Page 8 - Mounted Oriental Porcelain Getty Museum

FOREWORD

T[his catalogue is a revised and expanded edition of Mounted Oriental Porce-
lain in the]. Paul Getty Museum, which was published in 1982. Oriental por-
celain with Parisian gilt-bronze mounts forms a small but significant part of
the Getty Museum's collection of decorative arts. These objects provide tangible evidence
of cultural contact in the eighteenth century between China and Japan and the West.
The practice of embellishing oriental porcelain with silver or gilt-bronze mounts
marks a period in history during which a growing awareness of the Far East inspired taste
and fashion in Europe. Adorning Chinese and Japanese porcelain with European-made
mounts familiarized and elaborated the exotic, adapting it to the character of contempo-
rary French interiors.
J. Paul Getty began collecting decorative arts in the 19305 but did not start to form a
collection of mounted porcelain until shortly before his death in 1976. Since then, the col-
lection has grown considerably under the sure eye of Gillian Wilson, Curator of Decora-
tive Arts, whose discrimination is evident throughout the galleries. This book and the
other catalogues of her collection reflect her accomplishments; to her, and to all who as-
sisted in the production of this volume, I express my admiration and gratitude.
Deborah Gribbon
Deputy Director and Chief Curator

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