Page 13 - Lunyushanren Col II

(Fig. 3) Lot 709, an extremely rare paper-cut resist-decorated Jizhou in 1950. This foundation has extensive archival holdings and diverse art
bottle vase, formerly in the Ataka Collection. Lots 707, 710, and 713 collections, amongst which the most important of the Chinese ceramics
were also formerly in the Ataka Collection. are those traditionally used in Japan for tea drinking.
（圖三）拍品編號709，吉州窯剪紙貼雙鳳紋長頸瓶。此拍品及拍品編
號707、710，以及713皆來自安宅收藏。 Museums in Japan containing the collections of individuals, who bought
their Chinese ceramics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, also
11 provide a good indication of the enduring fascination with Chinese
ceramics amongst Japanese collectors. The collection housed in the
Seikadō Bunko Art Museum 静嘉堂文庫美術館, for example, was
founded by Baron Iwasaki Yanosuke (岩崎彌之助 1851-1908), who
began collecting in the 1890s, and expanded by his son, Baron Iwasaki
Koyata (岩崎小彌太 1879-1945). They were respectively the second
and fourth presidents of Mitsubishi. Seikadō 静嘉堂 was the studio-
name of Iwasaki Yanosuke. The Seikadō Foundation was established in
1940 and the Seikadō Bunko Library was opened. This housed Baron
Iwasaki Koyata’s personal collection of books - 80,000 volumes in
Japanese and 120,000 volumes in Chinese. It was his hope to establish
an art museum, but this was delayed until many years after his death.
In 1992, in commemoration of the centenary of the founding of the
Seikado Collection, a new museum was opened to house the 6,500
works of art. Iwasaki Yanosuke collected a broad range of both Japanese
and Chinese art including swords, tea ceremony utensils, Chinese and
Japanese painting, calligraphy, pottery, lacquerware, paper and brushes,
and wood carvings, while his son Koyata expanded the collection. In
particular Iwasaki Koyata was a passionate collector of Chinese ceramics
and established a comprehensive and systematic collection from the Han
dynasty through to, and including, the Qing dynasty.

Another prestigious museum, the Nezu Museum 根津美術館 (Nezu
bijutsukan), was established under the terms of the will of Nezu Kaichiro,
Sr. (根津嘉一郎 1860-1940), who was an industrialist and president of
the Tobu railway company 東武鉄道株式会社. His intention was to
establish a foundation to preserve his personal collection, and the museum
opened in 1941 at his Aoyama 青山 residence. The garden there is in
traditional style and includes several tea houses, refecting Nezu Kaichiro’s
enduring interest in the tea ceremony, which is also refected in his
collection. Amongst the tea wares in the Nezu Museum are fne examples
from Japan, China and Korea. In addition to its important collection of
Japanese art, the museum is especially famous for its collections of ancient
Chinese bronzes, Chinese paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties,
and Chinese ceramics. In more recent years the museum holdings have
expanded to more than 7,400 objects thanks to additional donations from
other private collectors.

A further internationally renowned Japanese collection which included
very important Chinese ceramics is today housed in the Museum of
Oriental Ceramics Osaka 大阪市立東洋陶磁美術館. This is the Ataka
Collection 安宅コレクション which is comprised of some 1,000 East
Asian ceramics assembled by Ataka Eichi (安宅英一 1901-1994) (fg. 3).
Ataka Eiichi came from a wealthy mercantile family, and served as
both company board chairman and counsellor to the trading company
Ataka Co. Ltd. It was he who initiated the Ataka collection and was
responsible for its growth. Through his fnely developed aesthetic sense
the collection, primarily consisting of Chinese ceramics of the Tang,
Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, and Korean ceramics of the Goryeo
and Joseon dynasties, was built up. After the dissolution of the Ataka
company, the Sumitomo Group donated the collection to the city of
Osaka. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka was founded in 1982
in order to house the collection.

It is against this background of historical appreciation of Chinese ceramics
in Japan that the owner of the Linyushanren Collection began to acquire
Chinese ceramic items in the 1970s. In the 1990s, true to the tastes
developed in Japan in the later Heian (AD 794-1185) and Kamakura
(1185-1333) periods, the current collector found himself especially drawn
to the ceramics of the Chinese Song dynasty. As evidenced by the pieces
in this catalogue, it is the ceramics from the Chinese kilns of the period
10th-13th century that have continued to captivate and inspire him.

The Linyushanren Collection, Part II