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The Garrett Collection. Japanese Art: Lacquer, Inro, Netsuke

Davey, Neil K. and Tripp, Susan G.

"The Garrett Collection of Japanese Lacquer, inrõ, and netsuke offers an unusual research opportunity. As a virtually undisturbed first-generation collection, one of the few in the United States, one gains valuable insights into the collecting habits of one family. Also, light is shed on the availability of certain objects in the late nineteenth century, contemporary opinions and attributions to both the authorship and date of manufacture, as well as sense of the general level of knowledge held by Westerners about the Orient. The extensive holdings of mask netsuke alone afford one not only the opportunity to compare the nuances of the masks to one another, but also to their models, the traditional Japanese theatre mask. All pertinent information from the Garrett archives has been entered aspart of each catalogue entry. Moreover, to facilitate comparisons with other published artists or objects, modern references have been supplied as well. Since this book´s inception, it hasbeen our aim to bring the Garrett Collection of Japanese art and its associate papers and accounts to light as an entity. The publication of a first-generation collection, intact with packing boxes, silk pouches, shipping crates and correspondence, we felt would make an important contribution to the study of Japanese Art, especially as collected by an American. We have always thought that modern collectors who possess objects similar to those in theGarrett Collection would particularly appreciate knowing the background of those pieces. And knowing when certain objects were purchased or first recorded as being at Evergreen Housecan be a particularly useful dating tool for collectors and scholars alike. We have sought to provide the readers with an objective view and description of the art. We have also sought togive the reader through numerous references, a key that will further explain our attributions and descriptions. We hope that our research will help to shed new light on some overlookedsubjects. The Garretts were a special family, able to use their wealth, interests, and knowledge in a way which would benefit others. It is our hope that we have succeeded in furthering thisphilosophy." from the foreword.

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