The Extraordinary Art Collection of Lady Charlotte Schreiber (1812-1895)

Lecture by Dr. Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Director of Global Premodern Art and Lecturer in French and British History of Art c.1650-1900 at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Through more than thirty collecting trips from c.1865-1884 across England, Scotland, Ireland and Europe, Lady Charlotte Schreiber hunted down rare and marked specimens of pottery and porcelain in dealer shops and private collections. Determined to learn as much as possible about the history, technical and artistic processes of all she collected, Lady Charlotte developed an extraordinary eye. By the mid-1880s she had carefully collected almost 12,000 objects; an encyclopedic range of early modern ceramics from Britain, Europe, Japan and China, as well as an impressive number of enamels, glass, paintings, prints, fans and ephemera, such as playing cards, recipes, board games and writing sheets. By the 1850s she was celebrated already as a collector of “old china,” and by the 1860s dedicated herself exclusively to the research, documentation, and acquisition of an impressive collection of ceramics; a feat that influenced scholarly publications, exhibition culture and museum collections for years to come.

It is now 140 years since Lady Charlotte’s strategic approach to collecting culminated in the Schreiber Bequest to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in 1884-85. Consisting of almost 2,000 pieces of English ceramics—an area thoroughly underrepresented by the museum at the time—English enamels, glass and prints, and accompanied by a catalogue written by Lady Charlotte, this was a pioneering move for a female benefactor. With the publication of China-Hunting: The Extraordinary Collection of Lady Charlotte Schreiber, Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth demonstrates that Lady Charlotte’s philanthropic endeavors and contributions to the study of ceramics deserve to be celebrated.

Originally from rural Ireland and now based in London and Edinburgh, Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth is an art historian, curator and public engagement practitioner. Caroline is an internationally recognized specialist in French and British decorative arts, especially ceramics, glass and furniture. She is the Director of Global Premodern Art and Lecturer in History of Art, 1650-1900 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She was previously Curator 1600-1800 in Decorative Art and Sculpture and Lecturer in History of Design at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In addition to China-Hunting: The Extraordinary Collection of Lady Charlotte Schreiber, she is currently writing another book entitled Sèvres-Mania: The Craft of Ceramics Connoisseurship forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic (2025). In addition, Caroline is a Trustee of the English Ceramics Circle, the French Porcelain Society, and the Furniture History Society. She also acts as an Advisor on Ceramics for Art UK, the National Trust Clandon Park project, and Doddington Hall.

Cost: Free to Members, a guest and to first-time attendees.

Image caption: Bow Porcelain Factory Botanical Plate, London, circa 1760, soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels with a floral specimen and insects. Width 9 3/8 inches (23.8 cm.). Given by Lady Charlotte Schreiber to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Accession No. 414:79-1885. (On display in the British Galleries, Room 139.)