Narrative Porcelain: The Butler Collection and Beyond

Sir Michael Butler Memorial lecture

Speaker: Dr. Fang Cai 蔡芳 — Jiangxi Normal University

Narrative Porcelain refers to porcelain whose decoration is structured according to narrative logic to represent identifiable stories drawn from literature, history, folklore, drama, and related traditions. My recent publication, Narrative Study on Chinese and Western Ceramic Paintings, analyses 210 narrative subjects drawn from 137 works of Chinese literature, together with their numerous pictorial variants. It examines 372 Chinese porcelains and 480 supporting images documented in publications and collection catalogues, as well as in the holdings of major libraries, museums, auction houses, and private collections worldwide. The study develops a methodological framework for analysing narrative imagery through seven complementary perspectives: narrative dynamic forces, narrative markers, pictorial rhetoric, narrative modes, image–text relationships, image misreadings, and ideological interpretation.

Rather than surveying this framework in full, this lecture takes porcelains decorated with figural scenes in The Butler Collection as its primary focus to explore three themes that demonstrate how narrative porcelain can be recognised, interpreted, and understood. It first examines narrative markers—the visual cues that enable viewers to identify stories embedded in ceramic decoration. It then considers several long-standing cases of image misreadings, demonstrating how the combined study of images and literary sources can reshape the interpretation of narrative scenes. Finally, it explores why particular stories were repeatedly selected for porcelain decoration, arguing that narrative imagery functioned not merely as a medium of storytelling but also as a vehicle for cultural values and ideological expression.

Members do not need to book to attend this lecture.

5:30 pm – Society of Antiquaries opens for members’ refreshments

6:15 pm – Lecture begins

This lecture is sponsored by The Butler Collection. 

Venue Accessibility Information

The Society of Antiquaries welcomes wheelchairs and mobility vehicles however since the main entrance consists of steps they will provide a ramp. Essential companions are also welcome and Hearing Loops are built into the Lecture Room AV system. There are no designated disabled toilets but toilets are located on the ground floor.

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Image: Saucer-dish showing a scene from the Peach Blossom Spring, Porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Jingdezhen, China, circa 1700, H: 6 cm: D: 36.5 cm. Inv. no.1203, © The Butler Collection