Ko-Imari in Paris: Enchanting Beauty 350 Years of Japanese Porcelain Exports to Europe

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  • When: 10/10/2009 - 23/12/2009, 06/04/2010 - 13/06/2010, 17/07/2010 - 26/09/2010
  • Where: Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan, Fukuoka :Kyushu National Museum and Atami: MOA Museum
  • Organized by: Nikkei Inc.
  • Admission fee: Y
  • URL: http://www.nikkei.co.jp/events/
  • Art
It was 350 years ago, on October 15, 1659, that a Dutch East India Company ship, the Vogelzang, set sail from Nagasaki with a cargo of 5,748 pieces of porcelain and other ceramics. That shipment marked the start of full-fledged ceramic exports from Japan. For about a century, until official exports of Arita porcelains ceased in 1757, a vast quantity of those wares were exported to Europe. There they not only entranced members of the royal and noble houses of Europe but also had a profound impact on the emergence of a ceramic culture in Europe.

This exhibition introduces a selection of works from the Usui Collection in Paris. Mr. Usui has collected superb examples of export Ko-Imari (early Imari) from sources in Paris and throughout Europe, and this exhibition will be the first, anywhere in the world, in which his entire collection will be on display. The Usui Collection is distinguished by including both classic examples of Ko-Imari and shapes and designs that reflect the tastes and lifestyles of seventeenth and eighteenth century European elites. Enchanting Beauty exhibition provides also an opportunity to explore the historical significance of the cultural and industrial exchanges between Japan and Europe that the export of Imari porcelains 350 years ago initiated.

Oct. 10th 2009 〜 Dec. 23rd : Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (Tokyo)
Apr. 6th 2010 〜 Jun. 13th : Kyushu National Museum (Fukuoka)
Jul. 17th 2010 〜 Sep. 23th(tentative) : MOA Museum (Atami)

 

Large Dish with Underglaze Cobalt-blue Design of Pomegranate,
Fingered Citron and VOC Mark
1690-1730s　Hizen, Arita
©　USUI COLLECTION

 

 

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