A Taste For China exhibition opens on Monday 23 June
To mark the Bejing Olympics this summer, Fairfax House opens its ‘Taste for China’ exhibition (Monday 23 June to Wednesday 31 December).
The exhibition draws on private and public collections throughout the country to show examples of early Chinese imports and explains how they influenced the European craftsmen and designers.
On display will be superb Chinese silk robes loaned from York Minster, exquisite lacquer work from The Bowes Museum in County Durham, fantastic ivories from the Grice Collection, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, plus Chinese and English ceramics from private collections.
The early York connection with China will be seen in the use of oriental motifs as decoration for domestic and utilitarian objects. Visitors will also be able to admire some pieces of 17th century York silver. A fine two-handled cup with gilt interior in the Noel Terry collection at Fairfax House dates c.1685 and was made by Marmaduke Best, one of the finest York silversmiths of that era.
The typically-English drinking vessel is decorated with an exotic bird resembling a phoenix, or ho-ho bird, as this is known in the East, placed amongst leafy branches and crude forms resembling Chinese clouds.
Visitors will also be able to view a selection of rare travel journals from the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, which delight in explaining the early contacts between East and West. Likewise, tea drinking features largely in the display and the exhibition highlights the equipage used for this very British tradition.
As well as the ‘Taste for China’ exhibition, Fairfax House has programmed a
a series of events throughout the year relating to China. These include specialised Chinoiserie Decoration tours (4 July, 5 September, 14 November) giving visitors the opportunity to find out more about how Chinese Art inspired Georgian decorations and the Time for Tea (26 September, 7.00pm) lecture, tracing the history of tea and relationships with China and concluding with a tea tasting session courtesy of Taylor’s of Harrogate.
In the autumn Fairfax House will be hosting a contemporary art installation by a British artist of Chinese descendant, who will draw her inspiration from the House and its collections. The work will be on in the later the year, adding a new dimension to our traditional display of food and table settings at Christmas.
The exhibition draws on private and public collections throughout the country to show examples of early Chinese imports and explains how they influenced the European craftsmen and designers.
On display will be superb Chinese silk robes loaned from York Minster, exquisite lacquer work from The Bowes Museum in County Durham, fantastic ivories from the Grice Collection, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, plus Chinese and English ceramics from private collections.
The early York connection with China will be seen in the use of oriental motifs as decoration for domestic and utilitarian objects. Visitors will also be able to admire some pieces of 17th century York silver. A fine two-handled cup with gilt interior in the Noel Terry collection at Fairfax House dates c.1685 and was made by Marmaduke Best, one of the finest York silversmiths of that era.
The typically-English drinking vessel is decorated with an exotic bird resembling a phoenix, or ho-ho bird, as this is known in the East, placed amongst leafy branches and crude forms resembling Chinese clouds.
Visitors will also be able to view a selection of rare travel journals from the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, which delight in explaining the early contacts between East and West. Likewise, tea drinking features largely in the display and the exhibition highlights the equipage used for this very British tradition.
As well as the ‘Taste for China’ exhibition, Fairfax House has programmed a
a series of events throughout the year relating to China. These include specialised Chinoiserie Decoration tours (4 July, 5 September, 14 November) giving visitors the opportunity to find out more about how Chinese Art inspired Georgian decorations and the Time for Tea (26 September, 7.00pm) lecture, tracing the history of tea and relationships with China and concluding with a tea tasting session courtesy of Taylor’s of Harrogate.
In the autumn Fairfax House will be hosting a contemporary art installation by a British artist of Chinese descendant, who will draw her inspiration from the House and its collections. The work will be on in the later the year, adding a new dimension to our traditional display of food and table settings at Christmas.