Selected Specimens of the Chinese Bronze Collection in the Hakkaku Art Museum; Hakkuku Kikkin Senshu

Kobe, Japan: Hakkaku Art Museum, 1951. First Edition . Buckram. Near Fine/Good. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Presumed first and only printing. Published 1951. This book has primary text in Japanese and secondary text in English. Dark blue buckram spine, with crisp gilt-stamped lettering, and mushroom-colored boards with crisp blind-stamped image to rear board depicting a family crest of three oak leaves. Unbumped spine head and tail, with sharp corners. Immensely clean binding. 10.25 x 7.25 inches. With 17 numbered pages of text plus full-page plates of 55 objects in the collection (of 60 objects perhaps discussed in the volume), including four tipped-in color plates and the remainder B&W plates (item 18 has two full-page plates). A page of detailed commentary, in Japanese and in English, appears opposite each plate. An exceptionally clean copy, and very tight. Either unread or very gently read. With the original, plain-paper dust jacket, with black titling to the spine. The DJ is substantially chipped along the top and bottom edges. DJ now encased in a clear Mylar DJ protector. A Near Fine copy in a Good DJ. Extremely scarce in any condition. The Hakkaku Art Museum in Kobe, Japan contains a significant collection of old Chinese art, including archaic Chinese bronzes. The original collection was that of Jihei Kano, the museum's founder. He became expert in the art of the Nara period in Japan and, consequently, in the relics of the Sui and T'ang Dynasties of China. Mr. Kano began collecting early in the 20th century when a great number of the ancient tombs of the T'ang Dynasty were excavated at Lo-Lang (also known as Lo-Yang) in present-day North Korea. During that ancient dynasty Lo-Lang was under Chinese control. Many of the gold, silver and bronze objects first collected by Mr. Kano were documented in the 1930 publication, Hakkaku-Cho. He subsequently acquired relics from Yin Dynasty tombs. In 1935, to preserve his treasures, he established the Hakkaku Art Museum. To commemorate the opening of the museum, he published Hakkaku Kikkinshu (Hakkaku Collection for Bronzes). In the years after opening the museum Mr. Kano added relics from the Yin and Chou Dynasties as well as from the Period of the Warring States. To commemorate his 90th birthday in 1951 he selected 60 objects from his collection and published them in the present volume. The objects illustrated mainly are old bronzes of the Yin Dynasty and applied art objects of the T'ang Dynasty. The Hakkaku Art Museum also contains a wealth of objects from the period of the Warring States, the middle of the Chou Dynasty, and the Han and Six Dynasties.