Among the hundreds of gilded and finely painted cups and saucers of ¡°Demitasse Cosmos: Glitter of Jewelry¡± at the Mitsui Memorial Museum is a modest set that may be easily overlooked. Emerald green in glaze, with a simple black handle and rim, it¡¯s a far cry from its neighbors that impress with gold trimming, enamel-jeweling and all manner of colorful and ornamental designs.
Yet this unassuming 1924 Royal Doulton coffee cup is one of the most important, at least from a sentimental point of view. It was this demitasse that inspired an ordinary couple ¡ª Yasuhiro and Tomiko Suzuki ¡ª to begin a collection that would, over a period of more than 45 years, amass into a vast eye-catching array of creative craftsmanship.
The little green cup is also a personal memento, having once belonged to Yasuhiro¡¯s grandfather ¡ª a cultured man who bought and used it in England during the 1920s.
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