Japanese Art Trade and Collecting in Latin America, 19th and 20th Centuries

Abstract

The text makes a general analysis of the circulation of Japanese art objects in Latin America during the last two decades of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. It describes how the practice of collecting Asian art (and Japanese art in particular) developed, based on a representative selection of collectors from different countries in the region. In addition to tracing the current situation of some of these collections, it demonstrates the local agency involved in the importation and circulation of these objects, and an early knowledge about Japan, independently of Europe’s initial involvement.