Plunder and Pleasure: Japanese Art in the West, 1860-1930

"Plunder and Pleasure" is the first book of its kind to provide an in-depth study of the role played by dealers and collectors of art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Western craze for East-Asian art was at its peak. The book comprises an overview of Japonisme and annotated translations of two important French texts detailing the trade in Asian art at this time: "Notes d'un Bibeloteur au Japon" by the art dealer Philippe Sichel (1839/40-99) and "Souvenirs d'un vieil Amateur d'Art de l'Extrême-Orient" by the collector Raymond Koechlin (1860-1931). A discussion of the content and significance of the translations as well as short biographical sketches of Sichel and Koechlin, and an extensive bibliography are included. "Plunder and Pleasure" casts new light on Western tastes for East-Asian art during this period and furthers our understanding of the cultural relations between the Far East and the West at the time.