Forbes House Museum Director to Speak About China Trip

On January 9, Robin Tagliaferri, executive director of the Forbes House Museum, will speak at the Milton Public Library about her recent trip to China. Refreshments will be served in the Keys Community Room and the presentation will begin at 7.

Tagliaferri shared photos and stories from her trip with Patch when she returned. That story is available here.

Below is an announcement for the January presentation.

Forbes House Museum Director, Robin Tagliaferri, recently returned from a trip to China, where she visited Shanghai, Nanchang, the Fuliang County, Jingdezhen and Beijing. The ten day trip included attendance at the Second Seminar on Chinese Export Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, sponsored by Professor Yu Chunming and Nanchang University.

The seminar was held from October 18-25, and included presenters from the U.S., China, England and the Netherlands. Robin was among fifteen presenters, focusing her talk on the 19th century history of the Forbes family as China Trade merchants and collectors of Chinese export art, including porcelain.

The fifteen presenters traveled to each destination as a group, accompanied by Professor Yu and his wife, Wenjin Zhuang, and a team of talented interpreters and assistants, students and graduates from Nanchang University. 

Robin really enjoyed learning about Chinese culture and was equally impressed with the big cities, bustling with activity, and the beautiful mountains and landscapes in the Fuliang County, where the ancient kiln sites were located. The beautiful museums and their Chinese artworks were astounding, especially the export and imperial porcelain. The museums however, were not her only ways of learning the Chinese culture. Robin learned how to use chop sticks to eat the freshly prepared food.

Robin's talk on January 9th at the Milton Public Library will include over 70 photos of the big cities, bustling with activity, along with the beautiful mountains and landscapes in the Fuliang County, where the ancient kiln sites are located. She will give an overview of her experience, and outline potential partnerships and visits to Milton by Chinese scholars seeking to learn more about the American China Trade in Boston/Milton. The presentation is free and open to the public.  

Already, some Chinese scholars are thinking of visiting Boston this spring, and the FHM has begun making plans and drafting possible itineraries for them! We hope they will visit us soon! Boston is an excellent place to learn about the China Trade from an American perspective.