From our recent Japanese acquisitions, a trio (3) of Japanese iron lanterns including a butterfly top, gold fish, and scarce classic style marked Japan on its bottom. Handsome examples.

Pretty designs.

just look at them sparkle at night!

Created to original eponymous master craftsmanship standards, these lanterns would make a deorative statement indoors or out of doors in your favorite spaces. Many of our customers place LED or candles or tea lights inside the bottom of the main section making a romantic and enjoyable decorative accent for entertaining friends and family.

In a convenient smallish portable size, they may be suspended from their loops or installed on surfaces.

Dimensions: tallest is 7.5 inches tall to top of head and 5.5 inches wide.

Good garden candidates with attractive remnants of their original surfaces. They are ideal accent sizes for your favorite indoor space, or for outdoor garden display.

Provenance: Old American, Japanese garden.

An excellent choice for your indoor or outdoor garden spaces.

An authentic old example. Lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

We have been dealing in authentic Chinese and Japanese antiquities, garden ornaments, lanterns and water basins for 25 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 work of art 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, to¯ro¯ 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.