Conference | Asian Art in the World
From the conference website:
Asian Art in the World: Historical Influences on Culture and Society
Lisbon, Portugal, 24–26 November 2022
This three-day conference will highlight the important contribution made by Asia to world art and universal civilisation, from the remote ages of the Silk Road, and its land and sea routes, to the modern age of globalisation. Guest speakers will present comprehensive and partial perspectives of the strong or enduring ties and links established among the various regional Asian cultures present at any one time in history. These include the economic and cultural bonds that every single one of them forged with the Western cultures they came across, commencing from the period of the Roman Empire until the end of the Middle Ages and then from the first globalisation to the present day. Finally, it is our intention to show the huge prestige afforded to the many artistic cultures of Asia in the Western world. This was based primarily on admiration for their outstanding technical skills as seen in the use of a variety of materials, some of them unknown in the West, but also on general acknowledgment of the exemplary capacity to imaginatively reinvent motifs, narratives and symbolisms shown in these works of art, not to mention the many scenarios and rituals underlying those artistic manifestations, ranging from the visual and decorative arts to the performing arts.
Speaker information and abstracts are available here»
T H U R S D A Y , 2 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
9.10 Registration
9.50 Jorge Welsh, Opening Remarks
10.00 Morning Session
• Jorge Santos Alves, Fernão Mendes Pinto’s ‘Malay Mediterranean’: An Asian Geopolitical Concept in a Modern Europe Bestseller?
• Fernando A. Baptista Pereira, Identifying Indo-Portuguese Art and Its Impact in Worldwide Collections
• Brigitte Nicolas, From China to Chinoiserie: The Example of the Chinese Fan Trade and Its Legacy
• Li Zhongmou, Recent Discoveries, Exhibitions, and Researches on the Silk Roads in Mainland China
13.10 Lunch Break
14.40 Afternoon Session
• Cora Würmell, Asia in Dresden: Augustus the Strong’s Exceptional Porcelain Collection
• Clement Onn, A Transpacific Cabinet
• Nuno Senos, Asia in Portuguese Homes in the 16th Century
F R I D A Y , 2 5 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Museu do Oriente
10.00 Morning Session
• Christiaan Jörg, Functional Beauty: Japanese Lacquer and Porcelain for Europe
• Alexandra Curvelo, The Circulation of Folding Screens in the Early Modern World
• Sonia Ocaña-Ruiz, Novohispanic Enconchados: The Impact of Namban Lacquer and Beyond
• Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, Deciphering Asian Forms and Motifs in European Porcelain from the Meissen Manufactory
13.10 Lunch Break
14.40 Afternoon Session
• Alexandre Pais, The Blue, and the Binding Sea: Influences and Dissemination of Portuguese 17th-Century Ceramics
• Cristina Castel-Branco, Eastern Voyages and the Fascination of Exotic Gardens
• Rossella Menegazzo, Japanese Aesthetics in Western Contemporary New Perspectives of Space, Materials, and Colour
S A T U R D A Y , 2 6 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
10.00 Morning Session
• William R. Sargent, America and China: ‘Adventurous Pursuits in Commerce …’
• Tianlong Jiao, Linking Asia and Beyond: Presenting Chinese Arts with a New Perspective
• Francisco Clode, The Archipelago of Madeira in the Context of the Portuguese Maritime Expeditions: Casa Colombo-Museum of Porto Santo
• Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, From China to the World: Ceramics and Tea, Two Age-Old Commodities
13.10 Lunch Break
14.40 Afternoon Session
• Jessica Hallett, Crossing Cultures, Crossing Time: China, Iraq and Europe, c. 800
• Francisco Capelo, A Traveller’s Eye, 25 Years Travelling in Asia
• Valentina Bruccoleri, From the Royal Banquet to the ‘Porcelain House’: Use and Display of Chinese Porcelain in the Islamic World
Organized by Jorge Welsh Research & Publishing, the conference is sponsored by Barta & Partner, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Fundação Carmona e Costa, Fundação Oriente, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, and Sapientia Foundation.
Supported by Apollo Magazine, Fundação Medeiros e Almeida, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Orientations Magazine, Secretaria Regional de Turismo e Cultura da Madeira, and The Art Newspaper.
Strawberry Hill Acquires Walpole’s Iconic Blue and White Tub
Yes, that tub! Lots of places to go for more information, but one might start with Luisa Calè, “Gray’s ‘Ode’ and Walpole’s China Tub: The Order of the Book and The Paper Lives of an Object,” Eighteenth-Century Studies 45.1 (Fall 2011): 105–25. From the press release, via Art Daily:
One of the most iconic and macabre objects owned by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) has been reacquired by Strawberry Hill House, thanks to the UK’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The beautiful, large blue and white vase achieved a certain notoriety after Walpole’s favourite cat, Selima, drowned in it while trying to catch goldfish, which the author kept in it. The incident was later immortalised in a mock-heroic ode by Walpole’s friend, the poet Thomas Gray, “Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes” (1747).
The cat’s death actually occurred at Walpole’s London house, in Arlington Street. The bowl, along with many other works of art, was moved to Strawberry Hill sometime in the 1760s. In 1773, Walpole commissioned a Gothic-style pedestal for the tub and a label to be affixed to it with the first stanza of the poem. After 1778 the tub was moved to the Little Cloister, outside of the house, with the 1784 Description describing the new location: “On a pedestal, stands the large blue and white china tub in which Mr. Walpole’s cat was drowned; on a label of the pedestal is written the first stanza of Mr. Gray’s beautiful ode on that occasion, ‘Twas on this lofty vase’s side, Where China’s gayest art has dy’d. The azure flow’rs that blow, Demurest of the tabby kind, The pensive Selima reclin’d, Gaz’d on the lake below’.”
Research prompted by last year’s In Focus exhibition devoted to the tub, together with the expertise required to secure its return to Strawberry Hill House, demonstrated that it is an outstanding work of art in its own right—albeit with an extraordinary backstory. The quality of every aspect of the jardiniere is superior; from the shaping of the pot, to the glazing and firing, all demonstrate a remarkable level of artistry.
Announcing the permanent return of the vase, Derek Purnell, Director, Strawberry Hill House & Garden, said: “Once again, we are grateful to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, which has allowed us to reacquire one of the most iconic objects in the collection. An object whose true value recently emerged, thanks to the attention prompted by our 2021 In Focus exhibition featuring the goldfish bowl. Traditionally described as a typical 18th-century Chinese product, made for a foreign clientele, Walpole’s porcelain vase is in reality an older and more valuable object. The jardinière, of exceptional quality, dates from the 17th century and is decorated with a continuous design of the ‘Three Friends of Winter’—pine, prunus, and bamboo—within a fenced garden of rocks and plants.”
Edward Harley OBE, Chairman of the AIL Panel said: “This Chinese jardinière is remarkable for its association with Horace Walpole and the drowning of his favourite cat. It was placed on prominent display in the cloisters at Strawberry Hill during Walpole’s lifetime, and it is fitting that, thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, it has been returned to its former home.”
Arts Minister Stuart Andrew said: “The Acceptance in Lieu scheme exists so important works of art and heritage objects can be owned by the nation and displayed for everyone to enjoy. It is fantastic that this vase has been returned to Horace Warpole’s former estate where it can go on permanent display in its rightful home.”
The porcelain vase will go on permanent display in the Hall at Strawberry Hill House, from Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
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