--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and…" description: "\"“Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects - pots, baskets, cloth made by unknown craftsmen - were so beau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg" --- # Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved… ![“Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects - pots, baskets, cloth made by unknown craftsmen - were so beautiful. In his view, they expressed unconscious beauty because they had been made in such numbers that the craftsman had been liberated from his ego.” quote by Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg) > ““Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects - pots, baskets, cloth made by unknown craftsmen - were so beautiful. In his view, they expressed unconscious beauty because they had been made in such numbers that the craftsman had been liberated from his ego.”” [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Objects made in large numbers can transcend individual ego, revealing an unconscious beauty that arises from collective creation. **In simple terms:** Mass‑produced items can feel beautiful because they free the maker from self‑importance. Key Takeaway Seek beauty in the shared, not just the unique. Themes beauty craft ego collectivity Mood reflective curious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - museum curation - interior design - art education - craft workshops Key Concepts aesthetic theory unconscious expression mass production Questions to Reflect On - How does anonymity affect artistic value? - Can mass‑made objects inspire personal connection? A Different Perspective Mass production can also lead to uniformity that stifles individuality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-historian/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Genius is inconsiderate, self-relying, and, like unconscious beauty, without any intention to please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-mayer-wise/genius-is-inconsiderate-self-relying-and-like-unconscious-beauty/) [Isaac Mayer Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-mayer-wise/) > [Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attention. That's what really art history is. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/because-i-m-an-art-historian-i-have-some-experience-of-writing-that/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [“Whenever I listen to an artist or an art historian I'm struck by how much they see and how much they know --and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-knowlton-zinsser/whenever-i-listen-to-an-artist-or-an-art-historian-i-m-struck-by-how/) [William Knowlton Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-knowlton-zinsser/) > [If being an anti-art artist is difficult, being an anti-art art historian is a hard position indeed. His doctrinal revolutionism brings forth nothing new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/if-being-an-anti-art-artist-is-difficult-being-an-anti-art-art/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [Now, to describe the process of the Wrapped Reichstag, which went from 1971 to '95, there is an entire book about that, because each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/now-to-describe-the-process-of-the-wrapped-reichstag-which-went-from/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) > [“As I explain at some length in 'The Crystal Sun' this particular angle, which we can call the 'golden angle,' is the precise value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-g-temple-2/as-i-explain-at-some-length-in-the-crystal-sun-this-particular-angle/) Robert K.G. Temple > [To an art historian a Giotto is a 14th Century painting. To an artist it was painted yesterday. We free ourselves from the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/to-an-art-historian-a-giotto-is-a-14th-century-painting-to-an-artist/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [I don't have the education of an art historian. I've certainly read about art and look at art and have educated myself to some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-don-t-have-the-education-of-an-art-historian-i-ve-certainly-read/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [“The art historians are the real wreckers of art, Reger said. The art historians twaddle so long about art until they have killed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-art-historians-are-the-real-wreckers-of-art-reger-said-the-art/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [The connoisseur might be defined as a laconic art historian, and the art historian as a loquacious connoisseur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-panofsky/the-connoisseur-might-be-defined-as-a-laconic-art-historian-and-the/) Erwin Panofsky > [“We quickly became friends with other art faculty members such as the ceramist Jim Leedy and his wife Jean and art historian/artist Bill Kortlander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-m-o-connor/we-quickly-became-friends-with-other-art-faculty-members-such-as-the/) [Mallory M. O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-m-o-connor/) > [One of the challenges in writing the script Call Me by Your Name was that I had to find something concrete for the professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/one-of-the-challenges-in-writing-the-script-call-me-by-your-name-was/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [I was born knowing that I had to be a painter, because my father, an art historian, always presented painting as the only acceptable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-gnoli/i-was-born-knowing-that-i-had-to-be-a-painter-because-my-father-an/) [Domenico Gnoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-gnoli/) > [I was at one point thinking about being an art historian, when I was in school. And not being an artist, but I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-was-at-one-point-thinking-about-being-an-art-historian-when-i-was/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [I don't really have a historical overview of my work at all. I'm not an art historian. I don't see that there's this period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-really-have-a-historical-overview-of-my-work-at-all-i-m-not/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## More by Edmund de Waal > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“And I'm not entitled to nostalgia about all that lost wealth and glamour from a century ago. And I am not interested in thin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/and-i-m-not-entitled-to-nostalgia-about-all-that-lost-wealth-and/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“And someone turns out the lights in the library, as if being in the dark will make them invisible, but the noise reaches into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/and-someone-turns-out-the-lights-in-the-library-as-if-being-in-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“Does assimilation mean that they never came up against naked prejudice? Does it mean that you understood where the limits of your social world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/does-assimilation-mean-that-they-never-came-up-against-naked/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“The house wasn't theirs anymore. It was full of people, some in uniforms and some in suits. People counting rooms, making lists of objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/the-house-wasn-t-theirs-anymore-it-was-full-of-people-some-in/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“It makes me wonder what belonging to a place means. Charles died a Russian in Paris. Viktor called it wrong and was a Russian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/it-makes-me-wonder-what-belonging-to-a-place-means-charles-died-a/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“There is something about that burning of all those letters that gives me pause: why should everything be made clear and be brought into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/there-is-something-about-that-burning-of-all-those-letters-that-gives/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“He stands with his hands in his pockets, well-dressed and self-assured, with his life before him and a plush armchair behind him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/he-stands-with-his-hands-in-his-pockets-well-dressed-and-self-assured/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“You just hope, if you make things as I do, that they can make their way in the world and have some longevity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/you-just-hope-if-you-make-things-as-i-do-that-they-can-make-their-way/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“Stories and objects share something, a patina...Perhaps patina is a process of rubbing back so that the essential is revealed...But it also seems additive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/stories-and-objects-share-something-a-patina-perhaps-patina-is-a/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“Kövecses radiated the sense of self-sufficiency that comes about when there are lots of children in a big house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/k-vecses-radiated-the-sense-of-self-sufficiency-that-comes-about-when/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“The vitrines exist so that you can see objects, but not touch them: they frame things, suspend them, tantalise through distance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/the-vitrines-exist-so-that-you-can-see-objects-but-not-touch-them/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [The problem is that I am in the wrong century to burn things. I am the wrong generation to let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/the-problem-is-that-i-am-in-the-wrong-century-to-burn-things-i-am-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“How objects are handed on is all about story-telling. I am giving you this because I love you. Or because it was given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/how-objects-are-handed-on-is-all-about-story-telling-i-am-giving-you/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [“Japanese things - laquers, netsuke, prints - conjure a picture of a place where sensations are always new, where art pours out of daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/japanese-things-laquers-netsuke-prints-conjure-a-picture-of-a-place/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) [Explore all 22 Edmund de Waal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects - pots, baskets, cloth made by unknown craftsmen - were so beautiful. In his view, they expressed unconscious beauty because they had been made in such numbers that the craftsman had been liberated from his ego.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund de Waal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-poet-had-evolved-a-theory-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-poet-had-evolved-a-theory-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/edmund-de-waal-26190_art_yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-po_2127316.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and poet, had evolved a theory of why some objects - pots, baskets…” — Edmund de Waal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edmund de Waal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Yangi, a philosopher, art historian and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-poet-had-evolved-a-theory-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/yangi-a-philosopher-art-historian-and-poet-had-evolved-a-theory-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```