First in Japan, a Full-Scale Introduction of Lithuanian Handicrafts: 'Weaving Love, Carving Prayer' Held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum
Japan's first major exhibition of Lithuanian handicrafts opens at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, showcasing folk faith and craft.Summary
The exhibition 'Weaving Love, Carving Prayer – Lithuanian Handicrafts' marks Japan's first large-scale presentation of Lithuanian traditional crafts, held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. Organized with the cooperation of the Lithuanian National Museum, Lithuanian National Museum of Art, and the M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, it displays everyday items such as the decorative weaving board 'velpste', linen textiles, aprons, wooden furniture, ceramics, and wicker baskets, alongside religious objects like wooden and iron crosses, icons, and prints in the new wing gallery. Lithuania, one of the last European countries to adopt Christianity, retains an ancient Baltic worldview that merges pagan symbols of the sun, trees, and animals with Christian faith, visible in the unique motifs carved on crosses and religious artifacts. The 'Troubled Christ' figure exemplifies how handicrafts and devotional art became a means for Lithuanians to preserve their culture and spirituality during periods of foreign domination and language suppression. The venue, the former Asaka Palace, is a noted Art Deco building inspired by the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. By placing humble, everyday crafts made by unknown artisans within this modernist decorative space, the exhibition creates a dialogue between different eras, cultures, and values of making. The show is also part of Lithuania's cultural program for its 2027 presidency of the EU Council.
(Source：美術手帖)