Events

Dr. Jay XU (Moderator)
Director Emeritus, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco | Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science

Dr. Jay Xu had been Director and CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco from 2008 to 2025 and was the first Chinese American director at a major art museum in the United States. An award-winning scholar of Chinese art, Dr. Xu focuses his academic research particularly on ancient Chinese bronzes and archaeology, and has also worked on topics in Chinese painting and calligraphy, Chinese ceramics, history of Chinese art collecting and museum development, and contemporary Chinese art. He lectures extensively on Asian art, including contemporary art, and on museum practice. 

Dr. Xu has had forty years of international museum experience, having served as Head of the Asian Art department and Chairman of the Department of Asian and Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (2003–08), Curator of Chinese art at the Seattle Art Museum (1996–2003), Research Fellow at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1995–96), and assistant to the museum director at the Shanghai Museum (1983–1990). He is a member of the Committee of 100 and the first Asian American museum director elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Dr. Xu holds an MA and a PhD in early Chinese art and archaeology from Princeton University. 

Dr. LEI Yong (Moderator)
Director and Research Fellow, Department of Conservation Science, The Palace Museum

Dr. Lei Yong is the Director and Researcher at the Conservation Department of The Palace Museum and the Head of Key Laboratory of Conservation for Painting and Calligraphy, overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Since joining The Palace Museum in 2004, he has been engaged mainly in the scientific analysis and research on coloured paintings, ceramics, lacquerware, organic dyes, and textiles. He is particularly interested in the identification of pigments, dye and polychrome stratigraphy, organic dye identification and fading studies, micro- and nano-scale analysis of ancient materials, and non-invasive analysis of paintings and calligraphy. He has published dozens of papers in domestic and foreign journals and has participated in many international academic conferences. Dr. Lei obtained his B.A. in History from the Northwest University, M.A. in History from Peking University, and Ph.D. in Science from the Institute of High Energy Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a fellow at the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) and the Coordinator of the Scientific Research Working Group of ICOM-CC. 

Dr. Lianming WANG (Co-Creation Partner)
Associate Professor, Department of Chinese and History, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong

Dr. WANG Lianming is Associate Professor in the Department of Chinese and History, City University of Hong Kong. Previously, he held positions and fellowships at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut, the University of Cambridge, and the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies. Heidelberg University awarded him the Hengstberger Prize (2018) for excellent research. His recent publications include Jesuitenerbe in Peking: Sakralbauten und transkulturelle Räume, 1600–1800 (Winter Verlag, 2020), which was awarded the Academy Prize by the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften and was shortlisted for the 2021 ICAS Book Prize (German Language Edition); and “When the barbarians came by sea: hunting and alienism in entangled Sino-Japanese visual cultures, 1550–1750” (World Art 14.3, 2024). His research interests center on global encounters of art and architecture in the early modern period, object and diplomatic gift exchanges, East Asian maritime exchange, and Qing court art. Currently, Dr. Wang is conducting a General Research Fund (GRF) project, titled “Unveiling the Coromandel Screen: Regional Diversity, Visual Mobility, and Social Lives in China’s Coastal Regions, 1650-1750” (9043771), funded by the Hong Kong SAR Government. 

Dr. LIU Xialing (Speaker)
Research Assistant, Department of Arts and Design, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Macau

Dr. LIU Xialing is a Research Assistant in the Department of Arts and Design at the University of Macau. She earned her Ph.D. in Art History from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and served as a Visiting Scholar at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Dr. Liu specializes in Transcultural Art History, Material Culture — particularly focusing on lacquer — and Netherlandish Art. She has developed particular expertise in the study of 17th- and 18th-century lacquer artifacts in Europe, including cabinets, screens, furniture and interior decoration. Dr. Liu also contributed as the Session Chair for “The Global Circulation of Lacquer” at the 36th World Congress of Art History (CIHA 2024) in Lyon. 

Her doctoral dissertation offered an in-depth examination of Coromandel lacquer screens which titled “Kuancai (so called Coromandel) Lacquer Screens: The Pattern Soure (fenben) and its Trans-material Global Circulation”. Her selected published papers on this subject include “A Study of Lacquer Decoration in 18th Century Europe: An Example of the ‘East Asian Lacquer Cabinet’ at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna,” “The Metamorphosis of Chinese Lacquer Screens: The Fashion of Lacquer Cabinets in Europe and its Continuation in the Modern Age”. Her scholarly work has been presented at numerous prestigious international conferences, including the College Art Association (CAA), the European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA), the Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art (CIHA), and the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS), among others. Dr. Liu’s research has received support through various grants and awards, including the TIQITAQ Grant, China Scholarship Council, National Scholarship, and the Wang Shikou & Wuxian Grant. 

