Ima Hogg Ceramic Circle

William R. Sargent will discuss how Western attitudes towards Chinese ceramics can be discerned through their representation in visual art, from their first appearance in Europe to modern times. Paintings and prints are a rich resource of information, helping to identify markets for Chinese ceramics, their uses, and lending credence to dating. They are a record of the past that cannot be recreated by shipping documents, estate inventories, auction records, journals, or diaries. Using these visual records, which reflect changes of taste, interior design, display, and collecting habits, we can trace the impact of Chinese export ceramics on Western culture.