Unravelling the Silk Road – by Chris Aslan Alexander
[now fully booked]

This special interest day comprises three lectures, each exploring a textile and a road. We examine how textiles have changed the course of Central Asian history, politics and a way of life. We also revel in the intoxicating designs, colours, and techniques achieved with these three textiles, from breath-takingly intricate suzani embroidery and robes fit for a Shah, to world-class carpets, cheerful shyrdyk felts and diaphanous cotton, lighter than a spider’s web. Each lecture will also be embroidered with Chris Aslan’s own experience of living and working in the region for 15 years as he attempts to justify a rather bold assertion that everything is about textiles.

The Wool Road

How did tartan-wearing proto-Celts end up in China over 2500 years ago? We explore how nomads traversed the wool road, a vast corridor of grassland that stretched from Central Europe almost to the Pacific. With little fuel or shelter and winters down to minus 60 degrees, it was houses made from wool that gave these nomads the protection they needed. We focus on decorative felts, carpets and the way in which beautiful nomadic textile were perfectly functional as well. 

The Silk Road

In this lecture we explore the birth of the Silk Road and how silk fuelled trade in goods, foods, art, inventions, commodities, religions, fashions and so much more, ushering in the first era of globalisation. 

We explore how silk is woven into beautiful fabrics, such as, atlas, velvet, and adras, and how fabric was a major signifier of wealth and stratifying sedentary society. How did one item of women’s clothing spark a culture war which led to public burnings of silk? We marvel at the dowry embroideries produced in Bukhara and the magical and amuletic protection woven into most clothing. We explore how silk stratified society, through stunning robes and turbans, and Chris gives a brief overview of the silk carpet workshop he founded in Khiva, Uzbekistan. 

The Cotton Road

The Cotton Road is inextricably interwoven with colonial exploitation and environmental catastrophe. We explore how British Rule caused the extinction of the most expensive fabric that had ever been woven, and how cotton became a form of anti-colonial resistance, leading to the overthrow of British rule in India. We explore the darker side of Russian chintz and that thieving Laura Ashley! We also witness how cotton has killed a sea, creating an environmental disaster even more devastating to human health than that better known Soviet disaster: Chernobyl, and the experiences of cotton-pickers today.  

1. Resurgam 
This first lecture tells the story of the last two St Paul’s Cathedrals on Ludgate Hill and their musical development. Focussing on the Great Fire of London and Wren’s masterpiece, Patrick will include music by Phillips, Stainer and Howells. 

2. Purcell 
This second lecture traces the musical story of Westminster Abbey from its monastic origins to its hosting of Coronations. Focusing on the music of Henry Purcell we also look at his teachers and successors including Blow and Gibbons. 

3. Majesty 
In this final lecture Patrick will show musical highlights from the Royal attended services at both St Paul’s and Westminster Abbey in his lifetime. Spanning the Queen’s Silver Jubilee to the King’s Coronation there is music from Parry, Handel and Britten. 

About Patrick Craig
Patrick Craig is a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral. For twenty years he combined this with an international career singing over a thousand concerts with the world-renowned early music consort The Tallis Scholars. He also sings with the award-winning group The Cardinall’s Musick. He founded and conducts this country’s leading all-female professional choir, Aurora Nova. He has conducted concerts for the BBC Proms, the Brighton, Lichfield and Aldeburgh Festivals, and with the City of London Sinfonia.

As a Cambridge history graduate with a lifelong interest in the arts, he has gone on to lead choral workshops for amateur singers across the world, where he places music in its historical and cultural context. He regularly lectures for the St Paul’s Adult Education programme and for John Hall’s Venice Courses, which have allowed him to incorporate his interests in theology, art and poetry. 

In 2020, when his singing and conducting work disappeared overnight as a result of the Covid pandemic, Patrick poured all his experience into online presentations which have raised vital funds for the Help Musicians Charity.

flyer 
booking form

Ancient Egypt at the British Museum - booking opens January 2025
From pyramids to hidden tombs and pharaohs to mummies, uncover the stories behind the statues; and the ways in which the Ancient Egyptians used art and hieroglyphs to ensure their survival into the Afterlife.  Highlights include stories of how pharaohs gained power; myths and legends of the gods and goddesses; and how cat scans have revealed health problems of the Egyptians and disasters in mummification!

