As
the campaign against the proposed sale of items from the Riesco Collection of
Ming porcelain gathers pace, with over
330 people signing Oliver Lewis’s petition, and a growing debate on Croydon Citizen, Cllr Sean Fitzsimons indicated on Tuesday night at the Scrutiny
and Strategic Overview Committee that if the decision to sell is approved it
will be referred to the Committee. This came in the debate on the future work
programme of the Committee last night, triggered by my suggestion that the
Committee should consider the Cultural and Heritage Strategy in a more open
enquiry approach encouraging community and voluntary groups to submit their
views.
Cultural
Vandalism
The
proposed sale of items is an act of cultural vandalism. It represents
the continual withdrawal of Croydon Council from broad based cultural
activity. The claim by Cllr Mead that
the money will go into Fairfield Halls is disingenuous. There is no guarantee
that a refurbished Halls complex will rejuvenate cultural activity there unless
there is a fundamental change in the relationship between the management and
the wide range of organisations and individuals involved in culture in the
Borough, as highlighted by the South Croydon Community Association initiative
(see below).
Betrayal of
Donors
Selling
off donations/gifts/bequests of people who have given things for public benefit
is a betrayal of their intentions.
If they had wanted to make money to
donate to the Council they would have sold them. Cllr Tim Godfrey is right that it would
potentially cost Labour a lot of money if a judicial review is mounted, but
then Labour should not have suggested it would do so over the Library
tendering. In any case it is possible that a law firm would be prepared to
undertake pro bono work on the issue.
The least Labour can do is to ensure that the will and donation
documentation become public documents.
Valuing
Nothing But Money
It
is clear that the projected sale is part of
an obsession with needing money, of narrow thinking, of knowing the
price of everything and the value of nothing. The Collection should not be seen
as a collection of things which can be turned into money, but as a priceless
asset that illuminates key areas of British history and heritage.
Re-interpreted it could introduce Croydon pupils and residents and visitors, to the complex story of the
inter-relationship between Britain and China, especially through the East India
Company which of course has a Croydon connection.
Part of OUR
Heritage
The
collection may not seem part of OUR HERITAGE but it is. Although the Ming
dynasty collapsed in 1644 the porcelain industry it fostered continued. Chinese
porcelain was very popular in Britain
and Europe, English potters were inspired by it, launching our own fine china
industry. See section with reference to Wedgewood at http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=35.
The Importance
of the China Trade
The
trade with China was very important part of
the development of the British economy in the 18th and 19thC Centuries.
See for example: www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/china/guidesources/chinatrade.
East
India Company rule in India fostered the growing of opium which was then forced
on the Chinese and led to two Opium Wars
against China, not to ban it but to ensure its continual sale there. An excellent video of this story can be seen
at www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJksnNM2P-c.
Lascar Seamen
The
Company’s fleet of ships led to the
employment of Indian seamen (lascars) who have a long history of visiting and
settling in Britain: see Southampton University research project at
Slavery
Connections
The
Company also had its connections with the British slavery business. The
University College London Legacies of British Slave-ownership Project Blog has
the following posting ‘Connections
Between the East India Company and the Caribbean’ by Chris Jeppesen . http://lbsatucl.wordpress.com.
EIC Officials
in Croydon
In
1774 Charles Samson, was here as a ‘Negro Servant’ to Robert Chatfield, who
worked for the East India Company, becoming paymaster in 1802, serving as Justice of the Peace, and a beneficiary of
Thornton Heath Common land enclosure and is buried in St John the Baptist
Church. George Smith, the elder (1765 – 1836) was a banker and director of the
East India Company and MP living at Selsdon. He received compensation for
slaves on St. Kitts. His son George Robert (1793–1869) became a partner
in in the family bank of Smith Payne & Smith, which was heavily exposed to
the failure of the West India merchant firm of Manning and Anderdon in 1831. He
also became a MP and lived at Selsdon Park. There is a memorial to him in All Saints Church, Sanderstead
Heritage
Lottery Bid
It
should be possible to draw up a Heritage Lottery bid with the Council and other
partners to undertake a project that would create an exhibition centring around
the history of the Company, its presence in Croydon, with the Riesco Collection
as a centre-piece.
This posting is also in my EDiary/News 40. Details of the Croydon Radical History Network are in Issue 39. Both are available from me at sean.creighton1947@btinternet.com.
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