6:30 pm (doors open at 6:00 pm) Admission: Free (please register at link)  

co-presented by The Japan Foundation and the Gardiner Museum

Speaker: Professor Nicole Rousmaniere (University of East Anglia and Curator, Department of Asia, British Museum)

This talk will address the history of collecting Japanese ceramics for the British Museum. From the very foundation of the Museum in 1753, ceramics from Japan were represented in the collections. Some of these initial holdings were collected in Japan by the German physician, Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716) between 1690-1692 and then acquired by Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753), the founding donor of the British Museum. A more systematic approach to the collecting of Japanese ceramics began a century later through the efforts of the then Keeper, Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826-1897). The Japanese ceramic collections quickly grew not only through purchases in Europe but also were acquired directly from Japan, particularly in the later 19^th century. The British Museum continues its fine legacy of astute collecting focusing most recently on contemporary Japanese ceramics.