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News and Events: THE ORIENTAL CERAMIC SOCIETY SPRING PROGRAMME 2008 PO Box 517 Cambridge CB21 5BE, U.K. Tel: 01223 881328
Email address:
ocslondon@btinternet.com
Subscriptions for the year 2008/09 are now due. Enclosed with this Programme you will find a Subscription Renewal Form and Invoice. Please check that all your details on the form are correct and advise us of any changes or missing information. Please return the form with your subscription payment. If you pay by banker’s order, please return the form by mail or alternatively email us with details of any changes. It is important that our database contains up to date information for all our members, in order to ensure that contact between us is efficient. This information is protected under the terms of the Data Protection Act.
It saves us a good deal of time and cost if members pay their subscriptions promptly and we are most grateful to those members who do so. Only fully paid up members receive information from us including the Transactions.
Payment can be made by banker’s order, credit card or cheque. We accept sterling and US$ cheques, and cheques drawn on Euro accounts (but not Euro cheques). If you wish to pay by credit card, please write your card number and expiry date on the Subscription Renewal Form. If you have an old standing order paying £45 instead of £55 per year, please send us a cheque for the balance and write to your bank to update the amount due. Thank you.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Society is rationalising its holdings of back copies of the Transactions. If members are interested in purchasing any of these please let us know, and we can send you details of the volumes that are still available. We also have catalogues from previous exhibitions for sale.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Society’s programme for Summer/Autumn 2008 is outlined below, but for future programmes we would be delighted to hear from members who know of any new research that could provide interesting lectures, or if members have specific topics that they would be interested in having addressed in future lectures.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On 11th March, 2008, members were given the privilege of viewing the Woolf Collection of Imperial Jades. This was arranged to coincide with the lecture on jade given that evening by Professor Jessica Rawson of Merton College, Oxford. The Society is most grateful to Jonathan Woolf and the Woolf Charitable Trust for generously sponsoring the lecture and allowing our members to view this important collection.
SUMMER/AUTUMN PROGRAMME OF LECTURES
All lectures will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BE, unless otherwise stated *
Tuesday 13th May Stella Beddoe, Senior Keeper & Keeper of Decorative Art, Brighton & Hove Museums “Chinese Whispers: British Chinoiserie Ceramics c. 1680-1820”
When the first Chinese ceramics arrived in Europe they were objects of wonder. Isolated examples came via the silk route and occasionally by sea during a period when China was isolated from world trade. Such items were treated almost as holy relics and from the 15th century onwards, detailed portraits of blue and white vases appear in Netherlandish religious paintings as accessories or precious gifts from the Magi. From the 16th century these early examples of Chinese porcelain were, like ostrich eggs and coconut shells, displayed on mantelpieces or in special cabinets in well-to-do houses as status symbols, fitted with mounts of precious metal. The Hampton Court display of hundreds of pieces of Chinese blue-and-white, collected by Queen Mary II, epitomised the craze for collecting Chinese porcelain around 1700.
Following her studies at the Courtauld Institute, London, and Manchester University, Stella Beddoe initially joined the staff of Brighton Museum as Exhibitions Officer, becoming Keeper of Decorative Art in 1985, and Senior Keeper in 2007. She has published widely, not only on aspects of the Brighton Collections and related applied art and design but also on British and European fairy tales.
Wednesday 18th June 87th Annual Meeting of the Oriental Ceramic Society AGM, lecture and reception at the Society of Antiquaries, Piccadilly
We look forward to seeing as many members as possible at our AGM on 18th June.
The AGM will start promptly at 5:00 p.m.
Following the meeting, Ron Fuchs II, curator of the Reeves Collection of Ceramics at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia will give a lecture entitled “European Subjects on Chinese Porcelain”.
Following the lecture, there will be a reception starting at 6:30 p.m. The cost for this will be £15 per head. Please complete the booking form at the end of this programme and return it no later than 11th June.
Ron Fuchs II, Curator of the Reeves Collection of Ceramics at Washington & Lee University “European Subjects on Chinese Porcelain”
Chinese export porcelain has been made for the Western market since the early 16th century, and from the beginning export porcelain's shape and decoration have been influenced by European style and design. This lecture will survey export porcelain made between 1550 and 1850 to show how European ceramic, glass, and metal objects and a myriad of designs including drawings, prints, book illustrations, and other sources inspired the design of porcelain made for the European and American markets.
