Precious Japanese vases to go on show

The Victoria and Albert Museum, billed as world’s greatest museum of art and design, is bringing The Seven Treasures to Bolton Museum next month as a part of a touring exhibition.

It will features pieces from a recent significant donation by Mr Davies CBE, who was raised in Bolton.

His gift is made up of almost 90 bowls and vases, mostly dating from the period known as the Golden Age of Japanese Cloisonné.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome the V&A exhibition to Bolton Museum, and especially the inclusion of the Edwin Davies collection due to his strong Bolton connections.

“We would highly recommend that people pay a visit to this fascinating and beautiful exhibition and even come to understand and share Mr Davies’ admiration for these pieces of art.”

Cloisonné is a way of enamelling an object, typically made of copper, where fine wires are used to outline the decorative areas and enamel paste is applied before the object is fired and polished.

The council spokesman said: “The Seven Treasures exhibition is a comprehensive survey of cloisonné enamels, combining the V&A’s collection with a recent significant gift of Japanese enamels by Edwin Davies CBE.

“The collection of almost 100 bowls and vases from the late 17th century to the 20th century is a fantastic introduction to this amazing art form and allows audiences to see how the craft developed over several centuries. The objects donated by Mr Davies, however, show the Golden Age from 1880 to 1910 is the really special period. This is when the highest quality pieces were produced.”

The exhibition is on display at Bolton Museum from October 6 to January 6, 2013.

Greg Irvine, Senior Curator in the Asian Department at the Victoria and Albert, will talk about the history and meticulous craft of Japanese enamels.

The free talk will take place on Friday, October 19 from 1pm to 2pm, in the Central Library Lecture Theatre.