The Mingei Undô, Eudald Serra and the Japanese folk craft collections of the Ethnology Museum of Barcelona: the provenance of a collection

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article we take as a case study the provenance of the Japanese collection kept in the Ethnology Museum of Barcelona, Spain. This interesting collection came to a Spanish museum, thanks to Eudald Serra (1911−2002), a sculptor, ceramicist, designer, photographer and, above all, a great traveller. Eudald Serra lived in Japan from 1935 to 1948 and directed the acquisition trips conducted in situ for the Barcelona Ethnology Museum in 1957, 1961 and 1964. The history of this museum's collection is an extraordinary example of the formation of a collection in a newly-created public museum, but with the criteria of a private one (that is to say, each object was selected and purchased following the collector's own aesthetic guidelines and interests). Serra's aesthetic preferences and interest in Mingei Undo mark this museum collection, making it unique in Spain. Unpublished material, such as Serra's travel diary and field notes, as well as letters and official documents, have been essential for this...