A BRIEF HISTORY OF PORCELAIN: A fascinating journey of discovery from the East to the West with Barrie Cathcart

The first porcelain was produced in China approximately 1200 years ago during the Tang Dynasty (618-906). The product of persistent experimentation with kiln technology, fuel sources, firing temperatures, and clay compositions, this ‘white gold’ came to be a highly coveted commodity in Europe due to its translucent beauty and rarity. Initially introduced by Marco Polo in the thirteenth century, fascination with porcelain surged following the opening of trade routes to the Far East and leading to over a century of attempts by European makers to replicate this fine ceramic. Join speaker Barrie Cathcart as he traverses the history of porcelain from its origins in seventh-century China to the first European production at the Meissen factory in Germany, the prolific production of French factories such as Vincennes and Sevres, and finally to the developments of Josiah Spode and his improved formulation of English Bone China in the eighteenth century.

Barrie Cathcart has been dealing in antiques and specifically in English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century porcelain and pottery for the last 35 years. During this time he has studied widely and attended many seminars on ceramics in Australia, America, and England. Barrie has given lectures on antique pottery and porcelain for the National Gallery of Victoria, and to various antique collecting groups as well as for the Australian Antique Dealers Association and for The Johnston Collection.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the lecture, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This lecture is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our exhibition-house, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: Sèvres Manufactory, Lidded Pot-pourri Vase, c.1760. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 75.DE.11.