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Art Fund Collect 2010 win for World Cultures collection!
The World Cultures department has won a beautiful new addition to its collection of Asian lacquerware and ceramics. RAMM was short-listed for the Art Fund Collect 2010, which was held at the Saatchi Gallery in London from the 14 - 17 May.
It was an incredible opportunity for the museum to acquire a contemporary work without having to worry about how much such an acquisition was going to cost. The Art Fund Collect was set up three years ago with the aim of financially assisting British museums and galleries who wanted to acquire new works of art.
Curator's Tony Eccles and Penny Sexton, attended the preview and selected a wonderful piece of lacquerware called Golden Fields of Rice by artist Mutsumi Suzuki for £17,000. Mutsumi Suzuki was born in Kyoto in 1942 to a renowned family of lacquer makers.
In his work he creates innovative contemporary forms whilst using the traditional material of lacquer. His work has been collected by museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the V&A in London, however, no examples of his work exists in the South West region of England. Mutsumi Suzuki died in May 2009 and this vessel was his last work.
Suzuki's early inspiration came from seeing a Northern Song Dynasty Ding Ware bowl in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. He felt that the piece set a precedent in his work and from then on he wanted to produce lacquer work which would be as high quality as this Ding Ware bowl and equally fit for an emperor.
Golden Fields of Rice contains a thin layer of carved zelkova wood of only 3mm thick to which many layers of lacquer were added to it. Its deep red surface is decorated with gold leaf, which resembles a bountiful harvest. The interior is typically black.
The museum reopens to the public at the end of 2011 and this item will be displayed amongst historic items from China, Japan and Mayanmar (Burma).
Art Fund Collect 2010 win for World Cultures collection! Image
Art Fund Collect 2010 press release
