Beautifully laid out and photographed, THE BEST BOOK ON SATSUMA is designed to help the collector and dealer recognize the signatures of Satsuma artists, both well-known and obscure. The book is divided into an introductory section which explains the history and background of Satsuma followed by a section of more than 130 pages of color illustrations of stunning examples of Satsuma wares, including some rare and unusual pieces. Of significant value is the 80-page section which contains full color photographs of more than 300 actual signatures and an explanation on how to read them. Author Thomas S. Kiernan, who has spent the last fifty years as a dealer and collector, is a recognized expert on Japanese antiques. With this publication, he has created the perfect venue for sharing his lifetime study of reading and translating Satsuma marks. Most of the pieces illustrated in this book come from his personal collection. (For more details visit www.thebestbookonsatsuma.com.)

“Object as Insight” was the accompanying publication to a landmark exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art which was conceived and designed to introduce American audiences to both the ritual context and the artistic significance of Japanese Buddhist art. Never before in the Western world had such a comprehensive selection of Japanese Buddhist ritual objects been brought together and displayed in the contextual environment for which they were created. The exhibition was co-curated by Anne Nishimura Morse, Associate Curator of Fine Arts, Asia Department, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Samuel Crowell Morse, Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Amherst College. It traveled to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This fine exhibition catalog contains important essays by the curators and other scholars. The many illustrations, in both black-and-white and color, are accompanied by detailed descriptions. This catalog accompanied an important loaned exhibition of paintings, metalwork, calligraphy, statues, textiles and other ritual objects. Five years of original research culminated in this definitive exhibition of Japanese Buddhist art. Objects came from some of the most important museum and private collections in America, Europe, and Japan. This is a most important reference work on the subject of Japanese Buddhist art.