Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Woodwork

Catalogue of Japanese Lacquer parts 1 & 2

1924-1925

Books

Two volumes of Japanese Lacquer in the position of the V&A in 1924 and 25. Produced by Edward F. Strange, one of the first home-grown scholars of the V&A. He was head of the woodworking department during 1914-1926 and become more well known for his work on Japanese prints.

At the time the V&A separated its collection into departments of design and these items were put under the furniture and woodworking department. It was later discovered that high-quality items such as some inro in the collection had no wood in their construction at all. They are comprised of layers of leather, paper, cloth or any combination of these. There is indeed inro made with a core of wood but this was considered a cheaper construction and led to a chance of cracking.

Now the V&A has all the Japanese works of art comprised in one collection but these books are an interesting snapshot into the collection at the time.

This book was from the Charles A Greenfield Collection. The book consists of two volumes bound together on a red canvas with gilt writing and red ink flecks applied to the paper edges. Charles A Greenfield Collection was a collector of Japanese art for over 60 years living in New York with a vast library on the subject Mostly focusing on Japanese lacquer.

Size 247mm x 189mm