East Asian Art

Photographs taken and collected by Langdon Warner document his archaeological expeditions and travels throughout China, Japan, and other locations in Asia; and his devotion to Asian art. Many of the photographs, taken during Warner’s 1923-1925 expeditions to China for the Fogg Art Museum, show sculpture and wall paintings in views of the Dunhuang, Yulin, and Yungang Buddhist cave temples.

Early Photography of Japan is a virtual collection of more than 40 souvenir photograph albums and illustrated publications with over 2,000 images from Widener Library, the Fine Arts Library, and Harvard-Yenching Library. These images primarily document the early history of commercial photography in Japan and are representative of what is often called Japanese tourist photography or Yokohama shashin. They reflect the Western image of traditional Japanese culture before the dramatic transformation brought about by modernization during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Hand-colored albumen prints documenting the early history of commercial photography in Japan. Many examples of "Yokohama Shashin". Images portray Japan and traditional Japanese culture during the Meiji period. They include scenic landscapes, Mount Fuji, lakes, and sites along the Tōkaidō (Eastern Sea Road), Nagoya and Osaka castles, the Imperial Palace, gardens and cherry trees, pagodas and Buddhist temples, torii and Shinto shrines; also, genre scenes or studio portraits.

Postcards and viewbooks collected for the study of Asian art and architecture. Emphasis is on Japanese, Chinese, and Buddhist art, but the collection also includes some items from India, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. Images show Buddhist temples, shrines, and sculpture; tombs, palaces, and castles; scroll paintings, calligraphy, and woodblock prints; ceramics, porcelain, and other decorative arts.