Rococo Across Borders: Designers & Makers

The Furniture History Society (FHS) was founded to study furniture of all periods, places and kinds, to increase knowledge and appreciation of it, and to assist in the preservation of furniture and its records.

Furniture History Society

Two-day symposium organized by the Furniture History Society & the French Porcelain Society on Rococo ceramics and furniture across borders

The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, Victoria and Albert Museum

Live and live-streamed via zoomA two-day symposium organized by the Furniture History Society &amp; the French Porcelain Society on Rococo ceramics and furniture across Europe and beyond, which aims to examine the geographical spread of the Rococo style, the interaction between designers and makers, and the significant role played by print culture in its dissemination. It will go beyond the traditional geographical, chronological and conceptual fields of Rococo design to explore how the style evolved throughout the long Eighteenth century, and reflect on wider discussions about the historical contexts for Rococo ceramics and furniture, alongside the place of the ‘Rococo’ in museums and art historical scholarship today.PROGRAMMEDay One - Friday, 24th March 10.00 – Registration10.20 - Welcome and IntroductionDame Rosalind Savill DBE, FSA, FBA President of the French Porcelain Society10.30 - Rococo Across Borders: Opening Remarks Session One – A French Style and its CirculationModerated by Helen Jacobsen10.35 - Form versus Function – the Rococo Contradiction and its Application to French Eighteenth Century Decorative ArtsJohn Whitehead Independent Scholar11.00 - Rocaille and Politics: The Diplomatic Gifts of Louis XVMarie-Laure Buku Pongo Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts, The Frick Collection, New York11.25 – Break 11.50 - From Cathay to Paris: Trade with Asia, its Actors and its Influence on the Arts in Paris in the Eighteenth Century Stéphane Castelluccio Directeur de recherche au CNRS, Centre André Chastel, Paris12.15 -The Rococo Diaspora: Wandering Craftsmen, Objects, Patronage and DiplomacySarah Coffin Independent Curator, Former Senior Curator - Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York12.40 – Discussion 12.55 Lunch including ’Object in Focus Sessions’ with V&amp;A Collections and Curators (Separate tickets required)Session Two – Virtuoso Rococo: England and the NetherlandsModerated by David Oakey 14.25 - ‘A Peculiarity in the Lines’: Drawing and Carving ‘Rococo’ in mid-Eighteenth Century EnglandJenny Saunt Curatorial Research Fellow, Victoria and Albert Museum, London14.50 - Chelsea&#x27;s Extreme Rococo: A Perspicuous Misunderstanding or a Calculated RiskPatricia Ferguson Independent Scholar15.15 - Break (Tea/Coffee in the Painting Galleries) 15.45 - Designing or Making. On the Role of Craftsmen as Designers Reinier Baarsen Curator Emeritus of Decorative Arts at the Rijksmuseum16.10 - Rococo Silver in the Austrian Netherlands: A Virtuoso Kaleidoscope?Wim Nys Head of Collections and Research, DIVA Museum, Antwerp16.35 – Discussion 16.50 - Closing Remarks17.00 - End of Day OneTicket holders are invited to a Drinks Reception, supported by Bonhams, 6.00 - 7.30 PM on Friday 24th February at Montpelier St, London SW7 1HH. Open to all attendees but ticketing is limited, pre-booking essential (see tickets) Day Two - Saturday, 25th March10.00 - Registration10.20 - Welcome and IntroductionChristopher Rowell FSA Chairman of the Furniture History SocietySession Three – Inspiration and Emulation: Ireland, Germany and Russia Moderated by Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth10.30 - The Prints of Carl Pier (b. 1717): Visions and Potentialities in Southern German Rococo DesignMichael Yonan Professor of Art History, University of California 10.55 - Custom made for the King - Frederician Furniture in Berlin and Potsdam c. 1740-1775 Henriette Graf Curator of Furniture, Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg11.20 - Break 11.50 -The Englishness of Irish Rococo: The Dublin School of Stucco WorkersConor Lucey Associate Professor in Architectural History, University College Dublin12.15 - Pineau le Russe : A French Sculptor in Service to the TsarsTurner Edwards Independent Scholar 12.40 – Discussion 12.55 Lunch Session Four – Across the Seas: China, the Americas and back to FranceModerated by Adriana Turpin14.25 - Persistence, Resistance, and Canadian Rococo FurniturePhilippe Halbert Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford14.50 - Ornaments from the Western Ocean: Rococo - as a Qing Imperial Style in the Decorative ArtsMei Mei Rado Assistant Professor, History of Textiles, Dress, and Decorative Arts, Bard Graduate Center, New York15.15 - Break (Tea/Coffee in the Painting Galleries) 15.45 - The French Rococo Style in Colonial Latin AmericaDennis Carr Virginia Steele Scott Chief Curator of American Art, Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, Los Angeles16.10 - Colonial Fantasy and Rococo Regressions: Porcelain in the Time of Louis-PhilippeIris Moon Assistant Curator of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York16.35 – Discussion 16.50 – Closing Remarks17.00 - End of Day TwoFor lunch there are various cafes/restaurants in close proximity to the V&amp;A to avoid queues at the V&amp;APicture Credit main image: Commode designed by Jean-François Cuvilliés, the Elder, pine partially painted and gilded, German, c. 1735-40, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 28.154.Picture Credits bottom images: Top left to bottom right, Flower vase (cuvette Mahon), probably designed by Jean-Claude Duplessis, Sèvres Manufactory, French, soft-paste porcelain, ca. 1757–60, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974.356.592; Girandole à branche de porcelaine garnie d’or, from Oeuvres de Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, engraved by Gabriel Huquier, French, 1738-49, Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1921-6-212-29-b; Commode designed by Jean-François Cuvilliés, the Elder, pine partially painted and gilded, German, c. 1735-40, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 28.154.

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Rococo Across Borders: Designers & Makers

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