The beauty of Chinese porcelain

The exquisite beauty and provenance of Chinese porcelain will be the theme of a talk by Qin Dashu at the National Museum of Archaeology in Republic Street, Valletta tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Prof. Qin comes from the School of Archaeology and Museology at the Beijing University.

Porcelain, also called fine china, has been one of the earliest artworks introduced to the west through the Silk Road. The earliest porcelain ware found, made of a fine white clay called kaolin during the Shang Dynasty, between the 1100 and 1600 BC, marks the beginning of porcelain, which later became a basic material for the production of items used domestically, especially in the middle and upper classes.

Such items were made in the form of bowls, cups, tea sets, vases, jewel cases, incense burners, musical instruments, boxes for stationery and chess, as well as pillows for traditional doctors to feel a patient's pulse with.

Anyone interested in attending the lecture should reserve a seat by dropping an e-mail to maltacc@gmail.com or call 2122 5055.