Josepha Richard

Stacy Lloyd Fellow, 2020

 Josepha Richard is a historian specialised in 18-19th century China, with a specific interest in the urban history of Guangzhou (Canton) and Sino-Western interactions under the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Chinese history at the department of Historical Studies in Bristol University, England. Recently she became an Oak Spring Garden Foundation fellow at the University of Bristol as part of the John Bradby Blake project. The latter combines history of art and science by analysing botanically accurate paintings of Chinese plants commissioned by British trader John Bradby Blake in late 18th century Guangzhou, and Blake's abundant handwritten manuscripts on the plants. 

As part of her Stacy Lloyd III grant, Josepha will be comparing Blake painting commissions and manuscripts held in OSGF with other archives containing parts of Blake's collections in the UK.

“The OSGF library is a dream come true for a researcher,” wrote Josepha of her research at Oak Spring. “I have never found quite such a unique blend of beauty and practicality, comfort and access to rare books and artworks. In particular, I have found the availability of different manuscripts of Western botanical artworks to compare with Blake’s hybrid Sino-British botanical paintings invaluable.”

To learn more about Josepha and her research, follow her on Twitter or visit our blog.