Ron Fuchs II is the curator of the Reeves Collection of Ceramics at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelors degree in history and anthropology and his Masters degree comes from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. He previously worked at the Winterthur Museum, where he was the Associate Curator of Ceramics for the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur. There he curated the travelling exhibition "Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur" and wrote the accompanying exhibition catalogue of the same name with David Sanctuary Howard.
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Visit to Brighton on Wednesday 25th June The visit to Brighton on Wednesday 25th June to see the Chinoiserie exhibition at Brighton Museum, and afterwards to visit the Royal Pavilion, has now been arranged. We shall meet at 10:30 hrs. in the entrance hall of the Museum and plan to spend about two hours viewing the exhibition. Lunch has been arranged for 12:30 hrs. in the Queen Adelaide tearoom of the Pavilion, which is adjacent to the Museum. After lunch we shall visit the amazing oriental confection designed by John Nash and others for the Prince Regent. The furnishings of the Pavilion comprise Chinese and Japanese porcelain as well as oriental furniture and carpets. Much of the English and Continental furniture is also inspired by the Orient and reveals some of the different facets of the continuing influence of the East in Europe from the sixteenth century until the present day. If twenty or more members join the party, we shall gain entry to the exhibition and the Pavilion for the reduced sum of £8.00 per person. To ensure that we obtain the best rate, please send cheques to cover the entry charge with your application. It would help the catering arrangements if you could indicate whether you might like to have either of the two menus set out below: a. Assorted sandwiches, cakes, fresh fruit platter and mineral water £6.50 b. Chicken and ham pie, potato dish of the day and salad garnish or Ploughman's lunch, both with mineral water £9.95 Payment for lunch will be made at the Tearoom. There is also an a la carte menu from which you can choose. If you wish to join the party please complete the application form at the end of this programme and return it to Phillip Allen, 27 Bushmead Avenue, Bedford MK40 3QH as soon as possible, and no later than 18th June, 2008. Should you have any questions regarding the visit, please contact Phillip Allen on 01234 268165 or Email phillip.allen27@gmail.com.
Tuesday 14th October Professor Christiaan Jörg “Chinese export silks for the Dutch in the 18th century”
The Dutch East India Company did not only ship porcelain and lacquer from China and Japan. Chinese woven silks were an even more important luxurious commodity and constituted a regular item of cargo on the ships returning to Europe. Just as for porcelain and lacquer, the records of the Company contain a wealth of information about the quantities of silk bought in Batavia and China and sold in the Netherlands. Furthermore, there are concise instructions on which types and patterns to buy, sometimes accompanied by samples illustrating colour and weave.
Reconstructing the VOC's trade in Chinese silks is a matter of time, patience and above all the cooperation of specialists who have knowledge of the different types of silk. However, linking the information from the records to extant objects is almost impossible. In this lecture a survey will be given of the few 18th-century Chinese silks in Dutch public collections, followed by a brief overview of the Company's extensive silk trade, demonstrating this gap between records and objects.
Christiaan Jörg was curator of decorative art and Oriental ceramics at the Groningen Museum, Groningen, the Netherlands, from 1977 until 2004. Since 1997 he has been Professor of East-West interactions in decorative art at Leiden University. His numerous publications focus mainly on Chinese and Japanese export porcelains, lacquer and, more recently, textiles.
Sunday 2nd November *Christie’s/OCS Lecture James Lally “American Collectors” (provisional title)
James Lally has been professionally involved in the Chinese art market for more than 35 years, beginning as an auctioneer and executive at Sotheby’s from 1970 until 1985. He was the director of Sotheby’s Chinese art department in New York and a director of Sotheby’s Hong Kong subsidiary from 1974 until 1985, and was president of Sotheby’s in North America in 1984 and 1985. He resigned in 1985 when Sotheby’s was taken over by A. Alfred Taubman. In 1986 he established J. J. Lally & Co., a Chinese art gallery in Manhattan, exhibiting and selling Chinese ceramics and works of art, and providing advisory services to private collectors and museums in America and around the world.
