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Paper short abstract

The history of Japanese art collections in Polish museums reflects the evolution of Polish – Japanese cultural relations. This paper aims to explore ceramic vessels both as art objects and as significant cultural texts within the process of the reception of Japanese culture in Poland.

Paper long abstract

Collecting Japanese art in Poland has a long and fascinating history. Its origins can be traced to collections of lacquerware (urushi) and Imari porcelain that adorned the interiors of palaces and residences, amassed by prominent aristocratic families, particularly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A subsequent stage developed at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when, alongside the growing interest in Japan in Western Europe, opportunities for intensive direct and indirect contact with Japanese culture also emerged in Poland, which at that time did not exist as an independent state. Japanese art became increasingly accessible, and artefacts representing its diverse forms appeared in relatively large numbers both in museum collections and in the hands of private collectors. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and militaria predominated, although various types of ceramics, not only porcelain, also attracted considerable interest. The most important figure in the reception of Japanese culture in Poland during this period was the collector Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński, whose holdings consisted primarily of an extensive collection of high-quality woodblock prints, but also included Japanese decorative arts, among them ceramics.

Objects owned by the Polish aristocracy and private collectors largely entered Polish museum collections as deposits, gifts, or purchases. Today, the largest holdings are preserved in museums with national status, primarily the National Museum in Kraków and the National Museum in Warsaw. Significant collections are also housed in royal palaces and aristocratic residences, such as the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and Wawel Royal Castle – the State Art Collection in Kraków.

This paper aims to explore ceramic vessels and to analyse them both as art objects and as significant cultural texts within the broader process of the reception of Japanese culture in Poland.