Imagine 19th-century Japanese kimonos rich with color and ornamentation, exact porcelain replicas of samurai and royal courts, and wood-cut prints — all on display in Iowa.

“Imagine Japan,” a new exhibit at the Brunnier Art Museum, is helping to give ISU students a taste of ancient Japanese art.

Allison Sheridan, the exhibit’s collection manager and educational specialist, says she believes the exhibit is unique to ISU galleries because of the authenticity of the piece.

“When we first started putting this exhibit up, I never realized the extensive collection that we had,” Sheridan says. “The festival dolls and the delicate dishes had to be handled very carefully. The oldest dolls, from 1770, are made out of oyster shells. The wood-cut prints are my personal favorite part of the exhibit because they are beautifully done.”

The exhibit is in two parts. The first is the extensive collection of girls and boys festival dolls that were a strong part of Japanese culture in the 17th and 18th centuries. The second is the large assortment of wood-cut prints.

The dolls are exact, miniature replicas of people, starting at the royal court and moving downward to the servant class.

The prints are mostly landscapes and nature scenes and were originally used in books as illustrations.

“I think the exhibit is interesting because we have never really had anything like it before,” Sheridan says. “Having this show really brings Japanese culture and history to light by showcasing in art. The exhibit is very different and new to us here.”

Jessica Nanke, sophomore in English and employee at the Brunnier museum, says she has a different take on the Japanese exhibit.

“Not only does the exhibit appeal to anyone, but I’ve seen a lot of younger children enjoy it as well. I think it’s a great exhibit; it’s different than any other ones I’ve seen here, and it is educational and entertaining,” Nanke says.

“Imagine Japan” is a distinctive exhibit for the Brunnier museum, Sheridan says, because it shows art that is rarely seen in Iowa museums.

The galleries are part of educational art on campus, that, Sheridan says, students would benefit greatly to see.

“An exhibit of this kind offers a glimpse into an interesting, ancient culture that deserves to be studied,” she says. “Art is a wonderful way to study history’s past.”