The School of Art Kodansu and George Powell’s Japonisme – an essay by Isaac Peat

During my time studying the School of Art collections there has been one object which has always captured my attention and constantly enthused me – a small, Japanese, box-shaped object delicately dressed in fine iron inlay by a masterful craftsman (figures 1a-1e). This cabinet, which has never been opened in recent times, has only occasionally been displayed in public exhibitions and seemed too beautiful not to be put in the spotlight. The cabinet has led me to the story of its patron George Powell, as well as to its own cultural history and development, but also onto a bigger story of the influences of a western world opening itself to Japanese art and culture.

(Figure 1a) Iron Inlaid Japanese Zogan Kodansu, Meiji Period 1868-1912, possibly by Kyōto-ju Komai-sei, (Japanese) 25cm x 20cm x 12cm