THE ART OF THE DEALER: SELLING ANTIQUE CERAMICS, 1850 TO 2000

The French Porcelain Society is delighted to announce a two-day webinar on selling antique ceramics in the pre-digital age from 1850 to 2000.

The first day will focus on the dealer in the long nineteenth century, emerging from his chrysalis as a seller of ‘curiosities’ and ‘Old Sèvres porcelain’ to modern scholar-dealer, trading on an international stage, selling to museums through antiques fairs, themed exhibitions, lectures, specialist monographs and catalogues devoted to ceramics. Papers will consider the Parisian dealer Beurdeley, the furnishing of J. Pierpont Morgan’s London home and the dealers who supplied him and the rising market for oriental ceramics popularised by Edgar Gorer.

On day two speakers will consider the legacy and change that characterised porcelain dealing in the twentieth century with papers on Marjorie Merriweather Post and French & Company in the United States, the activities of Hanns Weinberg in the 1950s for the Antique Porcelain Company and finally Robert Williams at Winifred Williams Antiques. Each day will conclude with a panel discussion.

This programme is made possible with the generous support of Richard Baron Cohen.

Speakers include: Professor Nick Pearce, Richmond Chair of Fine Art, School of Culture & Creative Arts, University of Glasgow; Dr Diana Davis (independent scholar); Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Visiting Research Fellow, History of Art and Museum Studies, University of Leeds; Dr Camille Mestdagh, Associate Researcher (LARHRA); Linda H. Roth, Director of Special Projects/Curatorial and Charles C. and Eleanor Lamont Cunningham Curator of European Decorative Arts, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut; Dr Rebecca Tilles, Associate Curator of 18th-century French & Western European Fine and Decorative Arts, Hillwood Estate Museum; John Whitehead, FSA, Antique dealer and author; Errol Manners, FSA, Antique dealer and author


PROGRAM

Saturday, 12 June 2021, 17:00-19:30 BST

17:00-17:15 Marks, Monographs and Mediators: The Long Nineteenth Century
Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Visiting Research Fellow, History of Art and Museum Studies, University of Leeds and Curator, 17th and 18th Century Ceramics and Glass, V&A Museum

17:20-17:50 The Importance of Porcelain in the Business of a Parisian Curiosity Dealer: the Beurdeley Dynasty, a Case Study
Dr Camille Mestdagh, Associate Researcher (LARHRA)

Break
17:55-18:25 Mr. Morgan's London House
Linda H. Roth, Director of Special Projects/Curatorial and Charles C. and Eleanor Lamont
Cunningham Curator of European Decorative Arts, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut
18:30-19:00 'Sheer Cleverness and Courage': Edgar Gorer (1872-1915) and the Rise of the Specialist Dealer in Chinese Art
Professor Nick Pearce, Richmond Chair of Fine Art, School of Culture & Creative Arts, University of Glasgow

19:00-19:30 Panel discussion and Q & A


Sunday, 13 June 2021, 17:00-19:30 BST

17:00-17:15 The Twentieth Century: Legacy and Change
Dr Diana Davis, Independent researcher
17:20-17:50 Marjorie Merriweather Post and the Role and Influence of French & Company
Dr Rebecca Tilles, Associate Curator of 18th-century French & Western European Fine and Decorative Arts, Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens
Break
17:55-18:25 The Antique Porcelain Company – Porcelain Dealing in the Post-war Period
John Whitehead, FSA, Antique dealer and author
18:30-19:00 Robert Williams of Winifred Williams Antiques
Errol Manners, FSA, Antique dealer and author
19:00-19:30 Panel discussion and Q & A


This is a free event but registration in advance is required.
Zoom link for both days: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TV0dg52kTQmn5OypgnEVTA

Please note that the programme is subject to change. If you have any comments or questions, please contact FPSenquiriesgmail.com