Navigation

Lausanne museum shows Chinese everyday objects

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Lausanne is staging an exhibition called "In Praise of the Essential." It shows one man's obsession with everyday objects and utensils in China.

This content was published on December 14, 1999 - 16:30

It is nearly 40 years since Francois Dautresme was a member of one of the first groups authorised to visit China. While there, he discovered the beauty of utensils, tools and other objects normally thought of in functional rather than aesthetic terms.

Paris-based Dautresme made numerous further visits, touring the countryside where nearly all the objects are made. The result is an important private collection, part of which is now exhibited at Lausanne's Museum of Decorative Arts.

Museum curator Rosmarie Lippuner says many visitors are amazed at the many uses artisans made of bamboo in their workshops: "Everything from furniture to
houses, as well as kitchen utensils. I don't know what they would have done without it."

But not everything is bamboo. The ceramics section reveals that although these are not examples of classical Chinese ceramics, visually they are still very pleasing.

There's another reason why Lippuner is delighted with this exhibition. "Ours is a museum of applied art and design. Occasionally we exhibit anonymous designs so this is an excellent subject for us," she said.

The exhibition ends on March 19, 2000.

From staff member Richard Dawson.

In compliance with the JTI standards

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Sort by

Change your password

Do you really want to delete your profile?

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Discover our weekly must-reads for free!

Sign up to get our top stories straight into your mailbox.

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.