieces for convenient portability

Hand cast. Hard to find this quality and impossible to find a matching pair today, These are for the discerning garden or sculpture collection.

Only one pair.

History of Yukimi lantern:
Yukimi-do-ro or legged lanterns have as a base not a post but from one to six curved legs, and a wide umbrella with a finial either low or absent. Relatively low, they are used exclusively in gardens. Yukimi denotes “water reflection.” The traditional placement is near water, and a three-legged lantern will often have two legs in the water, and one on land but today they enjoy wide spread popularity placed in many different settings and in many different styles of gardens. The umbrella can be round or have from three to eight sides, while the fire box is usually round or hexagonal.

Lifetime guarantee of authenticity. Member of NAJGA- North American Japanese Garden Association.

We have been dealing in authentic Japanese, Chinese, and fine Asian art, garden ornaments, lanterns and water basins for 25 years. Our president personally travels to Japan and Europe each year to meet his network partners who assist him in finding best examples. He personally inspects each antique work of art to ensure its old age, authenticity and quality condition.

About Japanese lanterns.

Japan’s stone lantern tradition is a concept that was imported from India and has existed in Japanese temples and gardens since the 7th century.

Japan’s lantern tradition was originally conceived as entrance lighting and guardians to temples and pagodas and when lit served as an offering to Buddha. Some of the earliest stone lanterns were carved with Buddhist images on the firebox and usually had compartments for an oil lamp or candle. Later on, they became more secular in nature, and their use evolved as functional and decorative elements in traditional Japanese tea gardens where they served as a spiritual source of light for evening tea ceremonies. Often carved from granite stone, today’s vintage survivors serve as fashionable aesthetic elements in modern day Japanese and Asian inspired gardens. Today, during festivals and ceremonies, rice paper is often cut to fit stone lantern windows to increase reflection of candles placed inside them. Soon these paper lenses disappear and for one special evening and event, the glow is surreal.