A History of the World in 100 Objects: The David Vases

Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor retells the history of human development from the first stone axe to the credit card, using 100 selected objects from the Museum. Neil examines a pair of porcelain vases from Yuan dynasty China. This instantly recognisable blue-and-white designed porcelain, which we usually associate with the Ming Dynasty, rapidly became influential and desirable around the world. Neil describes the history of porcelain and the use of these vases in a temple setting. The historian Craig Clunas talks about the volatile world of Yuan China and the writer Jenny Uglow tries to put her finger on just why we find Chinese porcelain so appealing