In en rondom het kleine stadje Arita op het Zuid-Japanse eiland Kyushu lagen tientallen ovens, waarin sinds het begin van de 17de eeuw het porselein werd gebakken dat over de hele wereld werd uitgevoerd. In Europa is Japans porselein dan ook vooral bekend in de vorm van exportporselein. Deze tentoonstelling richt zich echter op een heel ander soort: het porselein dat geproduceerd werd voor de Japanse binnenlandse markt, afgestemd op de smaak van de Japanse consument. De motieven werden ontleend aan Chinese en Japanse schilderstijlen of Japans textiel, de vormen van de voorwerpen waren gericht op de Japanse eetcultuur.

Ohara Koson werd in 1877 geboren als Ohara Matao in de stad Kanazawa op het Japanse eiland Hokaido, en volgde daar een eerste opleiding in ontwerpen en schilderen. In de jaren ’90 van de negentiende eeuw kreeg hij les van de landschapsschilder Suzuki Kason (1860-1919) in Tokio, waar hij in aanraking kwam met de vernieuwende stroming van de Nihonga (letterlijk: Japans Schilderen). Hij leerde er traditionele Japanse technieken op een nieuwe manier te gebruiken en liet zich waarschijnlijk ook inspireren door kunst uit het westen. Koson ontwikkelde zich voornamelijk als een ontwerper van prenten waarin hij de natuur verbeeldde. De meeste werken signeerde hij met zijn kunstenaarsnaam Koson, maar later ondertekende hij ook wel met Shoson of Hoson.

Japanese netsuke are superb little carvings, mostly made out of ivory or wood, as handling pieces, or toggles.  So one good way of judging a good netsuke is to handle it, whilst doing so it should feel very comfortable and interesting, in the hand, without any disturbing sharp points.  Although netsuke are often only about an inch high, these tiny sculptures are very powerfully carved and so full of character.

Japanese lacquer inro and boxes are such incredibly beautiful works of art, particularly, pieces from the late 18th and early 19th century.  I consider many of them to rate very highly, amongst the finest treasures of the World!

Without I hope being too technical, my intention is to use and to explain the terms and names, that are most commonly in use.  This way readers who might be tempted to look at sale catalogues, will be more able to appreciate and understand the descriptions.

Before I describe these unique and beautiful works of art, exclusively Japanese, I feel that you need to know more about Lacquer, the extraordinary medium that was used.  Only then will you fully appreciate these brilliant creations.

For readers who are unfamiliar with old Japanese lacquer, I suspect you will be thinking of the typical modern lacquer trays and bowls that are mass-produced.  These items are very decorative, but completely fail to compare with the magnificent earlier hand made works.

When collecting Japanese netsuke most of the true antique netsuke, as against lots of modern copies, will normally have two connecting cord holes (known as himotoshi), but one will be much larger than the other!

30 November 1996, Asianart.com
One facet of Tibetan iconic art is to be found in early portrait paintings. Portraiture figured prominently in Tibetan art between ca. 1000 and 1400 A.D., and yet almost nothing is known about its functions and its significance. This essay addresses two main questions: What aesthetic and theoretical guides did artists observe in painting historical persons? And what social, political, and religious purposes did portraiture serve in pre-fifteenth century Tibet?

1 June 1999, Asianart.com
Thogchags are Tibetan talismans made of bronze and meteoric metals dating as far back as the Bronze Age. While precise dates for the Tibetan Bronze Age have yet to be formulated, archaeological evidence from various sites around the country indicate that it started around the beginning of the Second Millennium BCE. An unbroken tradition of producing amulets extends into the Iron Age and Buddhist periods creating a cultural legacy several thousand years old.

© John Vincent Bellezza
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26 June 2000, Asianart.com
Belief in ghosts, demons and spirits has been deep-rooted in Japanese folklore throughout history. It is entwined with mythology and superstition derived from Japanese Shinto, as well as Buddhism and Taoism brought to Japan from China and India. Stories and legends, combined with mythology, have been collected over the years by various cultures of the world, both past and present. Folklore has evolved in order to explain or rationalize various natural events. Inexplicable phenomena arouse a fear in humankind, because there is no way for us to anticipate them or to understand their origins.

13 October 2000, Asianart.com
The European engravings brought to India in the sixteenth century by the Jesuits to help communicate Christian doctrines to the Mughals are well documented. Prints of non-religious subjects and topographical materials, which need not have necessarily found their way into Mughal possession by way of the Jesuit missionaries is a subject that has been dealt with to a far lesser extent. Individual travelers and merchants took engravings of classical nudes and mythical subjects to the East; this would explain the presence in Mughal albums of prints of nude, mythological and classical subjects, and motifs from maps in background landscapes.