Master’s Degree - Arts of China: Cultural Crossroads in Asia

Nixi Cura, Course Director for the Arts of China talks about the art market in China, the benefits of studying with Christie's and her favourite art work in a recent interview. Read more

If you want to gain a thorough knowledge of Chinese art and culture including cataloguing, reporting and writing about works of art, our Arts of China programme is ideal.

All the course work for this programme is directly related to a real-work experience. You will be asked to write reviews, artefact analyses, acquisition reports and curatorial reports. Your thesis will be a catalogue of an exhibition that you would like to stage. Whatever period of study you chose you will receive the same core training. We will teach you the Christie’s Auction House cataloguing procedures and you will be able to assess and write about all forms of art in the period you have chosen to study. As part of this course you will also be introduced to critical writing and thinking about art so that you can either enter the art-world immediately or go on to study further.

Course components

The core lecture series from the Neolithic period to the present underpins all components of the programme
You will participate in a study trip to China and regular visits to museums and collections throughout the year
Object-based study is central to our teaching and will provide you with relevant training for the public and commercial art worlds. This includes practical and research based study of materials and techniques, scientific analysis, style, dating, quality and authenticity
You will be trained in cataloguing to auction house and museum standards. Handling sessions and warehouse and museum visits all occur during the course
Being engaged with current debates about curating will enable you to devise fresh approaches to the display of art works. You'll explore practices in art criticism, developing skills to review exhibitions and produce reports
Our Culture and Ideology Seminars will enable you to discuss the relationship between specific objects and broader debates around ancient and modern Chinese art in small groups. You will acquire the skills to deliver presentations and generate seminar discussion
You'll be involved in Methodology Seminars - the analysis of technical, art-historical and interpretative texts that provide transferable skills for independent research and individual development
If you're doing a Master's degree you will prepare a thesis. This is your opportunity to create an exhibition on a small group of objects, independently researched and catalogued, where the key academic and professional skills learned on the programme are utilised.

Topics on this option

Neolithic and Bronze Age art, culture and burial practices
The establishment of lacquer, silk, jade and painting traditions
Buddhist art in China from the Han to the Qing dynasties
The Silk Road and the international status of ceramics, precious metals, paper making and printing
The golden age of the Song dynasty: ceramics, painting, calligraphy, lacquer and sculpture and the reinvention of the past
Liao and Yuan artistic production under foreign rule
The rise of Jingdezhen, China’s major porcelain centre
The re-establishment of Chinese rule under the Ming dynasty and its artistic expression
Imperial patronage of court and religious art, imperial academies and ateliers.
Exchange between China and the West and the export arts of China
The efflorescence of the arts during the reigns of the three great Qing emperors
Modern and contemporary art and society.

Entry requirements

A university degree. No prior knowledge of the culture and language of China is required. We welcome a wide range of graduates, including those trained in other areas of the history of art or Asian studies. Non-English speaking students must have IELTS 8 or equivalent.