China
On a Camellia, in a garden or in a grove in Australia
Swedish Naturalist Carl von Linne or, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was the founder of the modern scientific nomenclature for plants and animals. He established the name Camellia in the system he devised for classifying all plants in the west. His Systema Naturae of 1735 was where Moravian Jesuit botanist George Joseph Kamel, or Camellus, name was recorded.
Chinoiserie – Pavilions, Porcelains and Passionate Pursuits
By the eighteenth century in Europe and England all things Chinese had assumed incredible proportions as fashionable society sought to transmit their ideas about the magical land of Cathay through a multiplicity of imagery.
The First Emperor of China – Seeking the Mandate of Heaven
Today the first Emperor of China’s terracotta army has no battles to fight, but rather it seeks to win the war for China about culture as art. Should they be displayed in an ‘art’ gallery or in a Museum whose premise is about presenting stories of cultural development and history.
Meissen Porcelain – Princely Power and Prestige
Today we have our morning cup of tea, or latte, from a cup, or mug without much thought about the ‘China’ we drink it from, because it has become such an integral aspect of twenty first century lifestyle. However, as a commodity, the ceramic ware it derived from, known as porcelain, aided the growth of both the east and western world’s economies and benefited their social and cultural development for centuries.
Collecting Chinese Snuff Containers
Until the early 1900s the volume of snuff produced in China far exceeded that of tobacco for smoking or chewing. Everyone took it – from the poet Alexander Pope to naturalist Charles Darwin, actress Sarah Siddons and the Duke of Wellington. Lord Nelson took large quantities to sea with him, while Napoleon sniffed over seven pounds a month. Physicians made great claims for it, prescribing snuff for headaches, insomnia, toothache, coughs and colds and recommending it as a measure against contagion. Today snuff bottles remain eminently collectible. The enormous variety in materials, subject matter, colour and shape provides a fascinating trail for the dedicated collector.
First Stirrings of the China Trade Precious Cargoes of Cathay
Ceramic traditions since ancient times have undergone many cross fertilizations by their exposure to various cultures. The first stirring of what we now describe as the China Trade began when Europe was still emerging from the medieval period and would build momentum slowly peaking during the nineteenth century.
Giuseppe Castiglione – At the Court of the Chinese Emperors
It was during the Yuan dynasty (c1260-1368) that knowledge of ancient Cathay (China) first filtered through to the west. Mongolian leader Kublai Khan gained the title Great Khan, by defeating his brothers and embracing Chinese culture. In 1260 Kublai Khan (1215-1294) set about rebuilding the city of Peking as his winter capital, governing along Chinese [...]
CIVILISED: At the Beginnings of Art
This is the starting segment for our course of study the evolution of western art, design, style and culture antiquity until today. It is surveyed in chronological order from antiquity to the contemporary age with respect to intellectual and philosophical ideas, other cultural influences and social change.
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