Dr. Stephen Little Curator of Chinese and Korean Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Dr. Stephen Little explains that the Chinese were the first people to produce porcelain, and that they managed to keep the firing technique they used secret from the rest of the world from the 8th Century to the 17th Century. However, things changed in the 17th Century, as China began to directly confront Europe and the West, and as the Ming Dynasty gave way to the Quing Dynasty. After Dr. Little places his presentation in this historical context, he shares photos of some of the beautiful porcelain art that emerged from that turbulent and chaotic period in Chinese history.