1/4 China in Six Easy Pieces

First broadcast: Jul 2013.
For centuries the West has been enthralled by flamboyant blue and white ceramics from China, but were unaware that all the time the Chinese were making porcelains for themselves that were completely different – subtle monochromes for the Imperial court, beautiful objects for the scholar’s table and delicate domestic wares.

Ceramics expert Lars Tharp, Antiques Roadshow resident and presenter of Treasures of Chinese Porcelain, has picked his six favourite pieces representing Chinese taste. He’s goes on a journey through a thousand years of Chinese history, travelling from the ancient capital of Huangzhou in the south to Beijing’s Forbidden City in the north, to uncover what these six pieces tell us about Chinese emperors, scholars, 工作人員, merchants and artists.