Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art

Percival David started collecting Chinese art some time around 1913, and he continued to do so until his death in 1964. He first visited China in 1923, and there he gained an appreciation of Chinese ceramics. In 1925 he helped finance and mount an exhibition of many of the best items of the imperial collection in the Forbidden City in Beijing. In 1927, he acquired some items that were originally from the Forbidden City when they came onto the market. Many of these items were sold off by members of the Imperial Household Department during the late Qing dynasty, and Empress Dowager Cixi allegedly used these items as collateral for loans from the Yuin Yeh Bank in 1901. Many pieces were likely once owned by the Qing dynasty emperors, and several pieces have inscriptions added on the orders of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–95). The pieces assembled by Percival David form the most important single collection of Chinese ceramics outside of China and Taiwan. In 1931, David's collection was displayed in the Dorchester Hotel in London. It remained there until it was evacuated to the countryside during World War II. David also created a Chair in Chinese Art and Architecture at the Courtauld Institute of Art, which is part of the University of London. Towards the end of his life, he was determined to keep the collection together, and to this end entered negotiations with the University of London. An agreement was reached to keep the collection and the library together in a foundation attached to SOAS. The chair that David had created was also moved to SOAS. Previous holders of the chair, called the Percival David Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art, include William Watson, Roderick Whitfield and Craig Clunas. The incumbent in 2015 was Shane McCausland. The collection was opened to the public on 10 June 1952 in a house at 53 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. |thumb|right The foundation has lent many of its pieces to other countries. It lent many items of Yuan dynasty porcelain to Venice's 700th-anniversary celebration of Marco Polo's expedition. It has also sent other items to places as far away as Japan and the United States. The library collection was a working library, open to researchers from around the world, and is now accessible through SOAS. ==Relocation==

Due to a funding crisis, 53 Gordon Square closed at the end of 2007. The ceramics collection went on a long-term loan to the British Museum, where the whole collection, about 1,700 objects, is on permanent public display in a specially designed gallery (Room 95, British Museum) opened on 23 April 2009, sponsored by Sir Joseph Hotung. The donation formally took place in April 2025. Some items of the collection will be lent to the Shanghai Museum in China and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York following the completion of the donation. ==Collection==

David focused his collection of Chinese ceramics on stonewares and porcelain from the 10th to the 18th centuries (Song to Qing dynasties), with a few earlier pieces from the Six Dynasties to the Tang. The earliest piece in the collection dates from the third-century Western Jin. There are no pieces from the earlier periods of Chinese history because David chose not to collect any Chinese earthenware; the development of earthenware is found all around the world, and David's collection aims to give a representative overview of the development of ceramics that is unique to China. He chose the pieces based on the quality of the workmanship and historical importance with a view towards education. Other notable items in the collection are the David Vases, and a chicken cup for serving wine during the reign of the Ming emperor Chenghua. At the British Museum, the collection of the 1,700 items starts with the David Vases placed before the main space of Room 95. Around two hundred of the best pieces are displayed in cases in the centre of the room, with the remaining 1,500 pieces arranged more compactly in rows of glass shelves around the room. File:Percival David Collection DSCF3111.jpg|Xing ware from the Tang dynasty File:Tea bowl. Southern Song. Ding ware. British Museum.jpg|An unusual black-glazed Ding ware, Northern Song File:Percival David Collection DSCF3085.jpg|Monochrome porcelains, Qing dynasty File:Percival David Collection DSCF3114.jpg|Yaozhou ware box File:Percival David Collection DSCF3661 13.jpg|Chicken cup in doucai File:British Museum - Room 95 (22756055933).jpg|Snuff bottle, painted porcelain, Qianlong period File:Percival David Collection DSCF3585 01.jpg|Ge ware, vase based on an ancient bronze form, Yuan dynasty File:Dish with the path to the island of immortals.jpg|Swatow ware dish with the path to the island of immortals. Unusually for the collection, popular ware for export File:Percival David Collection DSCF3247 01.jpg|Falangcai porcelain, Qing dynasty ==References==