Craig Clunas
Encyclopedia
Craig Clunas is Professor of History of Art at the University of Oxford. As a historian of the art and history of China, Professor Clunas has focussed particularly on the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644).
, University of London
for his PhD. Professor Clunas began his scholarly career at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where for 15 years he was on the curatorial staff and was responsible for the installation of new Chinese galleries. In 1994, he moved to the University of Sussex, where he became Professor of History of Art in 1997. In 2003, he returned to SOAS where he was the Percival David Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art from 2004.
He took up his current position at the University of Oxford in 2007. He is the first holder of the Chair in the History of Art to specialise in art from Asia.
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644).
Life
Professor Clunas finished undergraduate study in Chinese Studies from the University of Cambridge, and moved to the School of Oriental and African StudiesSchool of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
for his PhD. Professor Clunas began his scholarly career at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where for 15 years he was on the curatorial staff and was responsible for the installation of new Chinese galleries. In 1994, he moved to the University of Sussex, where he became Professor of History of Art in 1997. In 2003, he returned to SOAS where he was the Percival David Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art from 2004.
He took up his current position at the University of Oxford in 2007. He is the first holder of the Chair in the History of Art to specialise in art from Asia.
Publications
Professor Clunas has published extensively on early modern China, his books include:- Superfluous Things: social status and material culture in Early Modern China, 1991;
- Art in China, 1997;
- Elegant debts: the social art of Wen Zhengming, 2004;
- Empires of Great brightness: visual and material cultures of Ming China, 2007, based on the Slade lectures which he gave at Oxford in 2004.