(6 January – 29 March 2020) annually
The arts of China are part of a continuous artistic tradition of some seven thousand years. The Chinese Art module will be broadly structured in a chronological fashion, concentrating particularly on the evolution of the arts in ceramics, painting and calligraphy, metalwork, sculpture, textiles, lacquer and jade carving, from Neolithic times down to the 20th century.
Lectures on religion, philosophy and literature will help set the social and political histories of the differing periods into a wider context. The decorative arts, including furniture, and architecture will also be explored as will various themes such as archaism, imperial and local patronage, and the relationship between the use of motifs and shapes on objects of the same period but of different media. The importance of export markets and the adoption of foreign artistic styles will also be assessed.