Art of Japan: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection of Japanese art spans from prehistoric times to the present, with highlights including temple and teahouse acquired in 1928 and tea wares from the sixteenth to twenty-first centuries. An introductory essay by Felice Fischer illuminates the formation of the collection, which began with the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 25 July 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection of Japanese art is a treasure trove that spans from prehistoric times to the present. The Art of Japan showcases one hundred remarkable highlights of Japanese art, acquired from the Neolithic period to the present. Among these treasures are two unique structures: a temple and a teahouse, which were acquired in 1928 and are considered the first of their kind in an American museum. The collection is particularly noteworthy for its extensive collection of tea wares, particularly ceramics produced between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. The Edo and Meiji periods are particularly well represented, with a wide range of artworks including calligraphy, paintings, and prints by renowned artists such as Honami Kōetsu (1558–1637), Ike Taiga (1723–1776), and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892). An introductory essay by Felice Fischer provides insight into the formation of the museum's extensive collection of Japanese art, which began with the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. This exhibition introduced American audiences to Japanese art and culture, and it laid the foundation for the museum's exceptional holdings of Japanese ceramics. The Centennial also saw the acquisition of over a hundred examples of Japanese ceramics by General Hector Tyndale, who bequeathed them to the fledgling museum. Since then, the collection has continued to grow with the addition of ceramics by contemporary practitioners of the craft, as well as works by other contemporary Japanese artists. This book serves as an engaging roadmap for anyone interested in exploring Japanese art and its significance in the world of art today.

Weight: 1672g
Dimension: 240 x 294 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780876333006