Lectures & Events
Each year, the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) curates a series of lectures that are given by distinguished scholars. These talks are scheduled once a month in the evening and are usually held in the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly.
The OCS also organises a programme of handling sessions, tours and visits to museums and auction houses in the UK and abroad. All upcoming member events are listed below.
Upcoming Events
The Peter and Mary White Collection of Chinese Art: Part III – Handling Session Hosted by Bonhams
Handling Session hosted by Bonhams. ...
The Albuquerque Foundation: From Private Collection to Dynamic Public Institution for the Study of Chinese Ceramics
Dr Mok H. Y. Charitable Foundation Lecture Speaker: Becky MacGuire Brazilian Renato de Albuquerque spent almost 50 years carefully building a vast collection focused on the cultural interchange embodied in Chinese ceramics and other Asian export arts. Now that collection has come to life as a dynamic institution that will study, preserve and interpret the […] ...
Handling Session: Transitional and Early Kangxi Ceramics
This event is sold out but a second session will be held on Tues 26 May at 2.30pm, please use the Ticket link to sign up on the waitlist. We will contact you to confirm your place and the address. Date: Tuesday 26 May 2026, 10.30am-12.30pm Location: Parsons Green, London Price: Free (entry is strictly […] ...
Annual General Meeting of the Oriental Ceramic Society 2026
Date: Wednesday 3rd of June 2026 Time: 17:30 Venue: Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BE and on Zoom Who: OCS members only This is to give OCS members notice that the Oriental Ceramic Society AGM 2026 will take place at 17:30 on Wednesday 3rd of June 2025 at the Society of Antiquaries, […] ...
‘Porcelain Through the Ages’: Exhibiting China at 25 Park Lane (1934)
Sir Joseph Hotung Memorial Lecture Series Speaker: Professor Stacey Pierson In the spring of 1934, Sir Philip Sassoon hosted an exhibition titled ‘Porcelain Through the Ages’ at his London home at 25 Park Lane. Featuring over 500 European, English and Chinese porcelains arranged across four grand living spaces, the exhibition was one of a series […] ...
Private Viewing of a Selection of Porcelain at Burghley House
Date: Friday 26 June 2026, 10am-4pm Location: Burghley House, Peterborough, Stamford PE9 3JY Price: £55 (includes tea and coffee) Members are responsible for their own travel to Burghley House. Please plan ahead and do not be late. To purchase tickets visit the TICKETS page We are pleased to offer OCS members a private viewing of […] ...
Previous Events
Tour of Leighton House with Dr. Melanie Gibson
ExpiredDate: Thursday 23 April 2026, 10am-11am Location: Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Rd, London, W14 8LZ We are pleased to offer OCS members a special guided tour of The Arab Hall: Past and Present with Dr Melanie Gibson. This event accompanies Dr Gibson’s OCS lecture, Frederic Leighton – A Victorian Traveller and Collector in the […] ...
Frederic Leighton – A Victorian Traveller and Collector in the Middle East
ExpiredSpeaker: Dr Melanie Gibson Before becoming President of London’s Royal Academy in 1878, the artist Frederic Leighton made several trips to countries around the southern Mediterranean including southern Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Syria. In this talk I will discuss his growing interest in Islamic architecture and design, and look at how he started to build […] ...
Handling Session of Song Dynasty Qingbai Ware with Professor Brian M. Salzberg
ExpiredHandling Session of Song Dynasty Qingbai Ware with Professor Brian M. Salzberg ...
Ordering Disorder – Mughal, Central Asian and Chinese Jades – An Attempt At Classification
ExpiredThe Annual Woolf Jade Lecture Speaker: Dr. Jean-Baptiste Clais Over the past two decades, scholarly research and exhibitions have significantly expanded our knowledge of Asian jade production and trade during the modern era. Studies have highlighted Timurid and post-Timurid jade craftsmanship in Central Asia, as well as the rich tradition of Mughal jades. In China, […] ...
Special Viewing of The Woolf Collection of Imperial Jades
ExpiredSpecial Viewing of The Woolf Collection of Imperial Jades Next OCS Event: Special viewing of The Woolf Collection of Imperial Chinese Jades, Tuesday 10 March 2026. ...
Visit to The Butler Collection of 17th Century Chinese Porcelain
ExpiredNext OCS event: Visit to The Butler Collection, Saturday 7 March. Limited tickets available for OCS members. ...
The Subversive Art of Portraiture in Seventeenth Century China
ExpiredThe 2026 Annual Sonia Lightfoot Memorial Lecture on Paintings Speaker: Dr Mariana Zegianini Traditionally created to commemorate the life of a human being after their death, portraiture in China has been considered at best a minor artistic genre by both early modern and contemporary art scholarship. As a result, until very recently portraits from China […] ...
Handling Session Chiswick Auctions: The Santos Collection of Early Ceramics
ExpiredHandling Session Chiswick Auctions: The Santos Collection of Early Ceramics ...
The Peter and Mary White collection of Chinese Art: Part III – Handling Session hosted by Bonhams
ExpiredHandling Session hosted by Bonhams. ...
The Peter and Mary White collection of Chinese Art: Part II – Handling Session hosted by Bonhams
ExpiredHandling Session hosted by Bonhams. ...
‘By means of a strange circulation’: the availability of Chinese objects in the 17th-century Dutch Republic
ExpiredSpeaker: Dr. Willemijn van Noord 方若薇, Wereld Museum – Curator China Various 17th-century European sources describe Amsterdam as ‘the warehouse of the world,’ where one could find anything rare, especially from ‘the Indies.’ Moreover, the Dutch Republic was ‘Europe’s primary entrepot’ for information about China at the time. The presence of blue-and-white porcelain, imported by […] ...
Handling Session of Yaozhou Wares with Professor Brian M. Salzberg
ExpiredDate: Saturday 13th of December 2025, 2pm Location: Philadelphia, USA – Details will be provided to successful participants by 1 Dec 2025 We are delighted to offer a special event for OCS members in the USA. OCS Council Member Professor Brian M. Salzberg will host an exclusive handling session of Yaozhou wares at his private […] ...