Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art
The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art is a collection of Chinese ceramics and related objects now on display in the British Museum in London , England .
History of the collection
The future Sir Percival David , who came from the Jewish merchant family Sassoon , seized the opportunity in 1927 to acquire the first objects stolen from the Forbidden City in Beijing or pledged by the Empress widow. Starting in 1930, he himself created various catalogs for the holdings of the Imperial Palace and was able to acquire additional parts for his collection.
The collection was shown for the first time in 1931 at The Dorchester in London and was relocated during World War II . At the same time, Percival David established a chair for Chinese art and architecture at the Courtauld Institute of Art , which is part of the University of London . In order to hold the collection and the extensive library together, he set up a foundation at the University's School of Oriental and African Studies , where he also established the chair.
In 1952 the collection was opened to the public and exhibited in a building in Gordon Square , London. The collection includes around 1700 objects. A smaller collection from Mountstuart Elphinstone has been part of the exhibition since 1952 .
Exhibition today
The collection has not been exhibited since 2007 for lack of money and went on an exhibition trip to Japan and the USA . Since 2009 she has found a new home in Room 95 of the British Museum. The highlights include some rare objects from the Ru kiln and two approx. 63 cm high blue and white temple vases from the time of the Yuan dynasty from 1351.
Exhibitions
- 1997: Kimbell Art Museum , Fort Worth , Texas, USA
- 1998: The Society of the Four Arts , Palm Beach , Florida, USA
- 1998: Frick Art Museum , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, USA
literature
- Lady David: Illustrated Guide to the Collection. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1956.
- Suzanne Katz (Ed.): Imperial Taste. Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation. Chronicle Book, San Francisco, California 1989, ISBN 0-87701-612-7 .
- Rosemary Scott: Chinese Jades . Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London 1997, ISBN 0-728602733 .
- Rosemary E. Scott (Ed.): For the Imperial Court: Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. The American Federation of Arts, New York City 1997, ISBN 1-885444-04-4 .
- Regina Krahl, Jessica Harison-Hall: Chinese Ceramics: Highlights of the Sir Percival David Collection . British Museum Press, London 2009, ISBN 978-0-7141-2454-4 .