“What Do We Know About Coromandel Screens? The Art Historians’ Perspective”  (co-authored by Xialing Liu,  Lianming Wang) 

Regional divergence and the cross-regional distribution of Coromandel screens (kuancai) have perplexed art historians for decades. So far, no definitive criteria have been established to determine where and when these screens were manufactured. Due to the lack of examples with clear references to their production sites and dates, scholars have been unable to establish a developmental sequence. Drawing on a comprehensive survey of Coromandel screens in global museum collections, this paper identifies major sources of imagery and cross-referential features — such as regional carving styles and artistic exchanges among southeastern coastal regions, including the Greater Suzhou region (Huizhou and Yangzhou), southern Fujian, and Guangdong.

The first part of the paper analyzes the screens’ central imagery, while the latter part examines shared characteristics and the origins of frames produced in different regions. Central to the discussion is a proposed three-tiered corpus of “standard pieces”: (a) screens with clear workshop and production-site attributions, (b) screens bearing inscriptions or birthday essays that provide references to dates and locations, and (c) screens carved in styles demonstrably similar to the first two types yet lacking inscriptions. The second part of the paper elaborates on the frames of the screens. Through a detailed examination of their decorative motifs — (a) Chinese Bogu patterns (hundred antiquities), (b) floral designs, and (c) mythical beasts and animals — it traces the screens’ pictorial sources and their cross-media relationships, particularly with printed illustrations. This approach supports the existence of an “anonymous lacquer workshop.” Consequently, the study of the frames offers a potential methodology for authenticating and defining the “standard pieces” in terms of manufacturing provenance and dating. Building on these discussions, the paper traces the reciprocal exchange among the flourishing commercial painting market, the printing industry, southern kilns, and lacquer workshops along China’s southeastern coast during the late 17th century. 

Ms. HUA Chunrong (Speaker)
Associate Curator, Conservation Department, The Palace Museum

Ms. HUA Chunrong, a graduate of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design, is a member of the Lacquerware Conservation Team at The Palace Museum. As a 5th generation inheritor of the Beijing Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, she has dedicated her career to lacquerware conservation. To date, Ms. Hua has completed conservation work on over 90 lacquerware relics, 55 of which were done independently. Her conservation practice encompasses developing restoration plans, dust removal and maintenance, carcass and painted layer repair, insert replacement, and scientific testing and analysis. Additionally, Ms. Hua conducts research on the production techniques of lacquered cultural relics, including lacquering, lacquer-filling, maki-e, and lacquer carving.

Ms. Hua is a 2024/2025 J. S. Lee Memorial Fellow currently based at the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she is undertaking conservation work on a six-fold, twelve-panel Coromandel lacquer screen dated the reign of Kangxi. Throughout her Fellowship, she is dedicated to exploring the materials, craftsmanship, and historical circulation of Coromandel lacquer screens. In addition to publishing research reports, she will document the restoration process through photographs and co-organize academic and educational events focused on the conservation of these exquisite artifacts, fostering knowledge exchange within the field.

Conservation on the Six-fold, Twelve-panel Coromandel Lacquer Screen at the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

In her presentation, Ms. Hua will delineate her restoration efforts on the six-fold, twelve-panel Coromandel lacquer screen at the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, sharing the outcomes of her 14-month conservation project during her J. S. Lee Memorial Fellowship. She will explore the historical background of the screen, the subjects and themes it depicts, the inscriptions present, and the traces left by previous repairs. These historical and artistic clues, along with an introduction to specific conservation practices and results from scientific analyses, will be examined in conjunction with an investigation into modern and contemporary kuancai (engraved polychrome) craftsmanship. This comprehensive approach will help outline the artistic development of the kuancai mastery, including the tools, materials, and carving techniques employed throughout its history.

Dr. Kamilla KALININA (Speaker)
Conservation Scientist, Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation, State Hermitage Museum

Dr. Kamilla KALININA holds a PhD in chemistry from the Institute of Petrochemical Processes in St. Petersburg. She is currently a leading conservation scientist in the State Hermitage Museum’s Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation. She has authored several book chapters and more than 40 journal publications and over 90 scientific-conservation event publications relating to the analytical examination of materials used in paintings and archaeological lacquer objects. Her research interests include the study of organic and inorganic materials of paintings, furniture, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts, including examination of pigments, binding media, varnishes, Asian lacquers and adhesives by means of modern instrumental techniques.

