The finest collection of Chinese ceramics outside China can be seen in the Sir Percival David Collection gallery in the British Museum in London. Created by Sir Percival David (1896-1964) in the first half of the 20th century, the collection contains some of the rarest and most valuable pieces in the world today and is a benchmark for dating, identification and scholarship.
Image: PDF A821: Porcelain dish with overglaze enamel decoration, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722).
Renowned in his time as a collector and expert, David was instrumental in establishing Chinese art globally as a field of collecting, scholarship and in museums. Yet, unknown to his peers in the art world and most scholars of his collection today, David was a member of the famed Baghdadi-Jewish Sassoon family who played an active role in some of the fundamental historical events of WWII, supporting institutions and refugee scholars, while struggling with his own debilitating illness. In this talk, the story of David’s parallel lives will be recounted, revealing the extraordinary context in which his remarkable collection was created.
People
Stacey Pierson
Dr Stacey Pierson is Professor of the History of Chinese Ceramics at SOAS, University of London. In addition to teaching and supervising research students in the School of Arts, she is President of the Oriental Ceramic Society (London) and series editor for the Routledge title Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1550-1950. Previously, from 1995 – 2007, she was Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese art, also at the University of London, which housed the world-renowned David collection of Chinese ceramics. She has published widely on aspects of Chinese ceramics and the history of collecting and exhibitions, including Collectors, Collections and Museums: the Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain: 1560-1960 (2007), Chinese Ceramics: a Design History (2009), From Object to Concept: Global Consumption and the Transformation of Ming Porcelain (2013), Private Collecting, Exhibitions and the Shaping of Art History in London: the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1866-1950 (2017) and the edited volume Visual, Material and Textual Cultures of Food and Drink in China, 200 BCE – 1900 CE, Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia, no. 25 (2022). Her most recent research project focused on Dr Johnson’s Chinese teapot, which is on display in the British Museum.
Furuhata Yuriko
Furuhata Yuriko is an Associate Professor at McGill University, Montreal, and has published widely in the field of Japanese film and media, and is author of Cinema of Actuality: Japanese Avant-Garde Filmmaking in the Season of Image Politics (Duke University Press, 2013) and the forthcoming Atmospheric Control: A Transpacific Genealogy of Climatic Media (2022).
Kent Ayoungman
Oki Aamooka Kayihtsipimiohkitopi, Iihtomohtoto Siksika ki Iihtomahto’tsitapiyiiks Saayiiks. His real name is Riding a Painted Horse and belongs to the Aggressive People clan of the Siksika in Alberta, Canada. He is also known as Kent Ayoungman. Kent has a passion for anything related to the Siksikai’tsitapiwahssinni. Since childhood, he has dreamt often about the traditions of the Siksikai’tsitapi. He has actualized these “gifts of knowledge” by activelyparticipating in the Blackfoot societies and ceremonies. At a young age, Kent was also very fortunate to have his late grandfather, Arthur Ayoungman Sr., there for him, and to encourage him in living the Siksika way of life. Kent has also translated these gifts into creating works of art in mixed media. He is especially adept at making “authentic” Siksika clothing, accessories, and horse gear. He is knowledgeable about ancient designs, the symbolism in these pieces, and the protocol related to ownership and use. He has been involved in various capacities with post-secondary institutions such as University of Lethbridge, University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, Alberta University of the Arts, University of Alberta and Old Sun Community College. He was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Old Sun Community College on September 22, 2021 for his extensive contributions to the Siksika Knowledge Curriculum development and much more. Kent is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta). He works with many museum collections within North America, Australia, United Kingdom and most recently Europe.