iGardiner MuseumQueen's Park / University of Toronto
In Search of Imperfection: The Macdonald Collection of Japanese and Japanese-Inspired Ceramics
The Macdonald Collection shown in full for the first time: early Edo-period Japanese porcelain and Japanese-inspired ceramics, explored through nature, leisure and global trade.
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On the second floor sits a fish dish from the 1660s, painted so boldly that a Gardiner curator told the Globe and Mail it has "a decidedly 20th-century vibe". A few pieces along, a dish with three leaves is labelled "possibly modern", because nobody can say if it is 17th-century or a later copy.
This is Bill and Molly Anne Macdonald's collection, more than 300 pieces, shown in full for the first time. About 160 sit in vitrines up the museum's stairwell, so you see it climbing: zodiac animals and birds in the basement, dishes for kaiseki meals and incense burners on the second floor, and Kakiemon porcelain beside the Chelsea, Bow and Meissen copies Europe made of it on the third. Another 138 fill the Macdonald Gallery on the second floor. Skip the elevator: here the stairs are the exhibition.
It's included in the $18 admission, free for visitors 18 and under, and free for everyone on Wednesdays after 4 pm, when the museum stays open until 9 pm.
Editor's pick
A 1660s fish dish so bold a curator says it has "a decidedly 20th-century vibe", and a plate labelled "possibly modern" because nobody can date it. Over 300 Japanese and Japanese-inspired pieces, many in vitrines up the stairwell.
Look for
The zodiac puppy and cockerel
Look in the basement cases for two small Arita figures, a puppy and a cockerel, the kind of zodiac animals set out in Japanese homes to welcome the New Year.
The Ko-Kutani fish dish
On the second floor, a 1660s dish with a bold, lopsided fish design that the curator says has a 20th-century feel.
The dish with three leaves
Its label reads 'mid-1600s, possibly modern': a Ko-Kutani-style plate that may be an original or a much later copy.
Phoenixes, Japanese and English
Arita dishes with phoenixes, a bird that stood for political authority, sit beside 1750s Chelsea versions made by potters who didn't know the meaning.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Nerding Out
Skip if
You want one gallery to wander: the show is split between stairwell cases on three levels and a second-floor room.
With kids
Free for visitors 18 and under; children under 12 need an adult with them.
Also at Gardiner Museum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
9
- In Search of Imperfection: The Macdonald Collection of Japanese and Japanese-Inspired CeramicsCourtesy of Gardiner Museum
- Psychedelics: Art. Culture. Science.Courtesy of Royal Ontario Museum
- Crawford Lake: Layers in Time© Craig Smith, 2023
- Critical Minerals: Critical Choices©ROM
- Gardiner Museumremundo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Royal Ontario MuseumMaksim Sokolov (Maxergon), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Art Museum at the University of TorontoUnderline Studio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bata Shoe MuseumCanmenwalker / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Textile Museum of CanadaRaysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0