Museum of East Asian Art

Between 1300 and 1800, ceramic objects manufactured at southern Chinese kilns were some of the most universally desired products in the world. From humble Cambodian traders to the shahs of Iran and the princesses of Europe, the wide dissemination of Chinese ceramics testifies to cross-cultural encounters on a truly global scale. This exhibition, in partnership with The University of Warwick’s Global Jingdezhen Project, traces the remarkable journeys of Chinese ceramics  throughout the early modern world.

This exhibition is in conjunction with the
 University of Warwick’s Global Jingdezhen Project.

From Saturday 4th September until Sunday 6th March 2011, the Museum of East Asian Art will host a new exhibition in partnership with the University of Warwick’s, AHRC-funded Global Jingdezhen research project.  “Chinese Ceramics and the Early Modern World” focuses on the centuries between 1300 and 1800, highlighting the truly global scale of the dissemination of Chinese ceramics. 

The exhibition traces the remarkable journey of Chinese ceramics throughout the globe.  Between 1300 and 1800, ceramic objects manufactured at southern Chinese kilns became some of the most universally desired products in the world.  From humble Cambodian traders to the shahs of Iran and the princesses of Europe, the wide dissemination of Chinese ceramics highlighted by this exhibition testifies to cross-cultural encounters on a truly global scale.  Both functional and collectable, ceramic objects were also the bearers of culture that could be interpreted or absorbed in different ways, and Chinese imports influenced many of the indigenous ceramic traditions they encountered. 

Earlier this year the Museum curator, Michel Lee, joined the members of the Department of History in attending a University of Warwick conference that formed the focal point for the academic part of the Global Jingdezhen project.  As a result, many of the ideas that were formed at the conference have helped to interpret the items displayed in this exhibition and develop the texts that accompany them.

Anne Gerritsen, of the Global Jingdezhen research project in the Department of History (University of Warwick) commented:  “The collaboration with the MEAA has been absolutely wonderful.  It has given us an opportunity to take some of the ideas we usually only discuss in very small groups of university researchers and bring them to the attention of far wider, varied and non-academic audiences.”  She added that “The MEAA was the ideal partner for us: an institution with a loyal following and wide appeal to a rich and varied local community and an excellent collection of Chinese ceramics, but also small enough to be able to accommodate our ideas”.

As part of the exhibition, the Museum will be hosting “An Evening with Lars Tharp” on Monday 6th of September 2010 from 5.30pm, which will include a special viewing of the Chinese ceramics exhibition, a lecture by Mr Tharp and a wine reception.  Mr Tharp’s talk “Pots, Power and Beauty: Porcelain & Desire in the Early Modern World”, focuses on a European aspect of this dissemination, known as “China Mania”.  It will investigate the rise and resilience of porcelain collecting, comparing European notions of material beauty and desire with those of China.  Lars Tharp is the Director of the Foundling Museum and ceramics consultant for the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.