In the late nineteenth century, the Dutch artist and collector, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, amassed an eclectic collection of Japanese artefacts, ranging from samurai swords and colourful earthenware to bronze cranes and majestic altar vases. At the time, decorative art from Japan was all the rage. This richly illustrated book places Mesdag's collection in a cultural-historical context, paying homage to an idiosyncratic collector and his outstanding collection of Japanese applied art.00Exhibition: Mesdagmuseum, The Hague, The Netherlands (07.03.-17.06.2018).