The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong is delighted to welcome Richard Kan and Peter Lam to present a lecture on Unblemished Colours – Zhuyuetang collection of Chinese Monochromes.
Monochromes, ceramics coated in a single colour – represents the pinnacle of technical perfection, requiring great purity of materials and absolute control over the firing process. One might say that good quality monochromes are unforgiving as they must not show the slightest flaw and disproportional shapes. Pigments capable of withstanding very high firing temperatures are few, and Chinese potters, thanks to their know-how, have continuously developed new shades to satisfy emperors and literati. The long history of the mastering colours is traced recently (12 June 2024 – 16 September 2024) in a special exhibition through a selection of 250 masterpieces from the Zhuyuetang and Musée Guimet collections. In this lecture Peter Lam will first introduce the Zhuyuetang monochromes and will discuss the academic aspects of some highlights. Then Richard Kan will have a dialogue with Tina Pang and will answer questions from the floor.
Richard W.C. Kan comes from a line of light industrialists and founders of the Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company Limited. He was educated in Hong Kong at St. Paul’s Co-educational College and in England at Repton School and Imperial College. Richard is a respected collector of Chinese monochrome ceramics from the fifth century to the eighteenth century with an emphasis on the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1487) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1795). More than 200 pieces from his Zhuyuetang collection was on display in a joint exhibition at the Musee Guimet in Paris recently. The collection covers most, if not all, of the fifty-seven hues cited by Tang Ying, Superintendent of the Customs Office in Jiujiang cum official in charge of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in Jingdezhen, in the 18th Century. In July 2023, Richard was awarded the “Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the Government of France.
Peter Lam a graduate from SOAS, London University and presently Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong is an art historian and museum professional. Before his retirement in 2013 he had been with the Art Museum of the University for four decades and in the last fourteen years its Director/Professor. He is an expert in Chinese ceramics, calligraphy and later decorative arts, having curated and organized many exhibitions and published numerous works on these subjects. In recognition of his contribution and scholarship in Chinese art he was awarded quite a number of prizes, which include the HKOCS Ip Yee Memorial medal (2006), the Min Chiu Society J.M. Hu gold medal award (2020) and the Hills Gold Medal from Oriental Ceramic Society, London (2021).