ABSTRACT
Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty was a London-based merchant and the founder of Liberty & Co. In Chinese work the people have an opaque surface, generally ornamented with rigid, finicking, monotonous detail; in Japanese work the people have a translucent surface, combined with freedom and spirit in the decorative treatment, and, as a prosaic matter of fact, far greater durability. A quite recent advance in the enameller’s art has, however, none of the foregoing objections. The Kyoto embroiderers are the best exponents of modern needlecraft, and their work mainly pictorial and naturalistic in treatment. Passing to the minor glyptic works, the people find in the class of carvings known as Netsukies, an absolutely original and indigenous art. Therefore, for its art and industrial manufactures, the author predict a renewed and progressive life, and a higher and broader perfection than was attained in a unique and historic past.
