Discover the Royal Collection’s exquisite collections of Japanese art and design in a talk by Rachel Peat, curator of the exhibition Japan: Courts and Culture at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
The talk is the first in a series of four lectures held in collaboration with Royal Collection Trust, exploring how Japanese art and design has been collected and exhibited in the UK across the ages.
The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world. These outstanding works include rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, embroidered screens, metalwork, photographs and woodblock prints. Many are official courtly gifts spanning the reign of James I to Her Majesty The Queen. Among them is the first samurai armour to be seen on English shores, sent to the British Court in 1613, and an outstanding lacquer box given to mark The Queen’s Coronation in 1953.
Rachel Peat from Royal Collection Trust situates these wide-ranging pieces in a 350-year story of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the Courts of Britain and Japan. Together, they offer a unique insight into the worlds of ritual, honour and artistry linking the two nations.
Richly illustrated by material from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives, this lecture highlights works newly on display in Japan: Courts and Culture at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, until 26 February 2023.