[JAPAN] - NORITANÉ Ninagawa - Kwan ko dzu setsu. Historical - Lot 173

[JAPAN] - NORITANÉ Ninagawa - Kwan ko dzu setsu. Historical and descriptive note on Japanese arts and industries. Ceramic art third part. Ceramic art part four. Ceramic art part five. Ceramic art part seven. Tokyo, 1877-1880. Oblong folio, formerly bound in Japanese style, with title labels in French and Japanese, containing a total of 92 lithographed plates, all colored, and 58 pages of text. Tears in the margins, minor foxing and loss. The "Kwan-Ko-Dzu-Setsu" (illustrated catalog of archaeological objects) is an interesting and rare early example of Japanese lithography, illustrating Japanese ceramic art, some of which came from the treasury of the Todai-ji temple in Nara, opened once or twice a century by an imperial commission of which Noritané Ninagawa (1835-1882) was a member. An art historian, archaeologist and collector of Japanese art, Noritané was behind Japan's first national museums, notably the Tokyo National Museum.