This January 2014 issue (No. 546) of Chiisana Tsubomi (小さな蕾) comes from the long-running Japanese magazine devoted to antique art, ceramics, traditional crafts, museum collections, and cultural heritage. Beautifully illustrated throughout, it is an excellent reference for collectors and admirers of Japanese decorative arts.
The principal feature, 「楽の名碗と日本絵画」 – “Masterpieces of Raku Tea Bowls and Japanese Painting,” introduces works from a special exhibition at the Mitsui Memorial Museum (三井記念美術館). Raku ware occupies a particularly important place in the Japanese tea ceremony, celebrated for its hand-formed character, subtle surfaces, and intimate relationship between the vessel and the person holding it.
Other features explore 「定窯 優雅なる白の世界」, the elegant world of white Ding ware (定窯) from China, presented in connection with an exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, as well as Ko-Kutani and Kutani ware (古九谷焼と九谷焼) from the Kutani Porcelain Art Museum.
The issue also includes a feature on Ko-Imari (古伊万里) flower-and-bird decoration, bringing together several major traditions of East Asian ceramics in a single volume.
The cover is especially charming, featuring an elegant blue-and-white vessel decorated with horses, appropriate for this New Year issue celebrating 2014, the Year of the Horse (午年).
Size: 13 x 18cm
144 pages
