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The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector’s Vision (COMPLETE 6 VOLUMES I,II,III,IV,V,VI)

Complete Set

Pinto de Matos, Maria Antónia; Moas, Ana; Shih, Ching-fei; Carita, H.;Curvelo, A.; Morais, B. A.; Pereira, F. A. B.; Sargent, W. R.

The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector's Vision is the most important new reference book on Chinese export porcelain to be published for many years. It provides the first comprehensive study of what is probably the world's best private collection of pieces for the European market and contains new research into the subject of Chinese export porcelain and enamelled copper.

The three-volume set of hardcover books includes chapters on earthenware, stoneware and porcelain of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, works with Western shapes and decoration and armorial Chinese export porcelain. It gives details of many rare or unique pieces in the RA Collection, which are the only ones of their type yet recorded.; Following the publication in 2011 of Volumes I, II and III of The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics. A Collector's Vision, and the success of the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2016, Global by Design. Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection, showing highlights from the collection

The fourth volume documents the most significant new acquisitions made by the collector after the publication of the first 3 volumes. Bringing together passion and an informed vision, the collector, Renato de Albuquerque, has created one of the most coherent and comprehensive collections of Chinese ceramics made for export markets. Encompassing works from the Tang (618-907) to the Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the collection is central to the understanding and study of Chinese export art. Comprising a selection of 206 pieces or groups of pieces, this boxed, hardcover book brings new research on the intercultural connections that are central to the collection. As with the previous volumes, the fourth book is written by Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, one of the world's foremost experts on Chinese export porcelain. Her careful research expounds on the collector's choices and the complex, multi-layered history of Chinese earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Published in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. 

The fifth volume of The RA Collection is the first in the series to depart from ceramic to other fields of cross-cultural art. The RA Collection of Chinese Enamelled Copper. A Collector’s Vision focuses on pieces made of enamelled copper which were produced in parallel with Chinese porcelain during the 18th and early 19th centuries. As its predecessors, this book illustrates highlights from the collection, works of art representative of the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures in the modern era. Each piece has been carefully selected by the collector, Renato de Albuquerque, ensuring that the overall collection can serve as a source for the study and furthering of knowledge in the field. Comprising a selection of 55 pieces or groups of pieces, this boxed, hardcover book brings to light new research on the inter-cultural connections that are central to the collection. The book draws on the combined expertise of Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, Ana Moás and Ching-Fei Shih, to shed light on the collector’s choices and the complex intersections between enamelled copper and porcelain production in 18th century China. Published in a limited edition of 400 numbered copies, this work is a further supplement to what has been described as ‘the best work yet written on Chinese export porcelain’ (The Economist, November/December 2011).

The sixth volume of the RA Collection concludes a series of publications, the first five of which are dedicated to Chinese ceramics and enamelled copper, reflecting the extraordinary collection of works of art assembled by the collector Renato de Albuquerque. This final volume, The RA Collection of Cross-Cultural Works of Art: A Collector's Vision is dedicated to works of art other than porcelain and enamel on copper, which have resulted from the interaction between African, Asian and Western cultures.
It includes pieces from ancient Sierra Leone, the Kingdom of Kongo, Sri Lanka, India, China, the Philippines and Japan; these hybrids works of art are of historical significance and were produced during a period when a new common worldwide cultural heritage had emerged.
The 57 book entries illustrate and discuss some of the most iconic pieces of Renato Albuquerque's collection of cross-cultural works of art, written by six authors, each covering a particular field of expertise.

Should you wish to acquire the first 3 volumes in Portuguese please click here or email us at books@jorgewelsh.com

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