I highly recommend Stephen R. Platt’s new volume, Imperial Twilight, The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age, published by Knopf, 2018. The history of the relationship between China and the West has a bearing on current events. The collecting of objects of Imperial provenance was made possible by the results of the first and second Opium wars. The Western nations sacked the Summer Palace complex and the Forbidden City, bringing out thousands of objects which found their way into Western museums and private collections. My lecture, Lunch with the Qianlong Emperor on Saturday, October 6, 2018 will look at examples of jades which were formally in the Imperial Collection. I have reserved a larger lecture room here at the Fairmont to accomodate the larger number of attendees. Pre-registration is required. Contact me at sbernsteinjade@aol.com or call the gallery at 415-421-3434 to register. $125.00 per attendee, which includes lunch here at the Laurel Court Restaurant in the Fairmont.