An exhibition of Taisho-era opulence, where Eastern craft meets Western industry.
Hand-applied urushi varnish on wood, layer upon layer, burnished to a mirror finish. Each piece required weeks of patient work.
Brass and copper instruments, riveted and polished, repurposed as decorative objects. Industrial precision meets aesthetic refinement.
Immersion: The exhibition space as a complete sensory environment.
Precision: Each element engineered with the exactness of a chronometer.
Legacy: Where tradition and modernity converged for a single, shimmering moment.
Craft: Centuries of knowledge applied to contemporary materials.
The lacquerware section houses over three hundred pieces, each representing a distinct school of urushi application. From the austere black of Aizu ware to the gold-studded brilliance of Takayama lacquer, every piece tells a story of regional craft mastery.
Brass instruments and riveted panels from the Meiji and Taisho periods are catalogued and displayed under controlled humidity. These objects represent the moment when Japanese craftsmen first adapted Western industrial techniques.
Original exhibition catalogues, photographic negatives, and correspondence from collectors detail the aesthetic philosophies guiding each acquisition. These texts preserve the voice of an era now a century past.
An archive of opulence. A monument to the fusion of cultures. A room in a mansion that exists only in memory and digital restoration.