Named for the former BADA president and Bluett and Sons director, the prize is awarded to help fund travel or a placement in a relevant institution for a student whose research “has the potential to further the understanding of historical cultural objects or their conservation”.
Chen is a PhD candidate in history of art and archaeology specialising in Chinese ceramics and trompe l’oeil works of art in the 18th and 19th centuries.
He said that it was an “honour” to win the prize. It will fund a research trip to La Fondation Baur Musée des arts d'Extrême-Orient in Geneva, where some of the Qing trompe l'oeil porcelains included in his dissertation are held.
Fellow awardee Corrina Ellis said that the prize will benefit her curatorial work in the museum sector.
