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Description: | The decoration applied to these vases tells us more about the 'exotic East' of European imagination than life in late nineteenth-century Japan.These vases are products of the thriving West Midlands japanned ware industry, which supplied furniture and trinkets to the middle classes. Japanning was a method of covering surfaces with layers of thick, dark varnish to obtain a durable, shiny finish. It was popular throughout England, France, Spain and the Netherlands in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.The techniques and materials used to manufacture japanned ware differed greatly from those used to produce the imported Japanese lacquer ware it imitated. Whilst lacquer ware derived its highly polished surface from a natural varnish, japanning used artificial varnishes, which were applied to a base of metal, wood or papier mache. Papier mache was particularly successful because it could be moulded into any shape, from buttons to furniture.Every factory had a set of pattern books, from which customers could pick the designs they wanted to decorate their chosen item. These were then painted or printed, or inlaid in metal or mother-of-pearl, a technique borrowed from Japanese lacquer ware.These vases, like many japanned items, were inspired by the patterns used in Japanese decorative art. They are transfer printed and decorated with various coloured metals. Although they are only 12cm high they include an amazing array of Oriental motifs, which represent all that fascinated Europeans about Japanese culture. The pattern is typical of the European tendency to focus on traditional aspects of Japanese society, a view that was becoming outdated by the late 1800s.In 1868 the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate government was overthrown. The Emperor of the new Meiji government called for Japan to modernise along western lines to compete with the most powerful nations in the world. He began this process by purchasing European weapons. Japanese industry, commerce and communications were built up. Western-style education began to dominate, and there was a decline in traditional Japanese arts and crafts as the authorities encouraged artists to adopt Western styles. New mechanised manufacturing techniques and the production of items to appeal to foreign taste also contributed to changes in Japanese design.Europeans were critical of Japanese modernisation, which they felt was destroying the 'purity' of Japan's art and culture. They became uneasy as Japan developed a powerful industrial and military base, and perpetuated stereotypes about traditional Japan in response. The figures shown on these vases are dressed in kimonos, a symbol of the traditional Japanese way of life. Together with the patterned curtain shown on one of the vases they exemplify British admiration for traditional Japanese textiles. Pieces of Japanese furniture and pottery are also featured, which highlights British interest in old-fashioned Japanese arts and crafts. Perhaps most revealing is the inclusion of pagodas, the stereotypical Japanese architectural form. From the 1860s the Japanese government employed western architects to design buildings, including universities and banks, and to train Japanese students, but there is no hint of these developments here. By the late 1800s Japan had changed almost beyond recognition, but this is not reflected in the decoration on these vases.A large display of japanned ware, including this pair of vases, can be seen at Bantock House.
Pair of spill vases, decorated with Japanese figures in coloured metals. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/ | Publisher: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Rights holder: | Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service | Subjects: | Domestic life Japanned ware Decorative arts Victorian period | Temporal: | 1880 - 1890
Victorian (1837-1901) | Source: | Black Country History | Identifier: | http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/colle... | Go to resource |
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