This exhibition introduces glassworks from the collection of the Pola Museum of Art reflecting 19th century Orientalism and Japonisme.

Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in Egypt at the end of the 18th century stimulated interest in and admiration for the ‘exotic’ countries of the Mid East and Near East. Travel of European artists to North Africa and other countries in order to paint exotic people and landscapes generated new Orientalist motifs in European literature and art. Emile Gallé (1846-1904) and the Daum Brothers (Auguste 1853-1909; Antonin 1864-1930), Art Nouveau glasswork artists in the northeastern French city of Nancy, incorporated geometric arabesque designs and dense color uncommon in the Western tradition.

The 1851 London International Exposition, and following expositions in Paris and Vienna in the latter half of the 19th century, brought many Japanese objects to Europe. The popularity of Japanese ukiyo-e wood block prints and Japanese crafts greatly influenced Western art and design. Gallé and the Daum Brothers gave reference to designs and patterns from Japanese pottery and motifs from Hokusai Manga (Hokusai Sketches). Moreover, their incorporation of organic forms and plants paticular to Japan, along with the culture and art of this distant and unknown country, attests to their admiration for things Japanese.