MUSINGS: INSATIABLE CURIOSITY: SIR WILLIAM VAN HORNE'S JAPANESE CERAMIC COLLECTION

Collections Corner | Carly Hall

During the fall reading week, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing panel hosted by the Gardiner Museum called “Power and Possession: The Ethics of Collecting” (to read my summary of this panel, click here). Fueling this panel was the Gardiner’s special exhibition Obsession: Sir William Van Horne’s Japanese Ceramics. This collection showcases the distinctive beauty of Japanese ceramics, as well as the obsession of one of the most significant collectors in Canadian history: Sir William Van Horne (1843-1915).

Before the collection is even made visible, the audience is exposed to multiple wall panels which provide a brief history of Sir William Van Horne and some context to his collection. After making your way through this corridor of information, you turn a corner and are exposed to the ceramic collection.

Obsession: Sir William Van Horne's Japanese Ceramics. Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

Now, I’m a sucker for objects with small elaborate details, so when I rounded the corner, this was my reaction:

Source.

The collection itself is impressive. Working together with the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, the Royal Ontario Museum and private collectors, the Gardiner has – for the first time – successfully gathered what remains of Sir Williams Van Horne’s original 1200 piece Japanese ceramic collection. Comprised of over 350 Japanese ceramics from the Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji period (1868-1912), Van Horne’s personal watercolour paintings, notes, catalogues and letters, the collection stands as an example of how incredibly complex collections and their collectors can be.

Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

Sir William Van Horne was a perfect example of a colonial collector. Once the West had established trade with Japan in 1854, there was a fascination for collecting Japanese art and artifacts. As an industrialist with a passion for collecting and creating works of art, Van Horne became obsessed with Japanese domestic ware. He preferred objects made for household or ceremonial use as opposed to objects manufactured for export (such utilitarian ceramics he considered to be more culturally authentic).

The purpose of Van Horne’s collection was not based on aesthetics. It was the extensive research, the meticulous identification and classification of objects, and educational discoveries that roused Van Horne’s obsession. This is made quite evident as you examine sections of his notebooks and larger watercolours, revealing the collector’s passion and appreciation for individual objects.

Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

While aesthetics may not have been the fuel for collection, it certainly plays a part in the exhibition. Depending on your line of perception, the effects of the lighting on the glass produce an incredible mirror effect on the objects. It’s almost kaleidoscopic.

Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

Van Horne also seemed to be drawn to neutral, earthy coloured ceramics; however, his collection does contain beautifully vibrant objects.

Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

As I mentioned, Van Horne was an industrialist; a real business tycoon who is most notably known as the man who fulfilled Sir John A. MacDonald’s vision of a transcontinental railway. The consequences of colonizing Western Canada are briefly addressed in one of the introductory wall panels as you first enter the gallery. However, it is difficult to remember this as you make your way through the collection. If you were put off by so much text at the beginning of the exhibition and had no background knowledge of Van Horne, the collection would seem unproblematic. What I found interesting is that Van Horne never visited Japan himself; he relied on art dealers from Japan and the United States to amass his collection, and to shape his knowledge on Japanese domestic ceramics.

Van Horne family with Japanese art dealer. Photo courtesy of Carly Hall.

Putting aside all the potential issues of the collector and means of acquisitions, the collection itself is lovely. There is a sense of Van Horne’s genuine passion and curiosity for the ceramics. I strongly recommend this exhibition to anyone who likes to take the time to look at and object or artwork individually, study its details, and compare it with other pieces. And, of course, for all you avid ceramics lovers out there.

The Gardiner Museum will be hosting Obsession: Sir William Van Horne’s Japanese Ceramics until January 20, 2019.