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Arthur Becker’s collection of 8th- and 9th-century pottery began by chance. “I was in Kyoto with my daughter after she graduated from college 1½ years ago,” says Mr. Becker, a 67-year-old former tech executive living in Manhattan. “We went to a famous shrine, and as we were leaving, we passed by a souvenir store” with a woman inside selling little bronze teacups.
Amid the knick-knacks, he spotted two pieces of pottery and was told by the woman that her father had purchased them 41 years ago. Through a translator, he purchased…