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Scenting a kimono with incense by Yanagawa Shigenobu I (1787-1832), colour woodblock print, surimono, 21.1 x 18.5 cm, gift of Helen C Gunsaulus, Art Institute of Chicago

INCENSE IN EAST ASIA

Incense is complex, it takes many forms and can contain a wide variety of plants and minerals, reflecting the cultures and tasks for which it was used. It was known to have been used in ancient India, mentioned in the Rigveda, circa 1500-1000 BC. In ancient China, according to archaeological reports studied by Susan N Erickson (Boshanlu: Mountain Censer of the Western Han period, 1992), incense burners, of the hill censer type (boshanlu) have been found in tombs dating to the reign of Han Wudi (r 140-87 BC)…

 

RAKU CERAMICS AND TEA

Japan’s history of ceramic artistry developed largely alongside the culture of drinking tea. The practice of preparing and serving tea, chanoyu (hot water for tea), gained popularity in the 16th century. Japanese tea practitioners initially used Chinese and Korean antique ceramics as tea bowls but began using newly made Japanese tea bowls, such as Raku ceramics in the 16th century.
Ceramics were part of the flourishing trade between Japan and Ming China (1368-1644) in the first half of the 15th century. Japanese merchants were also successfully trading with…

 

Tea bowl named ‘Ubatama’ (Black Berry),style of Hon’ami Koetsu (1558-1637),19th century, earthenware with black Raku glaze, tea bowl overall 9.2 x 10.8 cm, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, gift of Charles Lang Freer

Jar with dragon design, Joseon dynasty, porcelain with underglaze blue, height 39.5 cm, Leonard C Hanna Jr Fund, Cleveland Museum of Art

PATTERNS AND DECORATION IN THE JOSEON DYNASTY

Painted screens and porcelain ware that used decorative motifs and designs are the main subjects in this exhibition to explore pattern and decoration during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) in Korea. Dragons, peonies, books, and scholarly accoutrements are among the most popular subjects that developed into decorative patterns in response to social and cultural changes during the 1700s and 1800s. By highlighting patterns and colours, this presentation explores how Korean art vividly originated and offered powerful codes of communication, for example, …

 

JAPANESE PRINT MAKING IN 20th CENTURY

In the first decades of the 20th century, a new generation of print artists broke from existing traditions in Japanese printmaking to bring new energy to the traditional prints previously produced in Japan. By the end of the 19th century, the Japanese traditional print, ukiyo-e, had to face an unprecedented crisis. The cultural context of production was in the process of changing as prints were no longer being published, especially relating to the Yoshiwara district in old Edo (present-day Tokyo), a traditional ‘pleasure area’…

Portrait of Onchi Koshiro by Sekino Jun’ichiro (1914-1988), Showa era, ink and colour on paper, woodblock print, 14/50, 64.8 × 49.5 cm, Sekino Jun'ichiro / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift of the Kenneth and Kiyo Hitch Collection from Kiyo Hitch with funds from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment © Atelier Sekino

Asian and Islamic Works of Art

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