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- carving netsuke from materials like ivory, wood, horn and lacquer reached its zenith during this time. The themes of the carvings were extremely clever and included an enormous variety of subject matter from Japanese history and folklore as well as plants and animals.
During the Edo period, the nations reliance on Chinese imported silk products was soon replaced by Japans own silk production of rich and distinctive fabric designs and techniques, especially those produced in the Nishijin district of Kyoto. Miyazaki Yuzen, a Kyoto artisan, developed the magnificent technique of yuzen-zome (a rice paste batik method of dying). The Japanese design innovations in dyeing, painting, embroidery, brocade, applique and use of gold-thread repousse were unparalleled. The visually rich motifs were distinctly Japanese in representation including such subjects as flowers, birds, trees and stylized waves. The three albums of swatches (meibutsugire) showing Edo period silk patterns, donated by the late Bunzo Nakanishi in this exhibition and publication, wonderfully illustrate hundreds of these gorgeous and elaborate decorative patterns, showing a superb sense of colour and form, and an endless sense of ingenuity. [50] Woodblock print artists undoubtedly consulted textile pattern books of this type to create the stunning garments in their prints. While the upper classes wore beautiful silks, the townspeople had to follow clothing restrictions that prevented any presumptuous dress; they usually wore cotton and some silk. At first the peasants� dress was extremely plain and made of straw, hemp, mulberry bark or cotton, but by the middle of the Edo period cotton was in widespread use. It was tough and easy to dye.
OPPOSITE
49. Noh Mask of young lady / Masque N� de jeune dame Late 18th/early 19th century Carved wood with Lacquer and pigment
Noh theatre became one of the few acceptable forms of entertainment considered appropriate for the cultural samurai. Its restrained performance was in sharp contrast to the sensational aspects of Bunraku and Kabuki theatre, which were enjoyed by the lower classes.
50. Three Volumes of meibutsu gire (textile swatches] / Trois volumes de meibutsu gire fechantillons de tissus)
17th� 19th centuries
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