The Centennial Exhibition, the Philadelphia museum of art, and Hector Tyndale

Magazine Antiques, March, 2002 by Felice Fischer

Tyndale's reputation as a collector of ceramics and his prominence in the civic affairs of Philadelphia prompted the Centennial Commissioners to ask him to be a judge in the ceramics and glass section of the Centennial Exhibition in 1876. It is not clear how active he was in the actual organization of the exhibition itself, although in a letter to John Tyndall's sister Emma Tyndall (b. 1826), he wrote: "My time is a good deal occupied with the Great Exhibition here (as an official in the business) which really is a magnificent affair--the finest and largest ever made it is thought." (20) He certainly assumed his role as one of the judges with seriousness and dedication. His introduction to the official report is a model of thoroughness and clarity. While he tries to be evenhanded in his overview of the ceramic displays, his admiration for the Japanese section is apparent.

This admiration was also clearly expressed in the comments about the individual exhibitors and in his personal ceramics collection. About a pair of vases now in the museum (Pl. IV), for example, Tyndale wrote, "The moulding is at times of surprising clearness and ingenuity, and the tours de force, so to speak, in potting are very remarkable; as, for example, a pair of large cylindrical vases surrounded by a complete case of openwork of oviform outline, even and true in execution." (21) When Tyndale's collection came to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1897, there was an accompanying catalogue written in his own hand, which is now lost. There are, however, some receipts of the purchases he made through his firm of Tyndale and Mitchell. As with most such receipts, the description of the items is minimal, and it is nearly impossible to pinpoint which specific pieces are intended.

The dish shown in Plate VIII, for example, is noted in the museum's accession records as a design by "K. Notomi," most likely taken from the lost Tyndale manuscript catalogue. (22) The reference is to Notomi Kaijiro (1844-1918) who was a member of the Japanese Imperial Commission to the Centennial and served with Tyndale as a judge for the ceramics section. He had a varied background, which included studies in Europe during which he served as a juror at the 1873 Vienna Exposition. As a result of the knowledge he gained about European tastes and the Western market, Notomi became instrumental in producing the designs that the Japanese government commissioned for ceramics, lacquers, and bronzes to be sent to Philadelphia for the Centennial Exhibition. A very similar rendering to that on the dish is found in a design by Notomi now in the archives of the Tokyo National Museum (see Fig. 3). The dish in Plate VIII is signed in red characters on the bottom by Fukagawa Yeizaemon, the maker. The same signature appears on a pair of large vases also in the museum (Pl. VII), which feature dragons of very similar design, possibly also taken from a Notomi design. Yet another pair of vases with the same signature is shown in Plate XI. In his report on awards Tyndale lauds the Fukagawa wares: "The porcelain vases are some of them very remarkable as pieces of potting on a most unusual scale. The decoration also is splendid and effective." (23) In 1875 Fukagawa joined several other porcelain manufacturers in the Arita region to form a joint company called Koransha to produce and market their wares for the 1876 Philadelphia exhibition. Tyndale himself was obviously much taken with the works exhibited by Koransha, as they constitute the bulk of the ceramics his widow bequeathed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Fukagawa also produced tableware in such Western forms as the cup and saucer shown in Plate IX. The partnership dissolved in 1879, with the Fukagawa family retaining the Koransha name for their ceramic production to the pres ent day.