Keramic Art of Japan

Discover the refined soul of Japan in clay and glaze, from humble tea bowls to imperial porcelain. Each vessel holds a world. First published in the late nineteenth century, George Ashdown Audsley's Keramic Art of Japan stands as one of the earliest comprehensive English studies of Japanese ceramics art history and 19th century Japanese art. Drawing on close study of traditional Japanese pottery and historical Japanese porcelain designs, Audsley unpacks forms, colours and motifs with the eye of an architect and the sympathy of a lifelong admirer of Japanese decorative arts history. Conceived as an illustrated Japanese art book for Western connoisseurs, his classic survey moves from everyday wares to courtly masterpieces, tracing regional styles and the spiritual ideas that shaped them, and giving modern readers an indispensable Asian art history reference rooted in first-hand observation. For ceramic collectors and dealers, students of Asian decorative arts ceramics, and anyone seeking an authoritative antique pottery reference book or oriental porcelain collectors guide, Keramic Art of Japan offers both trusted classification and vivid evocations of kiln, workshop and studio. Designers and potters will find rich inspiration for ceramic artists in its disciplined attention to proportion, surface and ornament, while casual readers can simply linger over the poetry of objects described. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint - a collector's item and a cultural treasure.