Skip to main content

We use cookies and tags on our website to provide you with a better website experience, advertising based on your browsing habits, and to understand what our website is being used for, and for statistics and measurement purposes. By clicking ‘I Accept’, or clicking on our website, you agree to such purposes and the sharing of your data with our trusted partners.
For further information, please read Privacy Policy.

Past Exhibitions
The Rings from The Hashimoto Collection of The National Museum of Western Art

The Rings from The Hashimoto Collection of The National Museum of Western Art

image: Voices Calling from the Unusual: Hirano Keiichiro's Selection of Western Art Masterpieces
(PDF File, about 1.3MB)

Dates
Tuesday 8 July - Monday 15 September 2014
Hours
9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Fridays 9:30 am - 8:00 pm (Admission ends 30 mins. before closing time)
Closed
Mondays except 21 July, 11 August and 15 September.
Closed on22 July.
Organized by
The National Museum of Western Art,
The Tokyo Shimbun
Patronized by
Japan Jewellery Association,
Japan Jewellery Designers Association
With the cooperation of
Kobe Fashion Museum,
The Western Art Foundation
Admission Fees
Adults 1,400 yen, College students 1,200 yen, High school students 700 yen
Advance purchase/Discount fees for groups of 20 or more
Adults 1,200 yen, College students 1,000yen, High school students 600 yen
Advance purchase tickets will be on sale until Monday 7 July. At the museum ticket office, advance ticket will be available until Sunday 6 July.
For ticket sales from other than the museum's own ticket office, see the exhibition websiteExternal link.
Full admission fees apply from Tuesday 8 July.
Online TicketsExternal link
Junior high school and younger children admitted free of charge.
Disabled visitors admitted free of charge with one attendant. Please present your disability identification upon arrival
Catalogues
The Rings from The Hashimoto Collection of The National Museum of Western Art
Publication date: July 2014
ISBN-13: 978-4-907442-04-0
Pages: 318
Product dimensions: 15.3 (w) x 21.6 (h) x 2.5 (d) cm

Buy Catalogues

Number of visitors
88,133

This exhibition commemorates the donation in 2012 of the Hashimoto Collection of more than 870 jewelry items, primarily rings, to the NMWA. This exhibition is the first public display of works from this collection. Hashimoto Kanshi (b. 1924) collected more than 760 rings across an extremely broad spectrum of eras and locales. This exhibition presents approximately 300 selected rings. We hope visitors to the exhibition will enjoy the richly individualistic nature of the Hashimoto Collection.

One of the oldest rings in the collection dates back 4,000 years to ancient Egypt. This dung beetle-shaped scarab ring was considered a protective device, not simply for personal adornment. Conversely, the contemporary jewelry company Bulgari made a gold ring from an ancient Roman coin, creating a work that spans the usual limitations of time and use. The history of rings is also the history of mankind seeking out the sparkling glitter of diamonds. From point cut diamonds that follow the shape of the original stone to the contemporary brilliant cut that emits a dazzling light, this exhibition allows visitors to compare the glory of these various diamond forms. And rings are not an isolated art form. Kobe Fashion Museum has provided costumes from their collection dating to the 18th century to first half of the 20th century, here presented to highlight the rings amid the fashion styles from their respective periods. From the courtly fashions of the Rococo period as personified by Marie Antoinette to the early 20th century styles designed by Coco Chanel, visitors to the exhibition can view rings alongside their appropriate era fashions.

This exhibition also allows visitors a chance to compare the miniature world of rings with the Museum’s collection of paintings and prints, indeed, it presents a fusion of the collection’s new and old aspects. We hope that this exhibition featuring the strengths of the NMWA collection will provide yet another means of understanding the fascination of Western culture.

Lectures and Slide Talks will be also held at a museum. Please visit each page for details.

  • image: 《Platinum ring》
    《Platinum Cocktail Ring by Lambert Bros.》
    c.1950
    Diamond, ruby, platinum
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno
  • image: 《Gold ring》
    Georges Fouquet
    《Plique-à-Jour Enamel Ring》
    c.1900
    Pearl, diamond, enamel, gold
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno
  • image: 《Gold swivel ring》
    《Nike》
    late 4th century B.C.
    Glass, gold
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno
  • image: 《Gold and silver ring》
    《Gold and Silver Ring with a Navette Bezel》
    late 18th century
    Diamond, emerald, gold, silver
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno
  • image: 《Amethyst scarab ring》
    《Scarab Ring》
    c.1991-1650 B.C.
    Amethyst, gold
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno
  • image: 《Platinum millegrain ring》
    《Millegrain Ring》
    c.1920
    Diamond, platinum
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Hashimoto Collection
    Photo: Norihiro Ueno

image: 《The Loving Cup》
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 《The Loving Cup》
1867 oil on panel
The National Museum of Western Art

image: 《Parisiennes in Algerian Costume or Harem》
Pierre-Auguste Renoir 《Parisiennes in Algerian Costume or Harem》
1872 oil on canvas
The National Museum of Western Art
Matsukata Collection

Exhibition checklist (PDF File, about 381KB) PDF