Tuesday 11th November Dr. Frances Wood “Malign or Maligned? Dowager Empress Cixi 1835-1908”
The Dowager Empress Cixi's life encompassed a period when China was forced to accommodate with the West and, from her relative seclusion within the Forbidden City, she became the first empress to take tea with the ladies of the Legations. Like Empress Wu (628-705) and Madame Mao, she has traditionally been seen as evil, although two western writers (Sterling Seagrave and Geremie Barme) have recently proposed a radical review of her actions and character.
Frances Wood is Curator of the Chinese collections in the British Library and Editor of the OCS Transactions. She has written a number of books on Chinese history including Did Marco Polo Go To China? (1995), No Dogs and Not Many Chinese: Treaty Port life in China 1843-1943 (2000), The Forbidden City (2005) and The First Emperor (2007).
Tuesday 9th December Dr. Simon Kaner “Flaming pots and clay figures: News from the oldest ceramic tradition in the world”
The Jomon pottery of the Japanese archipelago is a remarkable expression of prehistoric ceramic creativity. Beginning with a consideration of what is currently the earliest dated evidence for ceramic containers anywhere in the world, from Odai Yamamoto in Aomori Prefecture (dating to before around 16,000 years ago), the lecture will discuss the way in which the Jomon (meaning cord-marked in Japanese) pottery tradition developed over the following 12,000 years, prior to the arrival of rice agriculture in the archipelago (about 2500 years ago).
Dr. Kaner will discuss the development of the great variety of decorative motifs and the possible meanings of the "design fields" of Jomon pots. He will present a case study about the Flame Pots from the Shinano River region and suggest what a detailed contextual study of these vessels can tell us about the nature of Jomon society and belief. This will be based on his current fieldwork in central Honshu. He will finish with a brief discussion of non-Jomon decoration of pottery from this period (including lacquer, burnishing etc), the significance of anthropomorphic motifs, other ceramic forms (including clay masks and figurines) and why Jomon people made so many pots - and appear to have broken them with such abandon.
THE OCS DISCUSSION AND HANDLING GROUP
The OCS Discussion and Handling Group enjoy regular meetings at which members of the Society bring along items which they have collected for discussion. Each of these meetings is devoted to a particular topic and, although the Society has an especial interest in ceramics, other subjects are also included.
A Discussion group Meeting will be held in the Council Room at the Society of Antiquaries on Tuesday 13th May at 2:30 p.m. and will be devoted to Chinese Painted Enamels on Metal. This meeting will explore the origins of this new addition to the decorative arts of China introduced in the Kangxi period (1662-1722). Although it began in the Imperial Palace Workshops, it is often associated with the European Export trade, and we hope to examine all aspects of this fascinating subject.
Any members who have examples of, so-called, Beijing or Cantonese enamels are invited to join the Discussion Group and to bring along examples that can be examined. If you intend to join the Group please complete the form at the end of this Programme and send it to the Chairman as soon as possible.
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* * * * * * * * * MONOCHROMES EXHIBITION
The World in Monochromes
April to June, 2009 at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS
An exhibition of monochrome ceramics belonging to members of the Oriental Ceramic Society. This exhibition, which seeks to show the beauty, amazing diversity and technical accomplishment of Asian ceramics displaying a single colour, will be held in the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, from April to June, 2009. The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-colour catalogue and a one-day symposium. The papers from the latter will be published in a future volume of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Gallery Visit for OCS members
R & G McPherson Antiques, 40 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BX
Tuesday 1st July, from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. OCS Council member Robert McPherson has kindly offered to open his gallery to OCS members on Tuesday 1st July, from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. Members are invited to a glass of wine and to view the Gallery’s extensive stock of ceramics, consisting of Chinese, Japanese and some European ceramics. Tel: 0207 937 0812. Email: rmcpherson@orientalceramics.com. Robert has copies of the following two books which he has kindly agreed to give, free of charge, one copy to each member:- CHINESE CERAMICS: Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, England Inaugural Exhibition Catalogue of the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath, 3rd April 1993. Volume 1: Chinese Ceramics. This book catalogues the museum's extensive range of Chinese ceramics which range from Neolithic painted pottery, Han and Tang dynasty pottery and stoneware through Song, Yuan and Ming ceramics, ending with Qing ceramics in the 19th century. Each piece is very well illustrated, sometimes showing the base of the object. The text is clear and the dating precise. THE GILDED DRAGON: Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages by Carol Michaelson. British Museum Press. Illustrated throughout. Paperback. Carol Michaelson's excellent book illustrates the complex history of China through 120 objects in gold, ceramics and other material. This important book places these wonderful objects in their social and historical context.
