The origin of the formation of Khanenko Museum`s Oriental Art Collection: establishing the biography of K. Morita
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2519-4801.2024.2.07Keywords:
ukiyo-e, tsuba, Japanese prints, auction catalogues, Hôtel Drouot, Japanism, Franco-Japanese relations, Japanese community in Paris, international exhibitions, Bohdan and Varvara KhanenkoAbstract
The article focuses on establishing the provenance of a part of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art ukiyo-e prints collection. The author analyses a number of sources, including the catalogue of the Hôtel Drouot auction (11-12 March 1912) “Estampes japonaises appartenant à nonsieur [sic] K. Morita, Estampes japonaises, bronzes, laques, gardes de sabres, paravent brodé, monture en bois de fer appartenant à monsieur P.”. and commissaire-priseur André Desvouges’ notes. This allows us to establish new information about the purchase of art objects by the Khanenko family, and the exact number and value of items in the collection of Japanese prints.
The research establishes the life and achievements of the previous owner of the collection of prints, Kikujiro Morita. His career was part of the global increase in the foreign policy influence and status of the Japanese Empire as a serious political player in the international arena during the Meiji period of 1868-1912. Kikujirō Morita's role as a secretary and escort for diplomatic cultural missions allows us to discover the stages of the collection's formation, as well as the likely places of acquisition or temporary location before its final stop in Paris. The context of the development of Japanism as a phenomenon in Europe and its collapse in the 1910s influenced the formation of the auction's price offers. The article demonstrates the polarity of attitudes towards the art of ukiyo-e printmakers in the Japanese Empire and Europe (low price with high demand). Particularly valuable is the newly discovered information on the auction sale of artworks by Kikujiro Morita.
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