"I've got it!"  The race to decipher Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
This talk covers the history of Egypt at the time the Rosetta Stone was constructed, a time of chaos and rebellion.  Almost 2,000 years later, the discovery of the Stone led to two decades of work by scholars to decipher the lost script of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and the final dramatic breakthrough, revealing Ancient Egyptian civilisation to the world.

"Everywhere the glint of gold": discovery of a pharaoh's tomb
This lecture covers the turbulent life of Tutankhamun, his relationship with Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses and the abrupt ending to his short reign.  Over 3,000 years later, the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb made him the most famous pharaoh in Ancient Egyptian history.  Hear about the tomb robbers in the Valley of the Kings, the apparent "curse" and see works of art from his tomb, on display in Egypt today.

Vicky Bailey

I became a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide in 2005, receiving an award as the 'Best Guide in Gallery Exams'. One of my main areas of interest is Ancient Egypt. I’ve studied hieroglyphs and carry out volunteer work in the Egyptian department at the British Museum. I lead specialist tours at relevant sites across London and also deliver lectures on this subject. Highlights of my guiding career have included giving a talk on BBC Radio 4 about the execution site of Tyburn and writing a book on the British monarchy.

Kettle's Yard has been described as "one of the country’s most intimate and spellbinding museums, the collection of one man and his unerring eye; restorative, homely yet life-changing”.
We will learn about the life of its creator Jim Ede and the lives and work of two of the artists he championed: the sculptor Henri Gaudier Brzeska and the painter Winifred Nicholson.

Sarah Burles
Sarah studied History of Art at Cambridge University before doing a masters degree at University College London. She had a career in museum and gallery education before working for many years at the Fitzwilliam Museum.   

From market crosses to department stores, via Petticoat Lane and Marks & Spencer, the lectures will cover the origins of fairs and markets; fairground entertainers and the coming of shops and arcades; department stores, including advertising and packaging. We will look at the challenges and to the future - 'clicks not bricks'.

Andrew Davies
Andrew read law at Oxford but on his way to the Bar realised he would rather talk about architecture and history.  A National Trust, university and Arts Society lecturer for 35 years, he is the author of nine books and runs his own walks company called All About London.

This event is now FULLY BOOKED.

Images of the British Empire
Paintings, buildings and objects from across the Empire show how Britain viewed itself and its subjects in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Imperial Calcutta
Arts and Architecture
How the arts and architecture were affected by British rule and the ways in which Indian artists viewed the British in India. 

The Art of Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Rabindranath Tagore is arguably the most important Indian artistic figure of the modern era, winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. We will learn about Tagore’s life and the role that his art played in the story of India's fight for independence. 

Princess Ksenia - Montenegro’s Photographer Princess (1881-1960)
This lively lecture gives a face and a human narrative to the history and culture of this region, sharing photographs the princess took in the brand-new Montenegrin capital of Cetinje. 

[Image used with permission of the National Museum of Montenegro]

Edith Durham - Balkan Anthropologist
Edith, an Englishwoman, travelled to Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania in 1900 - 1921, where she acquired an  array of Balkan textiles, amulets and other artefacts, now held in museums around Britain. The lecture is illustrated with rich fabrics and great stories. 

Balkan Women’s Handwork
This lecture looks at the living legacy of Balkan women’s handwork with emphasis on the silver work of filigree. There will be opportunities to handle examples of Balkan silver work as a way of understanding these techniques, and how women have left their stories for us to read, without the use of alphabets.

Click here for a flyer

Click here for a booking form

The Qing Dynasty was an exceptional period in China’s history, ending in the collapse of Imperial Rule. The period is recognised for the remarkable quality and quantity of art coming from the Imperial workshops.

Session 1: Chinese Imperial Court Life in terms of structure and protocol. We will look at the history and impact of regulated Court Costume worn by the Chinese Imperial Clan together with the nine Ranks of both Civil and Military Officials.

Session 2: The Emperor Qianlong The most influential individual of the dynasty with regard to the patronage of the arts, cultural development and Court protocol, his greatest legacy was the world's finest collection of Oriental Arts and antiques.

Session 3: Dowager Empress Cixi, once described as a ruthless tyrant who halted the modernisation of China - records now reveal her to be an exceptional woman who tried to save and modernise the court and Empire. She was a talented fashion designer, painter, horticulturalist and patron of the performing arts.

The booking form is available in the documents section.

