Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth
The Extraordinary
Art Collection of
Lady Charlotte Schreiber
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LIVE​
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Monday, May 12, 2025
2 PM ET
The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT
Derby Porcelain Factory Group of ‘Viscount Pitt of Burton Pynsent, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778), with a Grateful America.’ England, soft-paste porcelain with enamel and gilt decoration, circa 1767. Height 14 1/2 inches (36.8 cm.); length of base 11 1/2 inches (29.2 cm.). Given by Lady Charlotte Schreiber to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Accession no. 414:202-1885. (On display in British Galleries Room 139.)
The kneeling black woman wearing a feather headdress, and the alligator as an allegory of America whom Pitt supported through a conciliatory policy. "Purchased by Lady Charlotte Schreiber from Willson, London, for £28 in September 1878.” Acquired as Chelsea porcelain. Schreiber number Sch. 1306.
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.
Derby Porcelain Factory Figure of ‘Kitty Clive as "Mrs. Riot” in Lethe,’ soft-paste porcelain, England, circa 1750. Height (9 3/4 inches (24.8 cm.). Given by Lady Charlotte Schreiber to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Accession no. 414:135/A-1885. On display in the British Galleries, Room 139.
Copied from the Bow porcelain model of 1750, and based on an engraving of the same year by Charles Mosley (1744-c.1770) after a watercolor by Thomas Worlidge (1700-1766) depicting the actress Kitty Clive (née Rafter, 1711-1785) in the character of the ‘Fine Lady’ in Lethe, a dramatic satire by David Garrick (1717-1779). Bought by Lady Charlotte Schreiber from Wareham, London, for £12 in May 1873 (as Chelsea porcelain) to form a pair with the companion figure of the actor Henry Woodward, which she had bought from Brown, London, for £3 in April 1867. Schreiber number Sch. I 1A.
Originally from rural Ireland and now based in London and Edinburgh, Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth is an art historian, curator and public engagement practitioner. Her research examines the visual and material culture of transatlantic Britain, France, and North America (c.1600-1900), with a particular focus on ceramics and glass, the history of museums, and the history of collecting. 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.