Comments on: The Second Long-Awaited Update http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/ Your portal to the land of kofun, fortune-tellers, divination, haniwa, mass migrations, ablutions, abstainers, cinnabar, folk religion, and adopted Chinese and Korean culture Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:57:59 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Charles http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-35 Charles Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:29:47 +0000 http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-35 Sure, go ahead and share, I'm surprised that anyone would be interested in such art historical obscurities (well, not TOO surprised, since I went to the trouble to write it up). But I'm sure it is generally well known (to art scholars at least) that nihon-ga are still to this day done with only mineral pigments like ground lapis. That's how we got started on this "Dutch blue" research in the first place, someone told us that it was Prussian Blue (one of the first artificial chemical dyes) but I didn't believe it, that's the wrong shade of blue. Anyway, my total off-the-cuff reaction to the retraction is that they are afraid to assert that lapis could have come to Japan via a trade route from Afghanistan at that early date, like I said, that would be a significant discovery. It would need compelling forensic evidence to back it up. Sure, go ahead and share, I’m surprised that anyone would be interested in such art historical obscurities (well, not TOO surprised, since I went to the trouble to write it up). But I’m sure it is generally well known (to art scholars at least) that nihon-ga are still to this day done with only mineral pigments like ground lapis. That’s how we got started on this “Dutch blue” research in the first place, someone told us that it was Prussian Blue (one of the first artificial chemical dyes) but I didn’t believe it, that’s the wrong shade of blue.

Anyway, my total off-the-cuff reaction to the retraction is that they are afraid to assert that lapis could have come to Japan via a trade route from Afghanistan at that early date, like I said, that would be a significant discovery. It would need compelling forensic evidence to back it up.

]]> By: nagaeyari http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-34 nagaeyari Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:12:04 +0000 http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-34 Fascinating article -- thanks for sharing that! I'd be interested in reading more on the rationale between both the initial position and the subsequent retraction by the 東京文化財研究所. I hope you don't mind--I'd like to provide a link to that article at the Samurai Archives Citadel (forum with link under my blogroll). There are some forum members there who majored in Japanese art history, I believe, who may find it interesting. Fascinating article — thanks for sharing that! I’d be interested in reading more on the rationale between both the initial position and the subsequent retraction by the 東京文化財研究所. I hope you don’t mind–I’d like to provide a link to that article at the Samurai Archives Citadel (forum with link under my blogroll). There are some forum members there who majored in Japanese art history, I believe, who may find it interesting.

]]> By: Charles http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-33 Charles Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:51:06 +0000 http://nagaeyari.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/the-second-long-awaited-update/#comment-33 Ah, more pigments, my specialty. I <a href="http://weblog.ceicher.com/archives/2004/04/dutch_blue.html" rel="nofollow">wrote a short article</a> about the use of lapis lazuli in Japanese art on my blog. But this article refers to use of powdered lapis in the Edo era when foreign trade was well established. It would be an important historical discovery if it was determined that lapis had made its way to Japan from Afghanistan at such an early date. Ah, more pigments, my specialty. I wrote a short article about the use of lapis lazuli in Japanese art on my blog. But this article refers to use of powdered lapis in the Edo era when foreign trade was well established. It would be an important historical discovery if it was determined that lapis had made its way to Japan from Afghanistan at such an early date.

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