During our Special Interest Day, in three lectures, Gillian will explore with us the ancient roots of stories, beliefs and garden design that were cultivated 2,000 years ago. Like other works of art, a garden is a place for contemplation: in a Roman garden, every plant had a story to tell. We discover the colourful and ancient tales, myths (and names) that add remarkable new dimensions to the flowers, fruits and vegetables, trees and herbs that we enjoy today.Gardening has always revelled in ancient lore. We take an entertaining and enlightening stroll through the ancient beliefs about garden plants: their properties, care and uses; many are bizarre (don’t try these at home) and some apply today.The story of why we have gardens at all: we will hear fascinating tales of how they developed in the ancient world. How and why did gardens come to be works of art in themselves? We will see how they blossomed through the ages into our own gardens. Whether large or small, grand estates, stately homes or a pocket garden - they all have a 2,000 year old ancestry that enriches the gardens of today.

Booking Form available on Documents page of web site. Cost £25 per person

Session1 - Victorians: Shakespeare and Elephants Like children in a sweet shop the Victorians delighted in every aspect of their  ever-changing world. From melodrama to music hall, freak shows to photography, this was the age ofninnovation and spectacle, and theatre embraced it all.

Session 2 - The Trinity: Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov The end of the 19th century saw a revolution in the European drama as the theatre began to address new controversial topics such as sex, class and social unrest. Out of this age of upheaval emerged three of the greatest playwrights the world has ever known. This lecture looks at the reception their plays had in their own day and the legacy they have left to our own.

Session 3 - A Very British Feast: Pantomime

Over 2500 years in the making, the great British pantomime is a very potent brew indeed. Mix the earliest Greek and Roman drama with the Comedia dell’Arte and medieval morality plays, then stir in a sprig of 17th century masque, a dash of 18th century harlequinade and a hefty shot of Victorian music hall and, hey presto, you have the modern Christmas pantomime.

(Oh! no you don’t).

Booking at th, September and October Lectures

Andrew Prince has become a respected jewellery craftsman, historian and lecturer. For the series “Downton Abbey” Andrew was commissioned to make jewellery for the main characters some of which he will bring to the Study Day.

Session 1 DOWNTON TO GATSBY: from 1890 to 1929 In this lecture, Andrew guides you through the extraordinary periods and events between 1890 and 1929, when the great Couturiers collaborated with the finest of jewellers to produce jewels of outstanding quality and glittering opulence. Andrew discusses the clients and patrons who commissioned the jewels and shows how they were worn with the sumptuous gowns.

Session 2 & 3 THE GLAMOUR YEARS: from 1929 to 1959

Andrew describes how the rise of Cinema and Hollywood had such an important impact on fashion and jewellery design. From the likes of Dietrich to Grace Kelly, he shows you how the various Screen Goddesses were portrayed, and what they wore to such dazzling effect. He discusses how political events, advertising, labour saving devices and leisure time influenced design. He explains that the Belle Epoque and Art Deco styles did not end with the outbreak of the Second World War but combined to flower again with the Christian Dior’s “New Look”.

Booking at the June, September & October lectures

This day follows the development of British art from the era of the Pre- Raphaelites taking in the move away from narrative and closely-observed detail towards more expressive techniques and examining how the British art world reacted to the myriad developments coming out of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Session One: 1850-1900: The day begins with an explanation of developments in British art from the days of the Pre-Raphaelites to the turn of the century. Session Two: 1900-1945: This period saw a great deal of division in the British art world with shocking new advances in style and technique seriously challenged by the trauma of the First World War and struggling to find its way amid the bewildering radicalism of the European avant-garde. Session Three: British Art since 1945: This session tracks key moments in British art through the curious mixture of modernism and pastoralism to the explosion of Pop Art and Conceptualism, the notorious Sensation exhibition, the Turner Prize, and up to the present day.

Booking - click on link below

http://theartssocietywoodbridge.org.uk/DocumentStore/Booking%20Form%20Linda%20Smith%202.pdf

In the eighteenth century a young British aristocrat’s education was not complete without travel abroad to experience other cultures. This rite of passage became known as ‘The Grand Tour’. Travelling through France or the Netherlands and Germany, the main destination was Italy where painting, sculpture and architecture of the highest quality could be viewed and savoured.

To those whose education was based on learning the literature and history of Ancient Rome, Italy had the finest examples in terms of ruins of this most revered civilisation. The Grand Tourist was expected to improve his education and collect suitable examples of art with the skill of a connoisseur. These were then brought back to the ‘great house’ to demonstrate the aristocrat’s evident sophistication and culture.

