The Friends of East Asia in London welcome all to their upcoming lecture on "Chinese Art for Western Interiors" which will be held on Saturday 19th September. We very much look forward to welcoming Colin Sheaf, ex Chairman of Bonhams Asia, who will delight us with his images of exquisite Chinese art, as he discusses the growing enthusiasm for “Chinoiserie” objects in the West during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Date: Saturday 19th September held at The Allen Room, 1/F, St. Anne’s Church, 55 Dean Street, W1D 6AF. Start time 2:30 pm.
Speaker: Colin Sheaf, FSA, Chairman of the Sir Percival David Foundation and an independent art adviser.
Title: “Chinese Art for Western Interiors”
Lunch: An optional dim sum lunch beforehand at the Joy King Lau restaurant, 3 Leicester Street, London WC2H 7BL. Tel: 0207 437 1133. Lunch will begin at noon at a cost of £27 per person including Chinese tea and service.
Booking: Please book now with our Treasurer on Florence.lkcan@gmail.com and say if you wish to join the lunch. She will send you details of how to pay.
Lecture cost: £10 for members of Friends of East Asia, £12 for guests, to include refreshments after the talk. Free of charge to full time students – please book in advance or on the day and bring your Student ID card to the lecture.
Lecture: During the 17th and 18th century, Chinese and Japanese craftsmen responded in imaginative and striking ways to new commercial opportunities presented by the arrival of European ‘East India Company’ merchant ships in Asian trading ports.
Access to Asian craftsmen coincided with changing Western tastes in interior decoration, especially the growing enthusiasm for fanciful ‘Chinoiserie’ objects. ‘China Traders’ imported increasing quantities of (principally) Chinese artefacts, which were eagerly dispersed into the upper levels of European society. These decorative yet functional accessories encouraged new social practices like drinking tea and eating off porcelain plates, greatly enhancing daily life for many people after about 1650. This lecture explores this culturally influential, yet fundamentally commercial, Sino-European maritime relationship; and illustrates the fine lacquers, silks, ‘Export-taste’ porcelain and even wallpapers which the East India Companies introduced to fashionable Western buyers.
Speaker: Colin Sheaf is Chairman of The Sir Percival David Foundation and an independent art adviser.
Friends of East Asia. www.friendsofeastasia.org.uk. Email to: info@friendsofeastasia.org.uk.