William Watson (1) (1917–2007)

This is a catalogue of an exhibition by the Royal Academy of Arts in London. It features the arts of the Edo Period in Japan. In the preface, the President of the Japan Foundation says that an Exhibition on this scale of Japanese Art has never been held anywhere in the world, even in Japan. So it is rather special. The exhibition includes: painting, calligraphy, wood-block prints, lacquer, ceramics, armour, sword blades, sword mounts, sculpture, netsuke and textiles. So it is very comprehensive. Most of the pictures are in black and white but there is a large section with coloured photos...and for the time (1981) that is probably as much as one could expect.
I did attend another exhibition of Edo art in Tokyo ...about 5 years ago and it was also a bit overwhelming in quantity (and quality). Probably a larger exhibition than this London version. I recall being a bit overwhelmed by all the screen paintings. And there is now an entire museum in Tokyo dedicated to the Edo era. But I was fascinated to notice with the current book that the cover features a style of painting (by Watanabe Shiko...1683-1755) that seems to be resurrected by some of the modern Japanese painters ( I recall a number in the Shizuoka Art Museum, for example).
There are a number of essays on the history of the Edo period and on most of the arts represented. These are scholarly works and interesting in their own right. All in all this is a nice introduction to the art of the Edo period. I give it 3.5 stars.… (more)

This catalogue from an exhibition of Chinese artefacts that was held in the 1970's is a fascinating insight into the early culture of China. It covers items and history from the Palaeolithic until the 14th Century AD. There is a chronology, bibliography and map. All of the described objects are pictured, mainly in black and white with some colour plates. All of the objects were excavated in the twenty years prior to the exhibition and thus also provides an insight into the efforts of Chinese archaeologists to uncover and share their past. Overall this was a glimpse into the past that seems well researched and leads me wanting to know more about this part of the world and its history.… (more)