A passion for collecting historical Chinese ceramics grew out of the mania for export wares. London is the main centre outside China for collecting and studying Chinese ceramics, and it is unrivalled in terms of collection history, quantity, quality and diversity of objects. The buzz of excitement surrounding Chinese porcelain sales and the popularity of television and radio programmes about Chinese ceramics is evidence of the enduring British fascination with this commodity.

Prior to the birth of the modern museum in the eighteenth century, trade ceramics were purchased in England as table wares and household ornaments. Formal scholarship of Chinese ceramics was in its infancy in the nineteenth century but developed considerably after the foundation of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 1921. Members of this society have been major contributors to the British Museum and V&A collections.

Classical Chinese ceramics have inspired artists around the world to create beautiful objects from clay. In recent years, London has reaffirmed its commitment to Chinese ceramics through the opening in 2009 of the Sir Percival David Collection of Chinese Ceramics in the Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for Ceramic Studies at the British Museum and the reopening in 2010 of the V&A’s new suites of ceramics galleries and ceramic study collections.