Takahashi Dohachi was one of the famous potter families in Kyoto. Since Takahashi Dohachi I (1740-1804) in the late Edo period, the family has made ceramic works. Takahashi Dohachi IV was particularly skilled at blue and white seika ware, white porcelain and sculptures. His fine porcelain works went into the collections of important families in Japan and also internationally, and he won a number of prizes for his works. For more about the artist, see:

Kato Tokuro, Genshoku Toji Daijiten [Encyclopaedia of Japanese Ceramics], (Kyoto, 1972), p. 685-686.

Tomioka Tessai was one of the most important artists of modern Japan as well as an influential scholar of Chinese classics. He lived in Kyoto and was well-schooled in Japanese and Chinese religion and literature. Even in his paintings, he incorporated inscriptions aimed at the enlightenment and education of people, and his painting and calligraphy were direct expressions of his vision and character. Tessai's works are characterised by his free and individualistic handling of brush that inparts his work with the vitality evident in this lot.