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The Oriental Ceramic Society
The Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) is the leading international society for the study and appreciation of Asian art, with a special focus on ceramics. Founded in 1921, the Society has members throughout the world. Our Patron is HRH The Duke of Gloucester.
The OCS Celebrated 100 Years
Founded on the 31st January 1921 in a London drawing room, 2021 marked the centenary of the Oriental Ceramic Society.
We celebrated this occasion with our centenary exhibition, Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921-2021.
The Society hosts lectures on all aspects of Asian art, particularly Chinese and Japanese ceramics, jades, paintings and Middle Eastern art. Lectures are held in London (usually in the Society of Antiquaries at the Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly). Evenings begin and end convivially with a glass of wine, providing a regular opportunity for members to meet one another and talk informally.
The Society also offers handling sessions of objects from museums, auction houses, private collections, as well as organises visits to public and private collections both in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Study and Appreciation of Oriental Art
Through lectures, handling sessions, tours, exhibitions and publications, the Society provides a forum for members to develop and exchange their knowledge with experts and fellow enthusiasts.
Upcoming Lectures & Events
Grapes, Tartlets and Dumplings: Foods from the Astana Cemetery, China
The British Museum exhibition Silk Roads (26 September 2024 to 23 February 2025) explores connections across Afro-Eurasia in the period from 500 to 1000 CE. One of the displays in the exhibition features remarkably well-preserved food items from the Astana Cemetery near Turpan, including grapes and small baked goods now in the British Museum as […] ...
Two Chinese Painters in Edwardian London and Belle Époque Paris
The 2025 Annual Sonia Lightfoot Memorial Lecture on Paintings Even before the end of the Qing dynasty, a very small number of Chinese intellectuals studied in Europe. This lecture will explore the experience in the West of Jin Cheng (1878-1926) and Jin Zhang (1884-1939), a brother and sister from a prosperous merchant family who both […] ...
