A celebration of form and function, insights into Japanese dining traditions from the Jômon period to the present day

Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere

Japan has a rich history of ceramic production from 15,000 BCE to the present day. Recently washoku, Japanese traditional cuisine, has been given World Heritage status and designated as an intangible cultural asset. Japanese cuisine can be typified by its seasonal approach and its emphasis on dining as a cohesive experience, but that is indeed only part of the story. The aesthetics of Japanese dining revolve around the marriage of vessels to the food they contain. In other words, effective Japanese dining is an experience that engages the senses through a careful marriage of food to vessel. This talk highlights through different periods in history how Japanese dining evolved as a marriage of form and function.

Haughton International Ceramics Seminar 2017 at Christie's