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In the “Southern Barbarian” Style – Japanese Namban Objects. A Cabinet and Tsuba Sword Guards at the 20.03-19.09.2014 In the “Southern Barbarian” Style – Japanese Namban Objects. A Cabinet and Tsuba Sword Guards at the
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A presentation held at the EUROPEUM – Centre for European Culture shows artworks that, though not created in Europe, were influenced by European art. A cabinet and tsuba sword guards representing the namban art reflect this influence which was typical of this style of Japanese art. It developed at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, and this is the period the objects in the collection of the National Museum in Krakow date back to.

The forms of these items and their rich ornamentation serve as characteristic examples of the namban style. This term, which literally translates as southern barbarians, referred to the Europeans who arrived in Japan in the 16th century (Portuguese traders arrived in Japan in 1543), as well as the inhabitants of Continental Asia. Both the Europeans and Asians – merchants, travellers and missionaries – penetrated deep into Japan from its southern seaports. Therefore, this clearly contemptuous name referring to foreigners contained an element indicating the direction.

However, despite their unconcealed aversion to strangers, Japanese people watched the objects brought by them with curiosity. They were astonished, for example, by oil paintings – both their technique, which had not been seen in Japan before, and their subject matter. Frequently incomprehensible, the latter
sometimes led to anecdotal situations – as in the case when some women who visited one ship captain fell to their knees to honour a portrait of a woman which decorated the interior, believing that it showed the Virgin Mary. In fact it was a sensual image of Venus that helped sailors while away the time spent on the ship...

Objects of decorative arts intrigued with their shapes which revealed their unusual functions. This category included, among other things, some pieces of furniture, whose completely different forms resulted from the application in a very differently arranged living space in Europe. Thanks to unknown utensils from overseas countries, such as optical instruments, the Japanese became more familiar with the customs and technical achievements of the West.

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