The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum has always had a connection with French glassware. After all, almost the first thing you see as you enter through the front entrance is a set of glass-relief doors with an angel motif. These were created by the famous French glass artist Rene Lalique as part of the original Art Deco design, when the building was created in the 1930s as the residence for Prince Yasuhiko of the Imperial Family.
This and other features of the building make it a near-perfect venue for the present exhibition, "Emile Galle: Nature & Symbol," which looks at the work of yet another mercurial glassware genius from France.
It is not, of course, the first time that Galle has been featured here. Galle at the Teien is something of a tried and trusted formula, presenting an immersive aesthetic experience for visitors. But this is the first time his work has been featured since the museum was refurbished and reopened a couple of years ago with a spacious new gallery annex behind its main building.