Description
Description of George Audsley's and James Bowes's Keramic Art of Japan
These ornate chromolithographs are from the work entitled Keramic Art of Japan produced by George A. Audsley and James L. Bowes in 1875 published in London by Henry Sotheran & Co. This work is the complete story of Japanese decortative art from the late Edo and early Meiji periods. The illustrations are in most part taken from the collection of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Art and design of Japanese influence took hold in the West in the mid 1850's when Japan suddenly emerged into the marketplace after hundreds of years of self-imposed isolation. Japan then began massive exportation of porcelain, furniture, textiles and other goods to Western markets. Soon "Japaning" was prevelant in almost all areas of art in England and America from "willow-pattern" dinnerware to the wonderful art in the "Peacock Room" of James McNeill Whistler. Audsley was a non-resident member of Asiatic Sociaty of Japan for ten years and Bowes joined the year after Audsley. Bowes had a direstory listing as "Japanese Consul and wool broker" and was a client of Audsley (Gore's Liverpool Directory, 1896). Together they produced this beautifully illustrated work. They are on heavy stock paper that measures ~ 10 3/4" by 15 1/2".