Edmund de Waal on The White Road

The British ceramist on the life, legacy, and lore of porcelain

Edmund de Waal on The White Road

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A close-up portrait of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus with 3 magi baring gifts to the right.

The Adoration of the Magi, about 1495–1505, Andrea Mantegna. Distemper on linen, 19 1/8 × 25 13/16 in. Getty Museum, 85.PA.417

By James Cuno

Jun 29, 2016 38:43 min

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Edmund de Waal, potter and author, chats about the life, legacy, and lore of porcelain.

He takes us to porcelain’s very beginnings in China, recounts its journey to Europe, layover in Tennessee, and expansion to the rest of the world. Edmund parallels this history with his own philosophy related in his most recent book, The White Road: Journey into an Obsession—a philosophy that speaks to the physical and spiritual journey of an artist, learning to reject more than one accepts and appreciating the various shades of white that appear as a story unfolds.

More to Explore

Edmund de Waal artist’s website

Artist Edmund de Waal wears white and sits in a white room in front of some of his white porcelain sculptures

Edmund de Waal

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