China and Japan

The Japanese collection contains primarily applied art from the 19th and 20th centuries – unique pieces as well as anonymously-produced articles for everyday use. This is one of the results of a renewed European interest in Japan around the middle of the 19th century – a consequence of the opening of country to the outside world in 1853. In addition there is a small but exclusive number of examples of applied art from the period before the opening of Japan: lacquer-work, porcelain, tea-dishes, two rare picture screens, and, not least, a superb collection of sword guards for the adornment of Samurai display swords.

The collection of sword guards

The collection of sword guards or sword adornments runs to almost 1700 examples and was assembled by Hugo Halberstadt, a doctor, from 1895 onwards. In 1940, the collection was donated to Designmuseum Danmark (at the time called The Museum of Art and Design), and it is among the largest in the world.

Modern Japanese objects

IIn the Chinese collection, are rare examples of ceramics from prehistoric times and the Tang, Sung, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The collection also includes ancient bronzes and furniture from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Chinese ceramics collection includes many works, among them stoneware, which have been of considerable significance for Danish craftsmen and designers in the second half of the 20th century. In the same way, many of the pieces of Chinese furniture have served as a source of inspiration for some of the 20th century Danish furniture designers.

The China exhibition

Last updated 13.05.2013