Traditional Japanese Design Motifs (Dover Pictorial Archive)

The subtlety and vitality of traditional Japanese design are admired (and imitated) the world over. Here is a treasury of hundreds of authentic Japanese design motifs — all royalty-free and easy to reproduce — sure to appeal to artists and craftsmen striving for distinctive touches in their projects.Noted artist Joseph D'Addetta presents 264 strikingly beautiful pen-and-ink renderings of motifs from ceramics, textiles, lacquerwork, screens, fans, woodblock prints, and other valuable objets d'art found in museums and private collections. Designs date from the thirteenth and twentieth centuries and reveal something of the evolution of Japan's remarkable artistic sophistication.Plates are grouped into seven categories: Plants and Flowers; Animal Life; Human Figures; Symbolic Objects; Geometric Patterns; Water and Wave Forms; and Ceramic Objects.Within each category you'll find stunning variations on the major motifs — a crane encircled by plants, scenic vignettes, thunder and wind demons, family crests, and much more — as well as marvelous border elements.Captions identify and date motifs — for designs taken from ceramic objects you will usually find identifications by "school" or style as well. Read more