Chinoiserie is exotic, stylish and, above all, fun. Glamorous and visually stunning, the style has provided a backdrop for women behaving badly across the centuries!
The story of chinoiserie in Britain is a dazzling example of contact between two very different cultures. With loans from HM The Queen, national museums and private collections, Chinese Whispers tells three centuries of stories through rare and iconic objects.
Chinese Whispers fills the exhibition galleries at Brighton Museum and – in typically ostentatious style – flows over into new, special displays in the interiors of the Royal Pavilion.
In Brighton Museum
The red lacquer box
It’s like straying into a box of scintillating jewels!
‘The Ladies Amusement’
A flowery setting for the extravagances of the aristocracy.
Exotic interiors
Glitzy fashion, lifestyle and décor, including jewellery and seductive fashions.
At the Royal Pavilion
Surrender yourself to the extravagant interiors - a flamboyant backdrop for royal romance, seduction and intrigue.
The Music Room and Music Room gallery
Spectacular objects first displayed in the Royal Pavilion and now brought home to their original setting.
The North West Gallery
Extravagant and spectacular chinoiserie designs for the Royal Pavilion.
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Detail of japanned cabinet c 1700 (c) Holburne Museum of Art Bath |
Associated events
Tickets for events are available from Brighton Museum shop or call 01273 292797 (except where otherwise specified).
Study Day
Saturday 17 May 11am–7pm
Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930: Study Day
A study day with the curators of Chinese Whispers and contributors to the catalogue, to explore themes of the exhibition in depth. Followed by a wine reception and private viewing of the exhibition.
17th and 18th century Chinoiserie in Britain
David Beevers, Keeper of Fine Art and curator of Chinese Whispers
Picturing China - fantasies and fallacies
Patrick Conner, Director, Martyn Gregory Gallery, London, formerly Keeper of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery & Museums, Brighton
Chinoiserie Silver in England 1660 - 1830
James Lomax, Honorary Curator of the Chippendale Society.
Dragons in the Drawing Room: modern anxieties and 20th century chinoiserie
Sarah Cheang, Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies, London College of Fashion.
‘Prodigious charming pots…’ British Chinoiserie Ceramics
Stella Beddoe, Keeper of Decorative Art and curator of ceramics for Chinese Whispers
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
To book, telephone 01273 292864. £40 (£25 concessions)
Tours
Saturday 24 May, Wednesdays 11 June, 23 July, 17 September, 15 October 1pm
Gallery Tour: Chinese Whispers
A guided tour of the Chinese Whispers exhibition with Adrien Joly, Interpretation Officer
In the Chinese Whispers exhibition galleries
Free with exhibition entry ticket
Saturday 31 May, Thursday 12 June, Saturday 14 June, Thursday 19 June, Wednesday 16 July 2.30pm
The Pavilion Revealed
Special tours of the Royal Pavilion looking at new objects on loan for Chinese Whispers, with Adrien Joly, Interpretation Officer.
£5 plus Royal Pavilion admission
To book telephone 01273 292820
Thursday 5 June 1pm
'Prodigious charming pots' - the craze for China
Gallery tour with Stella Beddoe, Keeper of Decorative Art, curator of ceramics for Chinese Whispers and contributor to the catalogue.
In the Chinese Whispers exhibition galleries
Free with exhibition entry ticket
Wednesday 16 July 1pm
Curator’s Talk
Gallery tour by David Beevers, Keeper of Fine Art and curator of Chinese Whispers.
In the Chinese Whispers exhibition galleries
Free with exhibition entry ticket
Wednesday 10 September 1pm
Curator’s Talk 2
A second chance to attend a gallery tour by David Beevers, Keeper of Fine Art and curator of Chinese Whispers.
In the Chinese Whispers exhibition galleries
Free with exhibition entry ticket
Talks
Saturday 10 May 2pm
Artist’s Talk by Pamela So
Pamela So has been specially commissioned to make new work to coincide with this exhibition. She introduces her own work, including a tour of this new commission set in the Royal Pavilion gardens.
Education Pavilion, Brighton Museum
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Tuesday 27 May 1pm
From China to the West: imperial gardens and European landscapes
Patrick Conner, Keeper of Fine Art at the Royal Pavilion from 1975 to 1986, examines how two Chinese imperial gardens initiated by the Kangxi Emperor may have helped to shape the great gardens of Georgian England.
William IV Room, Royal Pavilion
£10 (includes tea/coffee and biscuits)
Tickets available from the Royal Pavilion shop or call 01273 292798
Thursday 29 May 2.30pm
Tea with the Head Gardener: oriental influences on the Regency garden
Meet Head Gardener Robert Hill-Snook and enjoy a tour of the Royal Pavilion gardens followed by tea in the Queen Adelaide Tearoom.
Royal Pavilion Gardens/Queen Adelaide Tearoom
£10 (includes tea/coffee and biscuits)
Tickets available from the Royal Pavilion shop or call 01273 292798
Saturday 7 June 2pm
Exotics at home: Chinese domestic interiors in the age of Chinoiserie
Francesca Bray, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, examines how women’s roles and real life in China differed from the imaginings of the west.
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Wednesday 18 June 1pm
China and the Exotic in 17th century England
Maurice Howard, Professor of Art History, University of Sussex, looks at
early concepts of China and its impact on the visual arts of Stuart England.
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Saturday 28 June 2pm
Europe in China, 1644-1840
Dr Chia-Ling Yang, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, introduces the artistic exchange between China and Europe as seen from the Chinese side, and discusses ‘Europe-mania’ in the Qing court during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Thursday 10 July 1 pm
Perspectives on Art
Aiden Leeves, former assistant curator at the Barlow Collection, University of Sussex, compares perceptions of ‘art’ in Chinese and European cultures
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Thursday 9 October 1pm
Picturing the Chinese
Artist Grace Lau, exhibiting on the museum¹s Café Balcony, discusses her
photographic work and its relation to representations of the Chinese by
Imperialist travellers in the 19th century.
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton
£5 (£3.50 concessions)
Enjoy also a selection of Chinese films at Brighton’s Duke of York’s Picturehouse in association with Chinese Whispers and CHINA NOW. For details see www.picturehouses.co.uk
Generous support for Chinese Whispers has been received from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the Henry Moore Foundation, The Friends of the Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery & Museums, Brighton, The Regency Society of Brighton & Hove, Ian Askew, Elaine Evans, John Rank, Richard Sachs, Lady Judith Swire, the British Antique Dealers Association, and from private individuals who wish to remain anonymous.
Chinese Whispers is a part of CHINA NOW, the UK’s largest ever festival of Chinese culture. CHINA NOW, is a 6-month nationwide festival of over 800 Chinese events including exhibitions, performances and activities spanning Chinese film, cuisine, comics, art, literature, music, design, science, technology, business, education and sport across the UK. Visit www.chinanow.org.uk/events for full details of all events.
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