THE TRADITIONS OF JAPANESE CERAMICS

Abstract

The article focuses on an important topic - the traditions of Japanese ceramics. Its relevance lies in the importance of solving the problem of identifying artworks: whether they are fake or original. Incorrect attribution of an item can lead to severe legal and material consequences and significantly affect the reputation. Differences between the terms “a copy” and “a forgery” with the assessment of positive and negative aspects of falsification are revealed. Highly qualified specialists with certificates and diplomas are required to identify and attribute art. The article shows the main requirements they must have. It also highlights and covers the characteristics and central problem of Western art, describes the ideology of Eurocentrism, according to which Europe, or the West, is the highest stage of human civilization; the rest of the world is considered primitive and undeveloped. A vivid example of an error in identifying a work of art by the Getty Museum - the sculpture Head with Horns and several cases of creating grandiose first-class forgeries in the art of Japanese ceramics are presented in the article. The works of such artists as Kato Tokuro, a ceramic artist whose works have won the highest artistic award in Japan and are widely recognized among collectors and curators of the West, Kagami Shukai, and Kato Koju have been studied. The article describes the Setoceramic tradition and its significance for common cultural art. It was created by the great Kato Shirozaemon and got its name from the name of the city in Japan, famous for its pottery. The article shows the importance of traditional methods in Japanese ceramic art history. Hence the desire of masters to follow ancient patterns and techniques. The article also describes the features and reveals the differences between traditional and Studio ceramics. The characteristics of the Asian approach, which aims to reproduce cultural values in an unchanged form, parallel with the development of progress in other areas, are studied. The article’s main task is to teach how to detect an obvious forgery by analyzing genuine ceramic products’ characteristic features. For this purpose, significant analysis of the distinctive features of authentic ceramic products is given. Several techniques and methods for determining the authenticity of the exhibit are presented.