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Salt-glazed Bellarmine jug
Frechen, Germany
Museum Reihokan Koyasan
Floral plate with figure in scenery in underglaze red enamel
Enoch Wood & Sons, United Kingdom
Blue and white sencha teacups with scenery; European-style blue and white sencha (green tea leaf) utensils
The Netherlands, Japan
Japan's Encounter with European Ceramics: Dreaming of Meissen, Sevres and Minton
January 5-March 20, 2008
Throughout history, people have often demonstrated both fear and infatuation towards that which is foreign. In recent years, European ceramics have become popular as luxury tableware in Japan, and perhaps a kind of exoticism is inherent in trends of "western-style" table arrangement as well. However, Japan's encounter with these objects is not a new phenomenon. Japanese people have shown appreciation for European ceramics for nearly four hundred years since the beginning of the Edo period (1615-1868).
Japan's Encounter with European Ceramics presents over 150 enchanting examples of ceramic ware from countries such as The Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Hungary. Highlights include English pottery selected as imports to Japan by the industrial designer Christopher Dresser (1834-1904), who was active during the proud and prosperous era of Queen Victoria, as well as century-old gifts of German ceramics, such as Meissen and Berlin ware, from Count Fritz von Hochberg of Lower Silesia.
This exhibition explores the types of European ceramic ware that were popular in Japan during the Edo period and that were imported to Japan after its modernization in the Meiji period (1868-1912). It also looks at reciprocal cultural influences that surpass notions of East and West through European ceramic design, which originated from a synthesis of East Asian ceramics, and conversely through Japanese ware, which were inspired by features in European ware. Immerse yourself in the world of European ceramics through the wondrous objects that fascinated people of Edo and Meiji-period Japan.
For more information please visit: The Kyoto National Museum
-Joanne Molina
