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Turning Japanese for birthday celebrations
The second object in the spotlight as part of Maidstone Museum’s
150th birthday is the Japanese collections.
The collections were founded on the gifts and
bequests of two local collectors - the Hon. Henry Marsham (1908)
and the Hon. Walter Samuel (1923-4). The collections amount to
3,000 items and are predominantly from the Edo (1600-1868) and
Meiji (1868-1912) periods.
They include - approximately 700 woodblock
prints, printed books, a comprehensive collection of
sword-fittings, lacquer, carving and figural pieces, metalwork,
ceramics, personal accessories and small items of nineteenth
century furniture.
The new East Wing extension is set to
incorporate a dedicated Japanese gallery, allowing Maidstone Museum
to redisplay the highlights of one of the top five collections
outside of London.
Fiona Woolley, the keeper of Fine Art at the
museum said: “I am currently having the delectable task of
selecting items and compiling storylines for the new gallery. It’s
a real treat to focus my time on the collection and an opportunity
for us to work with specialists to help raise the profile of the
great treasures to be found here.”
This page was last updated on 8/14/2008