Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Tales in the round: Manjū netsuke and Japanese woodblock prints – exhibition now online

29 July 2013

The online version of the exhibition Tales in the Round: Manju Netsuke from the Ashmolean is now live. Here, visitors can zoom into high-resolution images and access detailed information about the works, currently on display in the Museum’s Eastern Art Paintings Gallery.

Manjū netsuke are round button-shaped toggles used in the ensemble which hung from a man’s waist sash and included tiered medicine boxes, tobacco pouches, pipes and purses. These 50 netsuke are on display for the first time thanks to a bequest from Dr Monica Barnett, a collector for over thirty years. The exquisitely carved objects are illustrated with dramatic episodes and characters from Japanese history and popular culture: folktales, festivals, warriors, actors, and goblins to name but a few.

The exhibition will be open until the 22nd September. After the physical display has ended, the web-based version of the exhibition will remain online indefinitely as an archived resource that can continue to be explored.

A fully illustrated catalogue of the museum’s collection of manjū netsuke, describing the stories they depict in greater detail, is also available to purchase from the exhibition shop or online.

see all news

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum