Esoteric Survey

Eames sculpture!!! The estimate is $400 to $600k The same sculpture sold for $365k in 1999 Here it is at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1944  Design for Use exhibition Isamu Noguchi fossil marble table Estimate:    $800k to $1.2 Million. They said the "M" word.  Isamu Noguchi chess table Estimate: $60 to $80k  Greta Grossman double cobra Estimate: $5 to $7k  Greta Grossman cabinet I've never seen this one before. It looks like the provenance lists Grossman herself. Estimate: $20 to $30k  Here's the rest: Christie's

Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) One of the top Mingei ceramic artists. He was also a lifelong friend of Shoji Hamada. Additional information: here Kanjiro's house and studio in Kyoto  Ephemera! The studio The kiln out back.

There is a monthly flea market at Toji Temple.  This month is it was happening during a solar  eclipse . It seemed like the right recipe for good findings.   Praying to the picking gods. Garage sale in Kyoto. This shop was in the tourist section of town. They carried tea towels and the such. Yep, that's a Shiro Kuramata vase in the window.  I tried to buy it, but no dice. That would have been a nice score. Kyoto is temple-land. It's also Geisha-land. They have digital cameras and they text. 

I picked up the "mook" Casa Brutus put out on California Design.  JB Blunk Hey, there's Gerard. Tanya too! I didn't make it to this but there was supposed to be some vintage Eames. Play Mountain  is a nice shop in the Shibuya area of Tokyo.  They carry contemporary craft, including some by California artists along with Heath Ceramics. The owner drew me a great map of where I should hit up in the area. He also suggested I go to  Be a Good Neighbor Coffee Kiosk . They gave me a lemon cake the first time I went and a button the second time. Super nice people and the coffee was great. 

Meguro Dori in  Meguro-ku  is the street where most of the vintage shops in Tokyo are, including Case Study . Amongst a large collection of good stuff piled in there was this Heifetz lamp by Zahara Schatz.    There were also some good Nelson clocks and Eames pieces. Tetsumasa Suda is the owner of Case Study.  I tried hard to find some vintage mid-century Japanese designs. The thing that I kept hearing was that it's impossible to find. It turned out to be true for me.  He's friends with Riki Watanabe so if he doesn't have any vintage examples, prospects were looking bleak.  He did have a newer production Watanabe iron and wood stool signed by Riki  himself. He showed me the Ray Eames business card from his private stash. I think he said Sori Yanagi gave it to him. Meister is just down the street from Case Study. The upstairs has a nice mix of things for sale and a personal collection tha...