The Art of Japanese Porcelain – The Irene Finch Collection at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
In 2012, Bristol Museum was gifted over 600 pieces of Japanese porcelain by the collector, Irene Finch (1918-2019).
Miss Irene Finch was a retired science teacher with a deep passion for Japanese porcelain. For over thirty years she collected, researched, and published on the subject. As some members may recall, she was an active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society.
Between the years of 1994 and 2010, she dispersed her collection, gifting them to museums across the UK, including the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the National Museums Scotland. The porcelain she gifted to Bristol reflects her interest in the Japanese ceramics made between 1720 and 1820, a period of 100 years she termed ‘the lost century’, as it was a time when Japan was not widely exporting porcelain. Many wares were not made for export and instead, reflect the tastes of Japanese customers. A selection of ceramics from the collection are currently on display at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
In her lecture, Amy Raphael will tell us what makes the Irene Finch collection unique. You will find out more about the history of Japanese porcelain, learn about the Irene Finch Project at Bristol Museum, and hear about the curatorial decisions behind the display.
This lecture is sponsored by Roseberys
Speaker
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Amy RaphaelProject Curator, Japanese Ceramics at Bristol Museum & Art GalleryAmy Raphael is Project Curator of Japanese Ceramics at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. She is currently working on a two-year project to research, catalogue, and interpret a large collection of Japanese ceramics gifted to Bristol Museums in 2012 by the collector, Irene Finch (1918-2019).
She curated a display of Japanese porcelain from the Irene Finch collection, which is currently on display at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
Prior to this, Amy co-curated a display of Japanese netsuke and okimono from Bristol Museums’ netsuke collection in 2021, and a display of Japanese hina dolls in 2020 to coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
She holds an MA in History of Art/Archaeology of East Asia from SOAS, University of London and a BA in History of Art/Archaeology and Japanese language and specialises in Japanese art.
