Chinese ceramics appreciation is going strong in the West, Oriental Ceramic Society president says ahead of exhibition to mark its centenary

As the Oriental Ceramic Society, UK-based but globally oriented, celebrates its centenary, president notes ‘great development of interest in Asian art market’

She credits OCS’ appeal to not being exclusionary, unlike the ‘intimidating’ Chinese art collecting milieu in Hong Kong where young aren’t drawn to antiques

Reading Time:3 minutes

An underglaze blue porcelain moon flask, from the Qing dynasty’s Yongzheng period (1723-1735), part of the collection of Winchester College and featured in an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the Oriental Ceramics Society.

Published: 3:45pm, 9 Oct 2021

The Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) has a name that invokes a bygone era, an age of colonial administrators and a Western penchant for chinoiserie.

But its new president insists that the name is the only thing that is old-fashioned about a London institution celebrating its centenary this year, as it continues its mission to widen the appreciation for, and to acquire knowledge about, Asian art.

In fact, Professor Stacey Pierson suggests that the OCS, its austere name notwithstanding, is far more accessible and diverse than, say, the 60-year-old Min Chiu Society of Chinese art collectors in Hong Kong, which remains out of bounds to dealers and has yet to admit a female collector.

“The Chinese art collecting milieu in Hong Kong can be a bit more intimidating and exclusive,” says Pierson, a reader in the history of Chinese ceramics at SOAS University of London who has previously given lectures in Hong Kong.

An earthenware tomb figure of a roaring lion with green splash-glaze from China’s Tang dynasty, about 700-750AD, part of the British Museum collection, featured in an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the Oriental Ceramics Society.

In contrast, the London OCS has a wide-ranging membership including students, dealers, museum curators and academics, she adds. (An OCS Hong Kong has been in existence since 1974 with a similar, open-to-all position, though it is not officially an affiliated entity.)