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From our most recent Japanese garden acquisitions

Only one: This 19th century icon

Our unique and tall 28 inch stone Arts & Crafts antique stone lantern.

Japanese fine pathway stone lantern with original and beautiful lichen and patina from great age

They work especially well at night with an oil candle. See our photo.
Upon request, we will include one complimentary bottle to get you started.

Install them as pathway, deck, or pool lights, or as handsome entry or exit walkway lighting.

Fine original condition.

Dimensions: 28 inches tall and 10 inches wide at top

Period: Late Meiji period (1900-1912)

Quality: Very good condition with good details and carved from a dark solid gray hued stone

One of a kind in this tall size.

The well proportioned carved stone lantern fashioned with a Classic minka house style top portion and, tapered square cut crane leg pole Firebox features Sun and crescent moon carvings.

Provenance: acquired from a Southern Japanese antique garden lantern collection

Stone lanterns, Ishidoro were introduced to Japan via Korea and China in the 6th century AD. They were used initially in temples and later shrines as votive lights. About the 16th century stone lanterns were adopted for secular purposes and designed and placed in the gardens of tea houses and private residences made famous by tea master Sen Rikkyu (1522-1592).

Many of our customers place oil candles inside the main section making a romantic and enjoyable decorative accent for entertaining friends and family. It’s a good 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.

Our gallery based in Newport, Rhode Island USA has been dealing in authentic Pre-Columbian, Japanese and fine Asian art, garden ornaments, lanterns and water basins for 25 years. Our president personally travels across America as well as 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 stone 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.

There are four main categories of antique Japanese stone lanterns. Tachi-gata are pedestal lanterns such as the famous Kasuga Zodiac lanterns, ikekome-gata are the so-called buried lanterns, oki-gata are small often portable lanterns, and yukimi-gata are renown as “water reflection” lanterns. This latter Yukimi style version perhaps Japan’s most Popular Style, is often mislabeled by westerners as “snow viewing” lantern- thought to accumulate a stack of snow during winter time in America’s northern areas.

Sukiya Living magazine, a very good publication for authentic Japanese Sukiya living style, explains the names and positioning of the usually six different sections of a large stone pedestal-style lantern, all carved carefully for balance and transportation ease. These include: Hoh-ju, jewel like flower bud finial., Kasa, roof., Hibukuro, light box. Nakadai, platform. And Sao, cranes leg shaft. Kiso, base stone.