Lecture 1. The Imperial Easter Eggs of Carl Fabergé - Before the Revolution

 Between 1885 and 1916, Carl Fabergé made 50 jewelled eggs – Easter presents from Russia’s last two emperors to their wives. The eggs are supreme examples of the jeweller’s art and the vulgar playthings of a decadent court. Given almost total artistic freedom, Fabergé and his designers had to conform to only three rules: that each year’s Easter present should be egg-shaped, that it should contain some surprise to amuse or delight its recipient, and that it should be different from any predecessor. The result was a series of creations demonstrating ingenuity and creativity for which there are few parallels in any other field.

Lecture 2. The Imperial Easter Eggs of Carl Fabergé - After the Revolution

Since the brutal murder of the last tsar and his family, the Faberge eggs have become the most famous surviving symbols of the Romanov Empire. After going missing in the Revolution, most of the eggs re-emerged in the store-rooms of the Kremlin. Their subsequent history holds up a mirror to the twentieth century and encompasses Bolsheviks and entrepreneurs, tycoons and heiresses, con-men and queens. Then there are the seven eggs which remain missing. What prospect is there that they will ever emerge, and if they do, will anyone believe that they are genuine?

If you would like to attend, please contact John Larum, Membership Secretary, by email: johnlarum@hotmail.com

Throughout the history of art particular places at particular times have inspired periods of creativity. From the late 19th century, Cornwall became a focus for several artists who challenged conventions, beginning with the artists' colonies at Newlyn and then Lamorna. In the 20th century, Stives was the home to British modernists such as Bernard Leach, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson who in turn inspired and were challenged by a younger generation of avant-garde arrtists that included Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. This study DAy will look at the work of these artists and others who lived and worked in Cornwall from the 1880s to the 1970s and explore their artisitc infuences, relationships and legacy.

Venice: The Serenissma, but also the Luxurissima. Venice was the port for Europe through which all the glamorous and luxurious products of India, the Middle East and the Far East passed, and she certainly made sure that the best pieces remained in Venice. Indian jewellery, silks and porcelains were given a starring role in the paintings produced by any Venetian artist from the 15th of 16th century - Bellini and Cima through to the trio of great Venetian artists, Titian Tintoretto and Veronese. But of all of these, it is Veronese who delighted most in depicting the textures and colour effects of luxury goods. These lectures explore how the art of painting in these artists’ hands, and the ways in which they exploited the potential of the new medium, Oil paint, to show us Venice as such a feast for the eye

3 fascinating interactive talks & a light lunch

Cost: TAS member: £45  Non-members: £50

Details and booking form from Anne Greenaway –

amgreenaway1@outlook.com. Tel: 01435 408635

Venue address: Heathfield Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane, Heathfield. TN21 OXG

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How do dealers, auctioneers and museum staff determine whether a piece is by one painter or another? What role does signature play, and what are the key clues to look for when deciding who painted the picture? We consider clues, weigh up relative usefulness, and learn some of the tricks of the connoisseur. The day ends with a chance to try out your skills, identifying artists and oddities in ‘spot the artist’ to help us become experts to aid the Fake or Fortune Team!

3 fascinating interactive talks & a light lunch

Cost: TAS member £40  Non-members: £45

 Details and booking form from Anne Greenaway – amgreenaway@hotmail.com. Tel: 01435 408635

 Venue address: Heathfield Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane, Heathfield. TN21 OXG

Cancelled due to insufficient numbers

Venue address:

Heathfield Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane, Heathfield. TN21 9PB

Time: 10.30am - 3.30pm

Just like today’s politicians, the courtiers (and rulers) of the past were in the public eye with every aspect of their appearance and behaviour scrutinised and subject to criticism. Fine dress and deportment could lead to advancement in social and political circles at the Elizabethan and Stuart courts.  As an art historian, specialising in decoding dress and contemporary culture Jacqui will use sources such as literature, portraits, engravings, and surviving garments to help us enrich our understandings of the visual culture of the Courts of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I and Charles II

1.    Pins and Poking Sticks – Decoding Dress in Shakespeare’s time.

2.    Fit for a King: Van Dyck the Ultimate ‘Spin Doctor’?

3.    Big Wigs: Splendour at Court in the Age of Samuel Pepys

Cost: £50 AS member, Guest £55

 including 3 Lectures, Coffee and Lunch

Closing date for booking: 31 October

Enquiries to Judy Beggs: 07956 876060

Unravelling the Silk Road

A Carpet Ride to Khiva

How to Get Down from a Yak

3 Lectures + coffee + Lunch

Members £45     Non Members £50

Chris Aslan was born in Turkey (hence the name Aslan) and spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying Media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries, and becoming the largest non-government employer in town. He was kicked out as part of an anti-Western purge, and took a year in Cambridge to write A Carpet Ride to Khiva. Chris then spent three years in the Pamirs mountains of Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down. Next came two years in Kyrgyzstan living in the world’s largest natural walnut forest and establishing a wood-carving workshop. Since then, Chris has studied and rowed at Oxford, and is now based in Cambridge and focussed on writing fiction, including Alabaster, Manacle and Mosaic, and The Broken Hexapus. He is currently working on a new book on the Silk Road that marries travel and textiles, and lectures for The Art Society. He also leads tours to Central Asia, returning whenever he can having left a large chunk of his heart out there.