Mount Clare Museum House Lecture Series

 

 Presents The Emily McKim Reed Lecture Series:

 Influence of the Early Chinese Trade on American Decorative Arts  1640-1820

Mount Clare Museum presents three lectures at the Mount Clare Stable by guest speaker, John Danz, local historian.  Mount Clare witnessed three major wars including the War of 1812.  This lecture series examines trade with China from the colonial era through our second war for independence.

            Several major world-wide developments rapidly evolved as the American colonies established. These developments – consumerism, and world-wide commerce – played a significant role in shaping our American decorative arts as well as propelling us toward independence.

            While everyone today is aware of our current trade with China, what was our early trade experience with Chinese goods? Much of the emphasis has been on porcelain because porcelain was the only trade item that has endured, but what else was traveling from this far away land?

            Three lectures will encompass a wider spectrum of the early trade with China – the decorative arts, trade patterns, capitalism, and the movement toward independence. Where do these influences persist today? Find out why a neighborhood in Baltimore is named Canton and the role Tench Tilghman and John O’Donnell played in the early trade of Chinese trade goods.

With the focus on Maryland and specifically Baltimore, much of the vast collection of Chinese goods and the influence of Chinese design in the Mount Clare collection will be highlighted along with other local museum collections. The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland is sponsoring this program and owns the collection of decorative arts and furnishings at Mount Clare.  Guests to the series are invited to visit the museum for the 11, 12, or 1:00 tour and enjoy a buffet reception following each lecture.

John Danz, Jr., is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in European history. John has lectured widely on the subject of America’s early trade with China based on more than three year’s of research. His focus has been on Maryland’s experiences in the China trade from the viewpoint of both the decorative arts and economics.  Mr. Danz served as Vice President of Towson University’s Asian Arts & Culture Center for more than fifteen years and currently serves as Vice President, State of Maryland’s Sister States program for Anhui Province, China.  Danz is currently the Program Director for the Baltimore County Historical Society. A member of the Rushlight Society, Danz is a collector and lecturer on early domestic lighting devices.

SESSION 1: Sunday, April 22nd

Tempest From a Teapot: The Portuguese Trade to mid-1700s

SESSION 2: Sunday, May 6th

From China to Chippendale, 1750 to 1783:

Influence of China trade on Colonial America

 SESSION 3: Sunday, June 3rd  

Tench Tilghman and Baltimore’s Canton, 1784-1820

Held at the Mount Clare Stable at 2:00 pm.

Carroll Park, 1500 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD. 21230.  410-837-3262.  Free Parking.

Tickets:  $25/person includes lecture and buffet reception.  Sign up for all three lectures special price $60.  Seating limited.  To make reservations, please visit http://www.mountclare.org/newsevents/index.html or call 410-837-3262.

 

Mount Clare, the 1760 Georgian summer home built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, is the oldest house in Baltimore City and is located in historic Carroll Park.  Original furnishings of the Barrister, his wife, Margaret Tilghman Carroll, and their heirs have been preserved in the house and provide an accurate interpretation of the grand style of 18^th century colonial living.  The museum is open for guided tours on the hour, Thursday through Sunday beginning at 11 o’clock, last tour at 3 o’clock.