Vienna-Paris-Corfu: Japonisme and Gregorios Manos (1851–1928)

Abstract

Abstract The present study defines the connection between Japonisme and the Greek diplomat and donor-collector Gregorios Manos (1851–1928). Manos collected Japanese pieces during the reign of Japonisme in Europe, was a pioneer of the study of Japanese art in Greece, and the first donor of Chinese and Japanese artifacts to the Greek State in 1919. The donation resulted in the foundation, in 1926, of the Sino-Japanese Museum (renamed in Museum of Asian Art in 1973) in Corfu. The present research is based on primary and secondary sources and seeks to present unpublished data as well as re-examine Manos’ connection to Japonisme. In addition, this micro-perspective research aims to reveal Manos’ studies, diplomatic carrier, collecting practices, and donating vision. At the same time, it hopes to enrich macro-perspective study by outlining the circumstances under which collectors founded museums of Asian art in peripheral places, such as Greece, during the first half of the twentieth century under and beyond the allure of Japonisme.