Stuart's Taste of the Orient





This is my collection of porcelain plates. The eight plates took 3 years to collect and now hang proudly on my living room wall. The scanning process has not done them justice because the colours have dulled.
They still looked beautiful however.




Feminine beauty: the Japanese ideal

To the Japanese artist, a woman's loveliness evokes the mysterious harmony that pervades all life.


Elegant Japanese attire conveys the unity of the spirit

Reaching fullest flowering in the Momoyama period (1568-1600), the kimono and accessories achieve harmony with nature by embodying the colours and textures of the seasons.


Flowers: nature's expression of order and form

Richly portrayed in seventeenth century Japanese woodblock prints, flowers reflect the tranquility of the human spirit at one with the world.


The bridge: element of symmetry and proportion

Dramatically rendered in the prints of the school of ukiyo-e ('images of the floating world'), the bridge leads our eyes into nature to behold its serenity and calm.

Plum Blossoms Plum Blossoms
 Flowers give but perfume
To the one who breaks the branch
From the plum in bloom 		Geisha Girl
A Butterfly A Butterfly
 A falling leaf, thought I,
Fluttering back to the branch -
Was a butterfly.
Snowy Heron Snowy Heron
 In the fresh spring breeze
How snowy is the heron
Flying through the pine trees.
Orphan Sparrow Orphan Sparrow
 With one another
Let's play; so come, O Sparrow
Who has no mother. 		Beautiful Girl
Cherry Flowers Cherry Flowers
 The cherry flowers are now in full bloom
In full bloom, and no petals
Flutter from the bough.
Leaves Leaves
 O Leaves, ask the breeze
Which of you will scatter first
From the verdant trees. 		Geisha Girl
Harvest Moon Harvest Moon
 Do not regret
That tonight changes into day;
There is still the moon of Autumn!
The Crystal Spring The Crystal Spring
 In my scooping hands
The leaves of the oak-tree move
In the crystal spring.

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