In the ninth century, the world’s first blue-and-white ceramics began to be made at Basra, Iraq and Gongyi, China. Both represent what would become one of the most popular colour combinations for decorating ceramics. Only one would change the world, however. From the Tang dynasty onwards, blue-and-white stoneware and porcelain became a major export product for China that would be consumed and copied globally. In addition to being profitable for China, the popularity of these ceramics led to the spread of Chinese visual culture across the globe, impacting decorative traditions and consumer practices wherever they were traded.

This talk looks at the impact of Chinese blue-and-white ceramics by tracing its history and production in China and its global distribution. It focuses on key locations where encounters with Chinese blue-and-white ceramics stimulated advancements in art, interior design, architecture, and dining and drinking cultures.


About the speaker

Dr Stacey Pierson is Professor of the History of Chinese Ceramics at SOAS, University of London. She is the president of the Oriental Ceramic Society (London) and series editor for the Routledge title Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1550–1950. From 1995 to 2007, she was Curator of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art at the University of London. 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), and From Object to Concept: Global Consumption and the Transformation of Ming Porcelain (2013). Her most recent research project focused on Dr Johnson’s Chinese teapot, on display at the British Museum.

About the moderator

Kevin Lam is Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Civilisations Museum. He holds a PhD in Chinese art and began his career as a research fellow at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Before joining ACM, he was an associate curator at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, where he oversaw the design and contemporary art galleries.