A passion for porcelain: essays in honour of Meredith Chilton

Abstract

'A Passion for Porcelain' brings together papers delivered at an international symposium held in 2018 at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto (CA), in honour of Meredith Chilton, one of the foremost scholars and curators of eighteenth-century European porcelain. Authored by leading scholars in the field, the essays take us on a journey from Sèvres (FR) to Japan via Boston (US), where we encounter both revered artists and anonymous makers, together with passionate collectors past and present. The contributions also explore the medium of porcelain in the context of artistic rivalry and gift exchange, as an object of fashion and scientific curiosity and as a symbol of status and power. Together they reveal the versatility of the medium, changing perceptions and endless possibilities for porcelain scholarship.