OUR NEXT EVENT

Robert Charleston Memorial Talk

JUDY RUDOE:

Beyond Slade: building the British Museum’s 19th century to modern European glass collection

DATE: Wednesday 24 June 2026 at 7pm BST
LOCATION:  ZOOM online, or in person at the Art Workers Guild (for details see below)
COST:  on Zoom: free for members
Attending in person: £15 for members and £20 for guests

Starting from Felix Slade’s and other 19th century acquisitions of contemporary glass, this talk discusses the last fifty years of glass acquisitions within the rest of the Museum’s applied arts collection. The glass collections from 1850 now number over 1500 items, from major gifts or bequests to targeted acquisitions, ranging from Balkan glass bead embroidery to post-war glass from the Nordic lands.

Judy Rudoe is a distinguished and well-known specialist who from 1974 to 2023 was a curator at the British Museum, responsible for 19th to 21st century European applied arts: ceramics, glass, metalwork and jewellery, alongside traditional and regional costume, basketry and woodwork. Her publications include Decorative Arts 1850-1950. A catalogue of the British Museum Collection (1991/2nd edition 1994), Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria. A Mirror to the World, with Charlotte Gere (2010) and articles on James Powell & Sons, glass micromosaics, and Venetian Early Christian glass revivals.

To Book: Members can book with Anne Lutyens-Stobbs at [email protected] by 22nd June.

This event can be enjoyed by zoom or in person. The login details for the zoom is being emailed to members but can also be found with the event on the News & Events page.

For attending in person: the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT*, in the upstairs Gradidge Room for refreshments from 6.30pm (note 7pm start time). Please let us know the number of people coming (at £15 each for members or £20 for guests) with payment direct into the Society’s account, or cash on the night. Please note that places are limited. (*Nearest Underground stations: Russell Square or Holborn).

Picture credit: Chris Lebeau vase for Leerdam 1924-5, British Museum