THE ARTS SOCIETY BORDERS

LECTURES

September 2021 to June 2022

Tuesday 21st September 2021 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

Hanne Sutcliffe

‘Wonderful Copenhagen: The Story of Four Magnificent Royal Castles in the Kingdom of Denmark’

Denmark is blessed with no less than fourteen royal castles. Over the centuries Danish kings enriched the

land with a collection of buildings, from early simple dwellings to sumptuous palaces. In this lecture,

four of the most famous and splendid castles will be discussed: Rosenborg Palace, Fredriksborg Palace,

Amalienborg Palace and Fredensborg Palace (Palace of Peace).

Tuesday 19th October 2021 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

Mark Cottle

‘A Photographic Odyssey: Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition Captured on Camera’

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914 his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and

eventually crushed in the ice pack. After five months camping on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to

remote Elephant Island and from there Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles

away. Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of

the great photographers of the C20th was the expedition’s official photographer. His photographs are a

visual narrative of an epic journey.

Tuesday 16th November 2021 at 10.30am - Tait Hall or online talk to be confirmed

Amanda Herries

‘Diverse riche and costlye Jewells: C17th trade, treasure and the Cheapside Hoard’

‘Diverse, riche and costlye Jewells’ is a perfect description of the unique collection of jewels known

as the Cheapside Hoard. Unearthed by chance in 1912 in one of the most historic parts of London, it

seems it was lost or buried between 1640 and 1666. More than 400 pieces make up this remarkable

Hoard - from a walnut-sized emerald containing a watch to earrings shimmering with suspended ame-

thysts. Why was it brought together and what are its secrets?

Tuesday 7th December 2021 at 10.30am - online talk

Sandy Burnett

‘Christmas in Bach’s Leipzig; the Christmas Oratorio of 1734/5’

This illustrated talk explores how Bach brings the Christmas story alive in his Weihnactsoratorium or

Christmas Oratorio, written for Lutheran congregations in 1730’s Leipzig. An overview of Bach’s life

and achievement precedes a close look at this magnificent work which draws on various forms ranging

from recitative, arioso, aria, chorale and instrumental sinfonia through to full blown choruses which

harness the power of music and deploy it in the service of God.

Tuesday 14th December 2021 at 10.30am - online talk

This is an extra talk to celebrate 30years of the Arts Society Borders (BDFAS)

Andrew Prince

‘Portrait of Jewels: following missing treasures through canvas’

Among the many jewels he traces, Andrew follows some pearls that belonged to Catherine de Medici

then Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I and are now worn by Queen Elizabeth II. Also a spec-

tacular diamond that belonged to Charles 1st, later worn by Marie Antoinette which was stolen and

subsequently purchased by a Russian aristocrat,; later mounted in a tiara by Cartier for an American

heiress when she became of member of the British parliament.

Tuesday 18th January 2022 at 10.30am - online talk

Bernard Lockett

‘The Heritage of Gilbert & Sullivan’

Gilbert & Sullivan productions have influenced popular culture in the English speaking world for

nearly 150 years and are recognised as the origins of today’s musical theatre. This talk gives an over-

view of some of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operas in the context of the social and political atmosphere of

the time, highlighting the satire and background of many of the works with wry comparisons to the

world today.

Tuesday 15th February 2022 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

Claire Walsh

‘Explaining the Modern: How to Sell a Painting in Avant Garde Paris’

Avant garde artists in the early years of the 20th century strove to find a new vocabulary for art and a new way

forward. Artists such as Matisse, Braque, Vlaminck and Picasso produced works which were not only ground-

breaking but shockingly innovative. However these works were often incomprehensible, even to the most ardent

supporters of the movement. How then could these artists explain their new approaches and convince collectors

and the public to appreciate what they were doing.

Tuesday 15th March 2022 at 10.30am - online talk

Sally Dormer

‘True Blue: Lapis Lazuli & Ultramarine in the Middle Ages’

In the language of medieval colour symbolism blue was deemed the most precious of all. It conjured the

colour of the sky and, by extension, the colour of Heaven. As a result lapis lazuli, the precious blue-purple

stone, only available from north eastern Afghanistan, was much sought after during the Middle Ages. This

lecture explores how the stone was mined and traded vast distances; and then carved into cameos, some-

times inlaid with gold; cut into minute tesserae for micro-mosaics or ground and refined to make the costly

pigment ultramarine.

Tuesday 11th April 2022 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

Carole Petipher

‘The Valois Dukes of Burgundy - Dazzling and Dastardly’

Few dynastic families in western Europe wielded such power or wealth in the late Middle Ages as the Dukes

of Burgundy. With territories stretching as far as the low countries theirs was a sumptuous court to rival all

others. They would prove dastardly as well as dazzling and nothing would stop them from their ultimate goal.

This talk follows their rise to glory and creation of their own superpower and consider the associated trappings

of such a flamboyant lifestyle - art, fashion and gastronomy.

Tuesday 17th May 2022 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

Louise Schofield

‘Cursed Objects in the British Museum; Tales of a Curator’

Louise was Curator of Greek Bronze Age and Geomateric Antiquities in the British Museum for 13 years.

In this very personal account of her adventures working in the museum she will take you down to haunted

basements and tell you of secret exorcisms carried out there. Several fabulous artefacts in the museum have

curses attached to them. ‘The Unlucky Mummy’ has a reputation for causing death and destruction - in-

cluding the sinking of the Titanic!

Tuesday 21st June 2022 at 10.30am - Tait Hall

David Rosier

‘Imperial Chinese Court Art & Portraiture - Emperors, Ancestors & Jesuits’

This lecture explores the origins of the nature and function of paintings created under an Emperor’s patronage

by artists of the Imperial School of Art. Court art evolved separately from classical Chinese paintings and

included portraiture plus scenes of court life and significant State Events. These were used as visual evidence

of the political power of the Emperor and the splendour of his court. The talk concludes by considering the

revolution in court art that occurred in the C18th as Emperor Qianlong deployed Western artistic skills and

techniques brought by Jesuits invited to the Forbidden City.

A LINK TO ONLINE LECTURES WILL BE EMAILED A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE TALK