Collecting Japanese Antiques

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 304 pages
• Published by: Tuttle Publishing July 15, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0804820945
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0804820943
• Book Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.2 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 4.3 pounds

Product Description
Collecting Japanese Antiques shows what makes Japanese aesthetics so different from other countries. Antique hunters will benefit from the practical and cautionary advice in this book; newcomers will appreciate information on the basics of collecting; while other sections might reawaken interest in experienced collectors. Striking photographs highlight the beauty and craftsmanship of items such as solid wood chests and elegant prints and ceramics. A glossary explains antique-related Japanese terms.

About The Author
Alistair Seton graduated from Oxford University and Aberdeen College of Education, and spent five years in Arab and West African countries before coming to Japan in 1972. Since then, he has taught at various universities and was a guest lecurer for eight years at Kobe University. He is a professor at Tezukayama Gakuin University. In 1993, he founded and still edits Daruma, a quarterly magazine on Japanese antiques and art. He lives in Kobe with his university professor wife and their two children.

Reader Reviews
This is not your typical collector's handbook listing objects and possibly briefly describing them and listing going prices. This coffee-table quality book with the title "Collecting Japanese Antiques" is a survey of Japanese art works and cultural items with sections of advice for collectors. The historical and cultural background on the different items favors what would be of interest to collectors. But it is also informative and relevant simply for its artistic, historical, and cultural material. Readers looking for concentrated information on Japanese art and culture accompanied by attractive color photographs would find this work exceptionally suitable. For the collectors it is meant for particularly, there's sections on "Tides and Trends in Collecting," guidance in developing collections of certain items (e. g., baskets), lists of artists, notable regions and schools for certain antiques, and especially desirable objects in certain categories. Seton also moves to the technical subjects of materials, production, and workmanship which are important for collectors not only in appreciating items and assessing their value, but in making a preliminary decision about their age and authenticity. Among Seton's 13 categories of antiques are screens and scrolls, ceramics, furniture, sculpture and metalwork, dolls, and tea ceremony utensils. Seton has lived in Japan since 1972, where he currently teaches Japanese art and poetry. In 1993, he founded the quarterly magazine "Daruma" to cover Japanese art and antiques; which he still edits. "Collecting Japanese Antiques" is a work any collector or lover of Japanese art and antique objects will want for sound education and easy reference, and at times for enjoyably looking at the numerous color photos of the varied Japanese objects.