San Francisco Ceramic Circle
Thursday, 20th March 2003 Meeting
"In Pursuit of excellence: The Count of Aranda
and the Royal Factory of Alcora, Spain"
a slide lecture by
Margaret E. Connors McQuade
Assistant Curator of Ceramics and Furniture, The Hispanic
Society of America, New York
The March meeting of the San Francisco Ceramic Circle will
be held on Thursday, 20th March in the Florence Gould Theater
at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, San Francisco.
Entrance is from the main entrance. The lecture will start at
8.00PM.
About the Lecture: This talk will cover the first three periods
of production of the Royal Factory of Alcora ( Real Fábrica
de Alcora ) from its founding in 1727 by the 9th Count of Aranda
through 1858. From the beginning the factory made fine ceramics
for private homes, monasteries and royal palaces throughout Spain.
These ceramics rapidly established a reputation for their high
quality and Frech aesthetic and were sought after and exported
to France, Italy, Portugal and the Americas. The discussion of
Alcora ceramics will draw on archival documents on the decorators
and ceramists, the styles and techniques of production and on
factory ordinances and price lists.
About the lecturer: Margaret E. Connors McQuade joined the
staff of the Hispanic Society of America, New York in 1993 and
became assistant curator of ceramics, furniture and glass in 1998.
She specializes in the study of the pottery traditions of Spain
and Mexico and has published and lectured on these traditions
in the U.S.A., Spain and Mexico. She curated and authored the
accompanying catalogs for the exhibions: Talavera Poblana:
Four Centuries of a Mexican Ceramic Tradition in 1999 and
Splendor of Alcora: Spanish Ceramics of the 18th Century (
Parts 1 - 3 ) which ran from November 2000 through December 2001.
Ms. Connors McQuade is currently writing her Ph.D. dissertation
on the colonial ceramics of Puebla, Mexico and has plans to organize
a larger exhibition on the Ceramics of Alcora, incorporating many
of the original factory documents and the nearly 100 pieces of
exquisite Alcora ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries in
the collections of the Hispanic Society fo America.
Next meeting: Sunday, 13th April 2003. Julie Emerson, Curator
of Decorative Arts, Seattle Art Museum will present a talk entitled
"Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe "