White Gold - The Race for Porcelain (Part 1)
How did Europe become obsessed with porcelain? And who would win the race to discover the secret formula for this “white gold?” In this episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene evoke a journey from Marco Polo’s China to the courts and palaces of Europe, where this mysterious material bewitched all those that encountered it.
Ceramics and artwork in this week’s episode include:
King Louis XIV
King William III & Queen Mary II
A late 17th-century engraving of a porcelain room in the style popularised by Mary II Courtesy of The Met Collection
Porcelain Room, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Germany
Marco Polo
Unglazed Ewer (Earthenware) 9th–10th century Courtesy of The Met Collection
Francesco de' Medici, 1541—87
Bowl with Variation of 'Baba Nakkas' Design, Circa 1500—25 Courtesy of The Met Collection
Iznik Mosque Lamp (Turkey) 1585—95 Courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art
Potpourri jar (France)Circa 1690—95 Courtesy of The Met Collection
Terracotta Jug, Circa 1400–1190 BC Courtesy of The Met Collection
Maiolica Plate (Italy), Circa 1500 Courtesy of The Met Collection
Handled Vase (Spain), 17th Century
Rouen Faience Jug (France), Circa 1720 - Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Pilgrim Flask (Italy), Circa 1580, Medici Porcelain Manufactory
King Augustus II the Strong, 1670–1733
Professor Paul Greenhalgh is a specialist on the art and design of the Modern period. He has written widely on Art Nouveau and curated several exhibitions including the major survey Art Nouveau 1890-1914, which toured internationally (2000-01). His books include Ephemeral Vistas (1988), Modernism in Design (1990), Art Nouveau 1890–1914 (2000), The Modern Ideal (2005), Fair World (2011), L’Art Nouveau: La Revolution Decorative (2013), Ceramic Art and Civilisation (2021) and Pablo Picasso: The Legacy of Youth (2022). He has held positions as Head of Research at the V&A Museum, London; President and Director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Director of the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich; and Inaugural Director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, London. He was born and raised in Bolton, and is a proud Lancastrian.
Stephanie Rozene is a ceramic artist, Professor of Art, and the Ceramics Program Coordinator at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York she has been teaching, writing and making art since 2004. At Hartwick she's been honored with the Wandersee Scholar in Residence award twice, along with the Teacher Scholar Award. Stephanie's research uses historical ornament and porcelain as a visual language to critique contemporary political rhetoric, and she also explores the history of clay as a cooking tool. Her work has been shown extensively both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and is the Vice President of the board of trustees for the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, and was educated at NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Canada and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
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45:57
Secret Formula - The Race for Porcelain (Part 2)
In this second episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene pick up the story of Europe’s obsession with porcelain and the race to discover its secret formula.
View episode
56.22
Sèvres - Power, Porcelain & Prestige
In this episode Paul and Stephanie discuss how Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, and Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's passion for porcelain created one of the most famous and revered names in the history of ceramics, Sèvres.
View episode
51:34
Josiah Wedgwood - Part 1
In the next two episodes Paul Greenhalgh is joined by Sir Tristram Hunt as they travel back to 18th century England and the life and work of Josiah Wedgwood - potter, scientist and abolitionist and creator of one of the most famous ceramic companies in British history.
View episode
45.11
Josiah Wedgwood - Part 2
In this episode Paul Greenhalgh is joined by Sir Tristram Hunt for the 2nd part about the life and work of Josiah Wedgwood - creator of one of the most famous ceramic companies in British history.
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The Terracotta Warriors
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