Kindred Spirits: Japanese Ceramics in Chinese Style from the Shen Zhai Collection
Clare Pollard will talk about the Shen Zhai Collection and the recent publication Kindred Spirits: 100 Ceramics in Chinese Style. The Shen Zhai Collection, which she co-authored with Patrick K. M. Kwok, Rose Kerr, Maezaki Shinya and Fukunaga Ai.
While Chinese ceramics have played a crucial role in Japanese culture throughout history, relatively little attention has been paid to the way in which this longstanding artistic relationship evolved during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa eras. The Shen Zhai collection of Japanese ceramics was created by Patrick K. M. Kwok to illustrate the remarkable flowering of Chinese-inspired porcelain in Japan at this time and the book showcases 100 pieces inspired by Chinese styles, techniques and forms from the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Accompanying essays explore the phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, through historical context, reference to the Chinese originals, case studies of individual potters and specific works, and a historiographical look at scholarship around ‘Chinese style’ in Japanese ceramics.
The lecture will discuss the Shen Zhai collection and present some of the major themes of the book through a selection of key objects.
Members do not need to book to attend this lecture.
5:30 pm – Society of Antiquaries opens for members’ refreshments
6:15 pm – Lecture begins
Sponsored by Woolley & Wallis
Image: Suwa Sozan I, ‘kinuta seiji’ vase in Longquan style, c. 1913-14, Shen Zhai Collection
Speaker
Dr. Clare PollardCurator of Japanese Art, Ashmolean MuseumDr. Clare Pollard is Curator of Japanese Art at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. After completing her DPhil on Meiji ceramics at Oxford University, she worked as a curator at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney before returning to Oxford in 2006. Her research has focused mainly on ceramics and textiles of the Meiji era and her publications include Master Potter of Meiji Japan: Makuzu Kōzan (1842-1916) and his workshop (2003) and Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan (2012). She has curated numerous exhibitions, including recently ‘TOKYO: Art & Photography’ (2021), ‘In Praise of Hands: woodcuts by Naoko Matsubara with poems by Penny Boxall’ (2022) and ‘Kabuki Kimono: Costumes of Bandō Tamasaburō V’ (current).
