THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190132
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
JOHN C. AUSTIN, Colonial Williamsburg's retired curator of ceramics and glass, will present a lecture on British delft at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Chrysler Museum theater.
Austin, who published a book titled ``British Delft in Williamsburg,'' also will have an identification session after the lecture for people who bring in delft from their collections.
British delft is ceramic ware, resembling the tin-glazed Dutch earthenware. While the most typical delft had blue and white or polychrome decoration, some British delft was left undecorated, relying on bold forms for its appeal.
Archaeological studies reveal that delft was widely popular in colonial America, used for everything from plates and punch bowls to barber basins, flower vases and figurines, Austin notes.
Austin, an internationally known expert on delft, retired as Colonial Williamsburg's senior curator in 1991. Among his responsibilities was design of the Ceramic Gallery and Ceramic Study Room at the DeWitt Wallace Gallery of Decorative Arts in Williamsburg.
Austin currently is guest curator for a traveling exhibition of English delft from the collections at Williamsburg. The show opened at the Art Institute of Chicago in September and will appear in museums nationwide through 1997.
There will be a 10 a.m. coffee reception at The Chrysler. Cost for the lecture is $5; Friends of Historic Houses admitted free. Call 664-6283 for reservations. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
John Austin
by CNB