The Department of
Oriental Art was opened in the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1954.
Artworks from the Far and Near East, and Islamic art, are displayed in permanent
exhibition halls. From 1990 the Oriental department has seven permanent
exhibition halls, five of them for Islamic art. One of the permanent
collections of Oriental art is at the Georgian National Museum.
A Japanese decorative dish (top photograph) with Tokugawa crests is 18th or 19th century, made of wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl, and gold. It depicts Tokiwa Gozen (1123-1180), a noblewoman of the late Helan period, wife of clan leader Minamoto no Yoshitomo. When he is killed in battle, she fled with her three sons under her clothes. Later she is captured by the Taira clan and her two oldest sons are sent to a Buddhist monastery. The youngest son became the great samurai general Minamoto no Yoshitsune who defeated the Taira clan in battle. The Tokugawa family, descendents of the Minamoto clan, commissioned the dish.
The paintings include ‘Woman’ by an
unknown Japanese artist (19th century).
A large ornamental
Japanese vase by Satsuma is an 18th century work of porcelain, enamel, and
gold. Satsuma is the name of Japanese porcelain, which was developed in the
16th century by Korean artisans who settled in the Satsuma region. Scenes on
the vase show Imperial life and the battles of the samurais. There are also a
collection of Japanese figurines and swords.
There are two silk
kimonos on display, one with 5-clawed dragons from 18th century China, and the
other is a 19th century untitled robe. The 5-clawed dragon was the symbol of
the emperor, especially yellow or gold dragons, with 4-clawed or 3-clawed
dragons the symbol of nobility.
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