OCS members are
also invited to their summer exhibition at the gallery:-
R & G McPHERSON ANTIQUES Opening hours: hours: First day 2 – 9 p.m. Other days: 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Open Saturday, closed Sunday. THE JOHN DREW COLLECTION PART II and other Chinese and Japanese Porcelain. Following the success of their exhibition of ceramics from the John Drew Collection in June 2007, the Drew family have decided to release for sale the second and final part of his collection. A preview of the collection will be illustrated on their website nearer the time www.orientalceramics.com. The collection will not be for sale until the start of the exhibition.
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THE CHINA SOCIETY
The next meeting of the China Society will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday 15th July, 2008, at Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP. Members meet for lunch at 12:30 p.m. before the lecture at 1:15 p.m. The speaker will be Professor Barrett, professor of East Asian History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, who will talk on “The Woman Who Discovered Printing”. For further information please contact Dr. James Cantlie on 01202 482717.
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EXHIBITIONS AND MUSEUMS
THE BRITISH MUSEUM Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG Tel: +44 (0)207 323 8181, Email: boxoffice@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk or go to The Joseph E Hotung gallery of Oriental Antiquities: Gallery 33 Arts of Korea : Gallery 67 7000 Years of Chinese Jade from the Collection of Sir Joseph Hotung: The Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery 33B The John Addis Islamic Gallery: Gallery 34
China Landscape: Kew at the British Museum (now until 27th October) China Landscape is a unique partnership between the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Located in the British Museum’s forecourt, the landscape features plants and shrubs from western China and elements of a traditional Chinese scholar’s garden.
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL, 0207 942 2000 Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art and Design TT Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art The Samsung Gallery of Korean Art
China Design Now, the V & A’s major spring exhibition, explores the recent explosion of contemporary design in China in a display that focuses on architecture, fashion and graphic design as well as film, photography, product and furniture design, youth culture and digital media. Runs until 13th July.
THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM, CAMBRIDGE Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB. Tel: 01223 332900. Closed Mondays. Permanent exhibitions include the Oriental Gallery of Chinese and Japanese Art and the Gompertz Gallery of Korean Art.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE MUSEUMS 4-5 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton BN1 1EE. Tel: 01273 292763 A special exhibition entitled Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930 will be held at the Brighton museum from 3rd May to 2nd November, 2008.
THE MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART, BATH 12 Bennett Street Bath, BA1 2QJ: Tel. 01225 464640 Two new exhibitions opened on 22nd April and will run until 31st August, 2008:-
Precious Adornments: Nomadic Ornaments from Tibet and the Ordos looks into the functions of ornaments among modern-day Tibetan nomads and nomads of the Ordos Desert region of North China about 2,500 years ago. With pieces ranging from the 6th century BCE to modern, the exhibition will illustrate the importance of ornaments in these two cultures, separated by vast time and distance.
Hidden Temples of the Khmer Civilization: Photographs by Alistair Baird shows images of the crumbled ruins of the ancient Khmer sites at Angkor Wat. Many of the photographs are sepia-toned.
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OF INTEREST TO MEMBERS
The Early James Giles and his Contemporary London Decorators Loan Exhibition at Stockspring Antiques 5th – 17th June, 2008
During the 18th century there were a number of china painting workshops in London, of which the most famous and accomplished was that of James Giles. Its finest work was carried out on Worcester porcelain between about 1765 and 1775, and the combination of Worcester’s finely potted wares and the workshop’s decorating skills produced some of the most beautiful of all 18th century English porcelain. The purpose of this latest exhibition is to try to identify Giles’s output from this earlier and hitherto neglected period.
