NYBG Kiku Placemats

The chrysanthemum ( kiku in Japanese) is treasured throughout Japan, where it has been cultivated and trained into exquisitely shaped displays for more than 1,500 years. The beautiful images on these placemats are from Kikka Meiji-sen, or Catalog of Select Chrysanthemums, a very rare nursery catalog published in Tokyo in 1891 and illustrated with full-page color woodcuts by Kanezumi Imai.

Sturdily made to last, the cork-backed placemats can be wiped clean with a damp cloth. The set comes in a custom box with silver foil stamping. An insert provides information on the original work in the Rare Book Collections of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library here at the Garden.

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