Auction House

Pacific Galleries

Location

241 South Lander Street

Seattle, WA

USA

98134

Phone: 206-441-9990

Fax: 206.448.9677

Email: pacificgalleries@pacgal.com

Seattle, WA, USA

Viewing Notes

This auction session features a large collection of fine Asian decorative art and furniture, including many Japanese ivory netsuke figurines and rare Japanese theater masks from the 17th and 18th century. Japanese theater masks and other items in auction session two are from the collection of the Late Professor Charles Smith. He was a sculptor who collected them in Japan while studying bronze casting in Tokyo with Japanese artists on a Ford Foundation grant in 1963. He and his family lived there for a year and he developed an appreciation for Japanese art and culture. His collection includes both noh and bugaku masks which he displayed in his home for many years. Professor Smith taught sculpture and industrial design at the University of Washington for 50 years and his large metal sculptures are on display in public spaces around Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, as well as in many private collections. Please note, due to age, some of the masks are quite fragile, as described. They must be handled with care to avoid further lacquer loss. We will make every attempt to pack and ship them with utmost care, but on some of the masks, the lacquer will flake off very easily with handling.