For centuries, rare and desirable luxury goods were traded from China to Europe. This far-distant and seemingly fabulous land of gardens, temples and sacred mountains, its culture rich in myth and legend, was known in the West as Cathay. Spanish galleons sailed on trade winds across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, their cargoes of treasures such as lustrous Chinese blue and white porcelain destined for the Habsburg Court. Portuguese carracks and Dutch and English ships of the East India Companies followed different trade winds across the Indian Ocean, laden with vast quantities of porcelain as well as magnificent silks, lacquer screens, wallpaper, fans and enigmatic figures of deities. Tea was introduced to Europe by the 17th Century and became the most lucrative commodity in an ever-expanding trade. Coveted by princely collectors, precious artefacts from China adorned palaces across Europe. By the mid-18th Century, the popularity of these luxury arts from China inspired a passion for chinoiserie: the imaginative recreation of a fanciful vision of Cathay in porcelain, silver, furniture and architecture.

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The three lectures which make up this study day are:

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Lecture 1: Winds of the Dragon on Cobalt Seas: the Story of Chinese Porcelain

Lecture 2: Luxury Arts from a Land of Mountains and Flowers: Tea and Silk, Lacquer and Wallpaper

Lecture 3: Visions of Enchanted Lands: Chinoiserie in European Art and Design