We embark on a typical tour through France and into Italy to see how these British aristocrats responded to Rome, Naples and exotic Venice with its carnival and courtesans. We will see portraits of the Grand Tourists which included some women, and examples of paintings depicting views of the Italian cities and countryside from collections in the stately homes of Britain.

Booking at June, September and October lectures

Art Nouveau began in the 1890s when English designers such as William Morris, Charles Voysey and Aubrey Beardsley broke with the past, influenced by nature and the clarity of Japanese design. Progressive designers in Europe then responded to the new ideas beginning with Victor Horta in Brussels.

The second lecture begins with René Lalique’s naturalistic jewellery and Hector Guimard’s organic forms for the entrances to the Paris Metro. We then see the exquisite glass designs of Louis Comfort Tiffany and the work of the American architect Louis Sullivan. Examples of National Romanticism in Norway and Finland are followed by work from countries of the former Austro - Hungarian Empire, finishing with Gaudi’s fantastical designs in Barcelona.

After lunch we look at the rectilinear forms of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Scotland and Olbrich and Hoffman in Vienna. We close with the important Palais Stoclet in Brussels where the fine craftsmanship and rectilinear designs of Josef Hoffmann and the Wiener Werkstatte begin to embrace the luxury of Art Deco ‘de luxe’.

Fully Booked - waiting list only

A personal ‘virtual’ tour in which we unashamedly cherry-pick the artistic highlights and icons of New York. We will consider the influence of ‘new money’ on art patronage and track the relentles move of fashionable society from Washington Square, so beloved of Henry James and Edith Wharton, to uptown New York. Digital photography will be used to full effect with visual collages and exquisite details to re-create the atmosphere of the brownstones and high society clubs of Gramercy Park, the Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, the grand hotels and nightclubs, the 21 Club and the Speakeasy, and the building of the great art collections including the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim. Whether you know and love New York or maybe have never visited, join me and have fun discovering more about the personalities of the artists,designers, patrons and social climbers who shaped this extraordinary and ever-changing city. The aim will be to create the sense of ‘being there’ and to capture the vibrancy and energy of the city.

Fully Booked

i) Centres of Dutch Painting in the Golden Age: looking at the diverse cities which created significant schools of painting - Haarlem with Frans Hals and his contribution to developing group portraiture; Utrecht with Honthorst and Baburen; Delft with Vermeer; Steen and De Hooch.

ii) Rembrandt and Amsterdam: “The Golden Swamp”: We see how Rembrandt led the Dutch School, from the seething metropolis of Amsterdam. We view the circles of his patronage by the wealthy bourgeoisie, the medics, lawyers, religious figures, city officials and long-established families. This is a real window on his world.

iii) Visual proverbs: Dutch Genre How would the 17th century viewer have interpreted a range of visual proverbs and how do we know that there is much more to these scenes of everyday life than we might expect? Through glorious works by Vermeer, De Hooch, Metsu, Dou, Steen and Terborch, we can trace their layers of meaning.

iv) Landscape: images of atmosphere and light. From the Tonal Phase (Solomon van Ruisdael) and the Early Realists (Averkamp and Van Goyen) to the voluminous majesty of the Classical Phase (Jakob van Ruisdael, Hobbema and De Koninck), the Dutch made the phenomenal development of landscape painting distinctly their own. But what is its meaning?

Queen Victoria and Giuseppe Verdi died within a week of each other in January 1901 and they had much in common. Victoria loved music and opera and even learned italian, while Verdi cared deeply about the politics of Italian unification. Both achieved immense celebrity and both later ‘retired’ from the public eye. Drawing on a rich multiplicity of images, Daniel Snowman examines the changing iconography of the two ‘V’s’ against the background of the wider cultural history of their respective nations.

Booking at the September and October meetings

Also a Booking form  is available in the Documents section of the About Us page of the Web Site

The very different backgrounds and talents of William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds and James Gillray are examined by Linda Smith. They all had a good understanding of the society they lived in and this was reflected in their paintings. Hogarth was a talented satirist with an eye for weakness and absurdity, and Gillray was a master of disrespect in his caricatures. Reynolds, a preeminent portrait painter, reveals a good deal about the world he operated in, adapting European artistic fashions to suit British tastes.

Booking at the December 2016 & January/February 2017 meetings

VENUE: WALDRINGFIELD VILLAGE HALL

10.00am: Arrival, registration and coffee.

