China’s 1800s

Material and visual culture of China’s long 19th century is understandably overshadowed by the traumatic warfare, land shortages, famines and uprisings which impacted the lives of a population of around 400 million people. However, innovation can be seen in material culture (including print, painting, calligraphy, textiles, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, lacquer, glass, arms and armour, rugs, silver, money, and photography) during a century in which China’s art, literature, crafts and technology faced unprecedented exposure to global influences. Despite this however, until recently, the 19th century in China has been often defined – and dismissed – as an era of cultural decline.Building on the critically acclaimed British Museum exhibition China’s hidden century: 1796–1912, this publication seeks to redefine perceptions about 19th-century Qing arts. Essays by some of the world’s leading authorities on Qing culture reveal the social, cultural, religious, creative, economic and political history of makers, users, owners and collectors. Areas of focus include painting and patronage; calligraphy and seal carving; commerce and fashion; and craft technology and technology ensuring that the book will be a manual for the arts of China’s long 19th century.

"China's 1800s: Material and Visual Culture is engaging, meticulously researched, and visually rich: an essential resource for scholars of Chinese history, art, and material culture that stands at the beginning of a research trend. It will, I'm sure, be consulted for many decades to come."-- "The Oriental Ceramic Society Newsletter"

Jessica Harrison-Hall curates the Chinese ceramics collections of the British Museum. She is also responsible for Vietnamese art and antiquities. Her publications include Vietnam Behind the Lines: Images from the War; Ming Ceramics: A Catalogue of the late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum; Chinese Ceramics: Highlights of the Sir Percival David Collection; and the Timeline of China. She is curating the British Museum exhibition, Ming: 50 years that changed China and is co-editor, with Craig Clunas, of the companion catalogue of the same name.

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