Antique Japanese Art
Welcome to our website for Japanese art. We would like to invite you to discover our collection of fine antique works of art, ranging from screen paintings and hanging scroll to traditional ceramics, elegant lacquer works, exceptional sculptures and intricately woven bamboo flower baskets. All of our objects are unique masterpieces carefully selected by the gallerist and art historian Dr. Fabian Alexander Kommoss for their historical significance and outstanding quality. Galerie Kommoss is a leading gallery for fine Japanese art in Europe.
Why Japanese Art?
Refined elegance and astonishing craftsmanship on one side, and rough, coarse-looking ceramics that seem to have been created by nature itself on the other, the wide spectrum of Japanese art is fascinating and never monotonous. In fact, the opposite is true: Whether you look at the more popular and immediately appealing images of a Hokusai, the serene beauty of Japanese Buddhist sculpture, or the often complex aesthetic programs of traditional tea culture, the deeper you delve into the complex images, often subtly imbued with metaphorical meaning or humor, the more exciting it gets. What makes Japanese art so attractive to us is its pervasive characteristic of understanding the natural world as a source of spiritual insight and an instructive mirror of human emotion.
Special Exhibition "Mizusashi"
A Mizusashi is a traditional, lidded vessel created to contain the fresh, cold water used in the Japanese tea ceremony. A Mizusashi therefore plays a central role by holding one of the two main ingredients used in the preparation of tea. Bringing together a select range of unique Japanese water vessels from the early 17th century to contemporary traditional pieces by some of the greatest pottery masters, Galerie Kommoss' next special exhibition explores the fascinating world of fresh water vessels and their deep connection to the tea ceremony as a source of inspiration and cultural heritage in Japan.
Object of the Month
In December we would like to present a rare Sue ware container from the Nara period (710-794). The original purpose of this vessel was probably to hold either medicine or cosmetics. However, during the Edo period (1603-1868), a tea ceremony master converted the small pot into a tea caddy. It was given an individual lid covered with gold foil and a cloth bag made of printed cotton.
The repurposing of small containers as tea caddies was not uncommon and was especially popular in the 17th century. However, due to their age, Sue ware vessels used in this way are extremely rare. Because of its cultural importance, this container was published in the book Sadō-gu no sekai ("The World of Tea Ceremony Tools"), No. 6, Special Edition Natsume - Kae-chaki.
