990 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



A revised descriptive catalogue of the foregoing collection is also 

 submitted as a part of this report. 



Descriptive catalogue (revised) of Gen. Horace Capron's collection of specimens of antique 

 Japanese ivorks of art, temporarily deposited in the U. S. National Museum, SmitJisonian 

 Institution. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In Japan, the love of art has penetrated even to the lowest classes of the people. 

 Their fancies, conceits, poetry, puns, legends, and mythology are all "expressed in 

 characteristic forms of art, such as are enumerated in the collection herein described. 

 Instead of ink and paper, or paint and canvas, the artists have selected, as their 

 mediums of expression, porcelain, lacquer work, screens, embroidery, ivory, and 

 crystal. 



This rare and original collection was made by General Capron during a long resi- 

 dence in Japan, which covered a period of the greatest interest in the history of that 

 Empire, embracing as it did the closing scenes of a revolution which terminated in 

 the abolition of the feudal system, thereby forcing the Daimios and princes of the 

 Empire to offer for sale vast treasures in the way of rare art productions of the days 

 of Japan's greatest prosperity and unrivaled proficiency, specimens of which had 

 been sacredly guarded for centuries. It was from such sources that this collection 

 was taken. 



The numerous legends herein recorded were gathered from the people during 

 actual residence among them, and subsequently corrected and elaborated, reference 

 for the purpose being had to Prof. W. E. Griffis's works, The Mikado's Empire 

 (Harpers, JNew York), Corea, the Hermit Nation (Scribners, New York), Japanese 

 Fairy World (J. H. Barhyte, Schenectady, New York), and to Audesley and Bowe's, 

 The Keramic Art of Japan. 



The greater portion of the lacquered work of the collection was taken from the 

 private stores of the Tycoons, which were confiscated at the close of their reign by the 

 Mikado's Government. These pieces bear the armorial insignia of the princely fam- 

 ilies in which they have been treasured for centuries. Other specimens in this 

 collection were derived from imperial sources as presents. The peculiar significance 

 of the combinations of plants and birds in these pieces will be found in the notes 

 appended to this catalogue. 



All the articles embraced in this collection were secured before any attempt had 

 been made to imitate these rare and unrivaled works of Old Japan, and the substitu- 

 tion of gamboge, tinfoil, and other combinations for pure gold used in the decorations 

 of these antiques. 



The time required to produce a first-class lacquered specimen was formerly from 

 four to six years. The longer the time given to each coating the harder and more 

 durable it becomes. From six to eight and even twenty coats of lacquer are neces- 

 sary for the best work, applied at intervals of from four to six months; hence the 

 worthlessness of the lacquer productions of the present period. 



In their ceramic products, likewise, especially the Satsuma faience, time or labor 

 under the old dynasties were not considered, and during the existence of the Satsuma 

 princes in full power the pure specimens of their potter's work, now so rare, were 

 made without regard to cost. These were never designed to be sold, but were made 

 to serve as presents among the princes and rulers of the Empire. No such ware is 

 made at the present time worthy the attention of foreign purchasers. The Satsuma 

 faience in this collection was procured when the lords of Satsuma were wealthy and 

 and in the height of their power. 



No. 1. The cock on the drum is often chosen by the artist in cloisonne", lacquer, 

 porcelain, and bronze. It is a symbol of good government and a peaceful state of 



