14 September – Winter, 2024
Autumn’s Accessories, offering a selection of Chinese ceramics along with Chinese and Japanese painting, begins with two large jars that are particularly meaningful: one a Han-dynasty ash-glazed vessel and the other a massive 5th-century Yue-ware jar (cat. 1-2). Together they represent China’s initial steps towards a spectacular future in celadon production and they also reflect our own fixation with these early wares, a fixation that has not diminished over the years. At some point we also fell under the spell of porcelains made in China for the Japanese and the mysterious world of tea they inhabited. And when we did, we fell hard. The latest ceramics in the exhibition are two kosometsuke porcelains. One is an octagonal hot charcoal container for use in lighting pipes enjoyed before entering the tearoom (cat. 14). The other is a dish with an intriguing “split” composition, one side with painted design, the other left plain, a decorative device that appears to have originated in Japan many centuries before (cat. 15). The motif linking the two sides is a quatrefoil containing an image of a white rabbit, a reminder that the Mid-Autumn/Harvest Moon festival is upon us. If we are lucky, when the supermoon dominates the sky in mid-September, we will see the rabbit with mortar and pestle in its celestial abode preparing the elixir of immortality, as its companion, the Moon Goddess Chang E, lurks somewhere on the dark side of the orb.
Autumn is also celebrated in several of the Japanese paintings presented here. For each of our seasonal exhibitions we have tried to include appropriate works, whether the subject is a seasonal one or the painting was executed during that season in question. For example, Hirano Gogaku signs his impressive hanging scroll indicating a winter date of execution. Yet in his inscription he refers to “water dried in the autumn river” and “rice harvested in the paddy field,” punctuated by a seal reading “half a lake of autumn water; one mountain cottage” (cat. 34). Nagasawa Rosetsu paints a restrained and eloquent ode to autumn with his “Two Crows on Persimmon Branch” (cat. 26). The plump fruit ripening against a bare branch speaks the language of autumn simply but completely.
In order to get this show up and running, we had the assistance of two individuals, who have been a godsend to us over many years. Persistence, dedication, and vast knowledge characterize our friend Hiroshi Kawasaki in Osaka, who provided transcriptions and translations of inscriptions, colophons and seals both on the paintings themselves and on their boxes, and for wherever else we needed his input. Robert Lyman here in Hawai’i is, how can we say, our “Man for All Seasons,” in our business and in our lives in general. For the exhibition, Robert did most of the photography, assisted in research, and was responsible for the website, for getting all the information up and in the most presentable fashion possible. Both Hiroshi and Robert always responded to our needs and to the moment with grace and enthusiasm and for this we are forever grateful.