A student-curated exhibit of Chinese porcelain given to Elon University’s Art Collection by Robert and Christi Bryden opened in Lindner Hall’s Inman Reading Room and will be on permanent display there.
Dozens of pieces of antique Chinese porcelain are on permanent display in Lindner Hall’s Inman Reading Room through a student-curated display of a private collection gifted to Elon University.
The stories behind them — some rescued from shipwrecks, others once partially censored by the Chinese government now re-revealed for modern eyes — can be found with the collection.
The pieces were donated to the Elon University Art Collections by Robert and Christi Bryden, friends of Elon University President Emeritus Leo Lambert. The Brydens collected nearly 100 pieces of Chinese porcelain in their travels to Hong Kong and around the globe before donating the collection to Elon in 2022.
Téa Jones ’26 and Lizzie Ostling ’26, student workers with the Art Collections, spent nearly six months curating the pieces using Robert Bryden’s art history book collection — also on display for students and faculty to study — and his extensive notes. Each of the plates, vases, and artwork on display in the Inman Reading Room is accompanied by information about its origin and history.
“The ones we thought had the most interesting stories were the ones we chose for the exhibit,” Jones said. “We hope people who use the reading room will see these valuable artworks and learn something new when they come here to study.”
Elon’s Art Collections include around 2,000 pieces in nine collections. The Brydens’ donation bolsters the university’s International Collection, which numbers around 600 pieces, and adds art from an area of the world that was relatively underrepresented within the collection, said Ethan Moore, coordinator of the Art Collections.
“We have a few porcelain vases from other collectors, but nothing of this size and this magnitude,” Moore said. “This is really a premier collection from Bob and Christi Bryden, with a number of just wonderful pieces. What’s on display is really only about half of what they gave.”
In coming years, students will research and curate additional displays from the Brydens’ collection and other items in the International Collection, Moore said.
The Brydens first discussed donating the pieces to Elon in conversation with the Lamberts.
“The Brydens were interested in students working with the collection, and this is exactly what they envisioned,” Lambert said. “They wanted students to be touching, analyzing, thinking about and planning exhibits with the pieces. I’m just thrilled to see what students have done with it, and there will be more opportunity for other students to curate other exhibits down the road.”