Most of the porcelain in the exhibition is Chinese, and the decoration on some of it can be attributed to the Giles workshop with confidence, because the same decoration is found on Worcester. The exhibition also includes a small number of pieces of Chinese porcelain decorated with transfer-printed scenes, which is extremely rare on Chinese porcelain. OCS member Dr. Geoffrey Godden, who selected pieces for the exhibition, has written a chapter in the catalogue giving his latest thoughts on this interesting subject.
The loan exhibition, which includes pieces from over twenty different private collections and three museums, is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue written by Stephen Hanscombe, and will run from 5th – 17th June (closed on Sundays) at Stockspring Antiques, 114 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BH. Tel/fax¨020 7727 7995. Email: stockspring@antique-porcelain.co.uk. Images will be supplied by Email.
Islamic Art Circle at SOAS For information on their summer lecture programme, telephone Rosalind Wade Haddon on 01608 730769 or Email to rosalindhaddon@aol.com.
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SUMMER 2008 FAIRS
The International Ceramics Fair & Seminar will be held at the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London W1J 7BX, from 12th – 15th June, 2008. Opening hours 11a.m–7 p.m., 11-6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets available at the door. Tel: 0207 389 6555. Email: info@haughton.com.
The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair will be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, W1 from 12th – 18th June, 2008. Tel: 0207 399 8100. For information, go to www.grosvenorfair.co.uk.
The Olympia International Art and Antiques Fair will be held at the Grand Hall, Olympia Way, London W14 8UX from 5th – 15th June, 2008. Book your tickets in advance for 20% discount: call 0870 126 1726. Go to www.seetickets.com and search for Olympia International Art and Antiques Fair. Asian Art in London 2008 will take place from 30th October to 7th November, 2008. For information, go to www.asianartinlondon.com or Email to info@asianartinlondon.com.
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SUMMER/AUTUMN 2008 SALES
Bonham’s, 101 New Bond Street, London W1S 1SR. Tel: 020 7468 8248 12th May Fine Chinese & Asian Art 13th May Fine Japanese Works of Art 3rd November Fine Chinese Art 4th November Fine Japanese Art
Bonham’s, Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, SW7 1HH. Tel: 020 7393 3943 20th May Japanese & other Asian Works of Art 16th September Japanese and other Asian Works of Art 9th December Japanese and other Asian Works of Art
Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT. 13th May Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art including Export Art. Tel: 0207 389 2574 14th May Japanese Art and Design. Tel: 020 7389 2596 4th November Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art including Export. Tel: 0207 389 2574 5th November Japanese Art & Design. Tel: 020 7389 2596
Christie’s, 85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD. Tel: 020 7930 6074 15th May 10.30 am Japanese Ceramics & Works of Art 15th May 12 noon Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 6th November Japanese Works of Art 6th November Chinese Works of Art
Sotheby’s, 34-5 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA. 020 7293 6442 14th May Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold and Silver 14th May Early Chinese White, Green and Black Wares 14th May Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 5th November Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art
Christie’s Amsterdam 20th May Asian Art 25th November Asian Art
Christie’s Paris 3rd June Tableaux Orientalistes 11th June Art d’Asie 16th December Art D’Asie 17th December Art Islamique et Tableaux Orientalistes
Sotheby’s Paris 18th June Asian Art
Bonhams Hong Kong 29th May Fine Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Paintings November (exact date to be confirmed) Fine Chinese Art
Christie's Hong Kong 24th May Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art 24th May Asian Contemporary Art (Evening Sale) 24th May Chinese 20th Century Art (Evening Sale) 25th May Chinese 20th Century Art (Daytime sale) 25th May Asian Contemporary Art (Daytime Sale) 26th May Fine Chinese Modern Paintings 26th May Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy 27th May Magnificent Clocks for the Imperial Chinese Court from the Nezu Museum 27th May Elegance and Artistry: Treasures from a Private Collection 27th May Important Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Carvings from the Songzhutang Collection 27th May Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 29th November-4th December
Sotheby’s Hong Kong 5-8th October
Bonhams New York 9th September Fine Japanese Art
Christie’s New York 17th September Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 18th September Japanese & Korean Art
Sotheby’s New York 16th September Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
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