2012 Toshiba Lectures in Japanese Art
This year Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere will give a series of three lectures on the subject of Japanese Porcelain: A Four Hundred Year History.
Please note that booking is essential for the British Museum lecture on 1 November. To book your seat, please contact the British Museum via www.britishmuseum.orgor 020 7323 8181, or contact the Sainsbury Institute at 01603 597507
Hare and Moon. Dish. (1690-1730) Porcelain with underglazed cobalt blue design, D. 14.48cm.
© The Trustees of the British Museum. Franks. 1292+
1 November / 6.15pm
Vessels of Influence, China and the Birth of Porcelain in Early Modern Japan
BP Lecture Theatre, The British Museum*
Booking is essential. Please contact the British Museum via www.britishmuseum.com or 020 7323 8181, or the Sainsbury Institute to book your seat
8 November / 6.15pm
White Gold, Japanese Export Porcelain and International Trade Networks
Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS, University of London
15 November / 6pm
Japanese Porcelain Today, Future Directions and Past References
Norwich Cathedral Hostry, Norwich NR1 4EH
Admission Free | All welcome
The lectures are sponsored by the Toshiba International Foundation.
For more information:
sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org
Tel: 01603 597507
Fax: 01603 625011
www.sainsbury-institute.org
About the Lectures
With the four-hundredth anniversary rapidly approaching, now is a particularly opportune occasion to re-examine the history of Japanese porcelain from a modern angle. This four hundred year retrospective of the evolution of Japanese porcelain affords multiple new interpretations. Many questions have long remained unanswered. For example, why did Japan only begin to produce porcelain for the first time around 1610, centuries after both China and Korea had mastered the technique? How, given its late start, was Japanese porcelain able to be exported throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe by the 1660s to such high acclaim?
Competition between kilns for market share both within Japan and abroad was rife. Notwithstanding intrigues, government and trade restrictions as well as changing consumer tastes, Japanese porcelain has continued to flourish these 400 years adapting to market demand and to the latest styles. Today, porcelain production in Japan continues unabated both in traditional centres and by ceramic artists creating powerful modern expressions in new areas.
Professor Rousmaniere in this series of three lectures uncovers the history of Japanese porcelain from its complicated birth through its strong export period to its powerful contemporary presence. Recent archaeological and art historical data are introduced to create a revitalised picture of the industry as a whole. New light will also be shed on the significant Japanese ceramics in the British Museum created by pioneering collector Augustus Wollaston Franks, first curator and then Keeper at the British Museum from 1851-1896.
About the Speaker
Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere is Professor of Japanese Art and Culture at the University of East Anglia and Research Director at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. She is currently seconded to the British Museum as a curator in the Department of Asia working on its extensive ceramic collection. Her research interests include medieval to contemporary ceramic history in East Asian trade networks, the history of Japanese archaeology, the collecting Japanese artefacts and art objects in Asia and in Europe, contemporary Japanese craft expression and manga.