“An 18th-century Chinoiserie Half-cabinet with Panels Made from Coromandel Screens in the Collection of The State Hermitage Museum” (co-authored by Kamilla Kalinina, Marina Michri, Daria Kulikova) 

Dr. Kalinina’s presentation will be based on her research collaborated with Marina Michri (Conservator, Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation) and Daria Kulikova (Junior Researcher and Curator of Furniture, Department of Western European Applied Art) from the State Hermitage Museum, Russia. Their subject of research is the history of a chinoiserie half-cabinet in the Museum’s collection that is decorated with ormolu and colourful panels, as well as the results of investigation of the composition of the materials employed in creating the lacquered surfaces. The panels feature polychrome carving on a black ground with a variety of subject matter: palace roofs in the clouds and a procession of warriors on the front, flowers and birds on the sides. This piece of furniture was previously in the collection of the princely Yusupov family. Identification of the French marks confirmed that the cabinet was made by 18th-century French craftsmen using Coromandel screens imported from China. The article presents an analysis of the decorative materials used to create the panels in China and gives an example of the integration of Coromandel screens into European palatial interiors in the form of furniture in the chinoiserie style. 

The following methods were used to study the stratigraphy and composition of the non-organic materials in the lacquer coating: polarized light microscopy (PLM), scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, (SEM/EDX). Pyrolytic gas chromatography and mass-spectrometry with thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-Py-GC/MS) were employed to determine the composition of the organic materials. The analysis revealed such biomarkers in the lacquer as a heptadecylcatechol in the methylated form 1,2-dimethoxy-3-heptadecylbenzene and the acidic catechol C10 – arlenic acid in the methylated form 10-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl) decanoate. A number of biomarkers for cedarwood oil were also found in the aforementioned background layer. The restoration materials on the surface of the panels were identified as a coniferous resin and sandarac. 

Dr. Maria João PETISCA (Speaker)
Furniture and Lacquer Conservator; Collaborating Researcher, Instituto de História da Arte (IHA), NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH) 

Dr. Maria João PETISCA has been a furniture conservator since 1998 and has specialized in lacquered furniture since 2002. She has worked on several projects for the study and conservation of Chinese export lacquerware namely at the former Institute of Museums and Conservation, Lisbon, at the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, and at the Winterthur Museum, Delaware, USA. In 2009, she received her MA in Decorative Arts from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, with a dissertation titled Canton lacquer: a study of export Chinese lacquer screens from the 18th and 19th centuries. In 2019, she completed her Ph.D. in Preservation Studies from the University of Delaware, U.S., with research focused on lacquerware production made for the export market between 1700-1850, from the region of Guangzhou. Archival research, stylistic comparison, and scientific analysis are combined to investigate how these objects were created and traded. Currently she works in Lisbon, in private practice, conserving artifacts for both private and institutional clients. She is also a Collaborating Researcher at IHA/Art History Institute, NOVAFCSH, in Lisbon. 

“Chinese Lacquer in Portuguese Collections: Material Study of Three Kuancai Screens.” (co-authored by Maria João Petisca, Catherine Matsen, Huixin Li) 

Dr. Petisca’s presentation is based on her research paper with the same title co-authored with Catherine MATSEN, Senior Scientist of Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library/ Affiliated Associate Professor, The Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, and Huixin LI, Curatorial Track Art History PhD Student, University of Delaware/ Graduate Assistant, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. This study focuses on the materiality of three kuancai (engraved polychrome) screens. Two of the screens (FMA305 and FMA5279) belong to the collection of the Museu Medeiros e Almeida (MMA) in Lisbon and are attributed to the 17th century and the 18th century. The third screen belongs to the collection of Jorge Welsh Works of Art and is attributed to the Kangxi period (1662-1722). Screens produced in the kuancai technique, or the so-called Coromandel lacquer, are frequently of considerable size. The three screens analyzed relate due to their reduced height, the highest being 116cm. All screens depict European figures in different activities. Despite their similar size, one of the screens seems to have been cut off from a bigger dimension object and reassembled as a smaller screen. The finish stratigraphy of the three screens was investigated using cross-section microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Results identified the lacquer species used in the manufacture of the screens as well as on the materials present in the ground and pigmented layers. This technical study clarified that one of the MMA screens was most probably once part of a larger screen.