On the 11th of January 1747 a magnificent dinner party was held to celebrate the marriage of the Dauphin and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. Hosted by first minister of Saxony Count Heinrich von Brühl, he commissioned a fabulous surprise to mark the occasion and had produced a centrepiece for the dessert course: a fountain that stretched four metres along the table directly in front of the diners. The fountain was a huge accomplishment, having been modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler and manufactured by Meissen in their newly invented European hard paste porcelain.

123 years later in 1870, the V&A in London acquired a large group of porcelain objects in ‘a much shattered’  state, and the museum put on display a number of figurative pieces, which were remains of this once monumental table fountain. Reino Liefkes Senior Curator of Ceramics & Glass at the museum, determined to do something to re-invoke the spectacle that had been seemingly lost to the past. Steve Brown and Martin Smith were asked to take on the fountain’s restoration.

This illuminating lecture takes its audience on a captivating journey covering all aspects of such an enormous  task. Please note the reception and lecture will be held in the small lecture theatre on the University campus.

The Emmanuel Cooper Memorial Lecture is presented by the Crafts Study Centre in partnership with 318 Ceramics to celebrate the life and work of renowned potter Emmanuel Cooper.

RECEPTION : 5.30pm - 6.00pm
LECTURE : 6.00pm - 7.00pm
BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR LECTURE : £10.00.