Could there ever be a universal paradigm governing “Chinesessness” encoded in 
material objects, or does the cultural code “Chinese” vary from object to object, 
interpreted differently according to those who collect the objects and their 
various collecting practices?

The Department of Art History at the University of Delaware and Winterthur 
Museum and Country Estate will co-host an interdisciplinary conference, 
“Collecting ‘China’: Objects, Materiality, and Multicultural Collectors” from 
September 29 to 30, 2006.  The conference also offers the pre- and post- 
conference workshops on September 28 and October 1.  This conference marks 
the first major event on Chinese art and Chinese studies ever held by both 
institutes. 

The study of “Chinese objects” and their collections have been at the fulcrum of 
the study of Chinese art, architecture, and archaeology in the past recent 
decades, but basic questions about the objects’ cultural code in relation to their 
materiality remain underexplored. The goal of the conference is to examine the 
interconnection between cultural implementation and the materiality of objects.  

This conference focuses on interdisciplinary discussion, as it seeks to bring the 
dialogue about materiality and categories of Chinese objects beyond art objects 
commonly collected by institutional and private collectors.  Objects to be 
explored are as varied as archaeological objects such as Shang-Dynasty oracle 
bones, Neolithic jades, and prehistoric potteries; exported ceramics, paintings, 
and wallpapers; and books and centuries-old architectural models. 

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