10.30am: Lecture 1 William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

11.30am: Short break

11.45 am Lecture 2 Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723 - 92) & the Royal Academy

1.00pm: Lunch

2.00 pm: Lecture 3 James Gillray (1757 - 1815)

3.00 pm - Finish

COST: £25.00 per person including lunch

Booking form avialable in the Documents section of our Abouts Us page of the web site

John is an independent jewellery valuer, historian, lecturer and author and is well known as one of the jewellery experts on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

The first morning session of this unique Special Interest Day will be devoted to examination of jewellery from Elizabeth I to Queen Victoria and the second session concerns jewellery in the 20th Century.

After lunch we will have our own ‘Mini Antiques Roadshow’, when audience members can bring 2 pieces of jewellery each for discussion and valuation by John. This promises to be a truly memorable day and we hope for a large audience as this will also be a Celebration of our Society’s 30th Anniversary.

BOOKING AT THE SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2016 MEETINGS

Booking form avialable in the Documents section of our Abouts Us page of the web site

This Special Interest Day is aimed at anyone who is interested in Russian and Soviet art, and offers an introduction to an intriguing period of artistic and political evolution. Major artists to be considered include Kandinsky, Malevich, Goncharova, Chagall and Rodchenko.

The afternoon session concerns the Art Collection of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. This famous collection of eighteenth century European Old Masters was bought from the estate of Sir Robert Walpole in 1779.

Theodora Clarke is an art historian and lecturer specialising in Russian art and founder and editor of the on-line arts magazine ‘Russian Art & Culture"

Visit her website: www.theodoraclarke.co.uk

BOOKING AT JANUARY MEETING

Cost £25 for the day

Booking Form available in the Docuemts Section of About Us on the web site

The lecture will explore Sargent’s dazzling society portraits—ranging from presidents, oil magnates, patrons of the arts and the aspirational new plutocrats seeking recognition in the absence of aristocratic lineage, and also his more intimate portrait studies and sketches. The range and versatility is astonishing, as is his psychological insight and humorous observation.

Cost including Lunch £25

BOOKING AT THE SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2015 MEETINGS

or BOOKING FORM AVAILABLE IN THE DOCUMENTS SECTION OF ABOUT US

A Centenary Celebration of WRITER AND ARTIST JOE LUBBOCK

Joe Lubbock is an artist and writer whose work draws on the beauty of the natural landscape. He has produced thirteen books. The prints are from copper plates worked by etching, aquatint and engraving. We will be celebrating Joe's 100th birthday with a special lecture by Dr Christopher De Hamel on Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts - a topic of Joe's choosing and a lifelong interest of his, which has inspired his work along with an exhibition of Joe's books and a talk by Joe himself.

Joe Lubbock’s work is collected by the V & A (where a special exhibition of his work has been held), the Fitzwilliam Museum, Bodleian Library, British Library, the Royal Library at Windsor and by university libraries all over the world

Tuesday 12 May 2015 at 9.30 a.m. Waldringfield Village Hall £20 To cover costs and a donation in support of NADFAS Young Arts charities In case of cancellation, it is regretted that refunds cannot be given

• 9.30 a.m. Arrival, coffee and biscuits
• 10 a.m. Lecture by Dr Christopher de Hamel: MEDIAEVAL ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS
• 11.30 a.m. Film and talk describing Joe’s work Followed by a unique opportunity to look at all Joe’s books Lunch and 100th Birthday Celebration

Booking Form available in the About Us/Documents Section

or Tickets from Sue-Key Burr FULLY BOOKED WAITING LIST ONLY

Court cupboards, mule chests, refectory tables, wainscot chairs: furniture with strangely familiar names. But what are they? How were they used? How were they made and where? Ongoing research is revealing not only the sources of design used by carvers, but also how some early 17th century craftsmen operated extensive regional workshops, creating sophisticated and courtly items for an exacting clientele. Dr Bostwick is a lecturer and consultant in the Cultural History of the Medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods. He is a specialist in medieval imagery, interior furnishings and decoration 1400 - 1700. He is also a consultant on historic buildings and their interpretation to the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Scotland.

• Session 1: CRAFTSMEN IN WOOD
• Session 2: OLD OAK FURNITURE
• Session 3: PATTERNS & DESIGN

COST: £25 per person (including a buffet lunch)

BOOKING AT THE DECEMBER 2014 AND JANUARY 2015 MEETINGS or BOOKING FORM AVAILABLE IN THE DOCUMENTS SECTION OF ABOUT US

Coffee and lunch included £20 BOOKING AT THE SEPTEMBER 2014 MEETING Booking form available in the Documents Section of About Us