About the San Francisco Ceramic Circle

The San Francisco Ceramic Circle, now in its 39th year, is among the oldest and most respected ceramic collectors organizations in the U.S.A. and is a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in antique ceramics or ceramic art.

The S.F.C.C. is affiliated with the San Francisco Museums of Fine Art and sponsors a series of lectures on various aspects of ceramics. These are usually held in the Florence Gould Theatre at the Palace of the Legion of Honor located in Lincoln Park, San Francisco unless otherwise noted below. Lectures are held on Sunday mornings starting at 10.00 am with mini-exhibits 1/2 hour before the talks. Topics range from the earliest Oriental pottery, through the great European factories of the 18th century to Modern Studio ceramics. Talks are given by museum curators, collectors, authors and dealers who are authorities in their fields. On occasions the S.F.C.C. also sponsors a 2 day seminar that attracts ceramic collectors from throughout the U.S.A. and beyond. The Circle also operates the S.F.C.C. Ceramics Study Center which includes a reference library adjacent to the porcelain gallery in the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Visitors to the museum are welcome to attend SFCC lectures.

There are useful links at the bottom of this page

San Francisco Ceramic Circle 2010 Lecture Program (activate date link for details)

 Date

 Speaker

Lecture title

Sunday 1/17/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Michael Sack, Collector, Author and SFCC member

India on Transferware

Sunday 2/21/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Russell Hartman, Senior Collections Manager, Dept. of Anthropology, California Academy of Sciences

Of Fire and Clay: 2,000 Years of Ceramics in the American Southwest

Sunday 3/21/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Suzanne Perkins-Gordon
Decorative Arts Historian, Author and member
of the SFCC and the CIETA

"The Evolution of an Art Form: the French Chocolatière"

Sunday 4/11/2010
1.30PM at SFO

Malcolm Gutter, Collector, Author and member of the SFCC

Reinventing Porcelain: Celebrating the Meissen Manufactory’s Tercentennial
This lecture will be presented at SFO Airport, International Terminal Museum

 Sunday 5/23/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Andrew F. Stewart, Curator of Greek and Roman Archaeology, Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Art and Archaeology, Professor of Greek Studies, History of Art and Classics department, UC Berkeley

Drinking Dionysos: The Athenian Symposium and its Ceramics

Saturday 6/26/2010

Thomas Rogers, Curator of Collections , Filoli, Woodside

SFCC MEMBERS ( and their guests ) ONLY EVENT. Summer Social and tour of the collection at Filoli

Thursday 7/15/2010

SFCC Members "Pot Night"

SFCC MEMBERS ( and their guests ) ONLY EVENT. Display and discussion of members' acquisitions

 Sunday 8/15/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Edwin Schwartz
Collector and member of the SFCC

Worcester Blue and White--many shapes and sizes

Sunday 9/19/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Letitia Roberts, Independent Ceramic Researcher, Author and Collections Advisor

Flour Power: the Warda S. Stout Collection of German Porcelain

Sunday 10/17/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Aileen Dawson
Curator of Ceramics and Glass 1660-1800,The British Museum, London, U.K.

Worcester Porcelain in the collection of the British Museum

10/28/2010 through 10/31/2010

The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, Festival Pavillion, Fort Mason,San Francisco The SFCC is a cultural partner of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. Information about the show is available at www.sffas.org or in the Show brochure .
Thursday 10/28/2010 11.00AM
Christina Prescott Walker, Sr. V.P. Sothebys N.Y.C. Head of Chinese Works of Art, European Ceramics and Chinese Export porcelain From the Courts of Europe to the China Cabinets of California: 400 years of Chinoiserie and Japonism in European ceramics. ( This is an SFFAS/SFCC cultural Partner lecture at the Fall Antiques Show - details in the Brochure )

Sunday 11/21/2010
9.30-11.30AM

Charlotte Jacob-Hanson
Independent Researcher, Founder Frankfurt Ceramic Study group, Frankfurt, Germany

New attributions – Fidelle Duvivier in the Netherlands

 2011 Program
 To be announced later  


Membership in the S.F.C.C. is open to anyone with an interest in the collection and appreciation of fine and antique porcelain or pottery or the ceramic arts. Yearly membership dues are $60.00 for individuals and $95.00 for dual membership (two persons living at the same address). Online membership Application Form. For additional information about the S.F.C.C., to apply for membership or to attend a lecture as welcome visitor write to: San Francisco Ceramic Circle, P.O. Box 15163, San Francisco, California 94115, U.S.A. or phone (415) 750 - 3551

PRIOR SFCC PROGRAMS:2009 : 2008 : 2007 : 2006 : 2005 : 2004 : 2003 : 2002 : 2001 : 2000 : 1999 : 1998 : 1997

USEFUL LINKS: San Francisco Museums of Fine Art (FAMSF) : Asian Art Museum of San Francisco : Filoli House and Gardens ( Woodside CA ) : Oakland Museum of California :

FAMSF Image Base ( Detailed images including the Bowles Collection of English Porcelain and other ceramics).

SFCC member recommended museums with ceramic collections

Links to other ceramic interest organizations

Patrician Antiques home page : Porcelain index : Pottery index