Lars Broholm Tharp (born 27 March 1954,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark)THARP, Lars Broholm
, ''

Who's Who 2011 A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary prominent people in Br ...

'',

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...

, 2011; online edn,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, December 2010 (accessed 23 September 2011). is a Danish-born British historian, lecturer and broadcaster, and one of the longest running 'experts' on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

antiques programme, ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

'', first appearing in 1986.

Early life and education

Tharp was born in

on 27 March 1954, the son of Harry Tharp and Anne Marie Broholm. His maternal grandfather was the keeper of Antiquities at the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

, Copenhagen and an expert on the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. After moving to England aged six, Lars was educated at

Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys was a grammar school in Leicester, England, in existence from 1876 to 1976. It was succeeded by the present-day Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College. History After William Wyggeston's death in 1536, his bro ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England, before studying for an undergraduate degree in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

Career

In 1977, a year after graduating, Tharp began working as an

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

, where he specialised in European and Chinese ceramics. Tharp continued to work with Sotheby's for sixteen years, becoming a director in 1983. He left to form his own company Lars Tharp Ltd in 1993. In 2008 he was appointed the Director of the

Foundling Museum The Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London, tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for children at risk of abandonment. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection as well as the Geral ...

in London, and

Visiting Professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

, Leicester. Since 2010 Tharp has represented the Foundling Museum as its ‘Hogarth Curator’. As a ceramic historian Tharp also contributed to the major Tate Gallery exhibition ‘Hogarth and Europe’ and during its run(Nov 2021-March 2022), delivering a keynote speech at Colonial Williamsburg VA Tharp is also well known for his regular appearances (1986 to present) as a ceramics expert on the BBC’s globally seen antiques programme ''

''. Representing Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, he joined team-members Helen Castor, Mark Damazer (captain) and Quentin Stafford-Fraser to win the Alumni ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'' 2013. Tharp is a noted

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

enthusiast. Noting The artist's theatrical use of ceramics in his paintings and prints he wrote ''Hogarth's China'' to accompany an exhibition timed to commemorate the artist's tercentenary (1997). The exhibition was expanded and ran at Wedgwood in the following year. Tharp devised three further exhibitions for York Museum Trust under the umbrella 'Celebrating Ceramics' (2003). He was a member of YMT's steering group setting up their Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA). Tharp has received two Honorary Doctorates: from De Montfort University (HonDArt); and from Leicester University (HonDLitt) and was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 2010. He serves on the court of England's oldest recorded guild, the

Worshipful Company of Weavers The Worshipful Company of Weavers is the most ancient of the Livery Companies in the City of London. It existed in the year 1130, and was perhaps formed earlier. The company received a Royal Charter in 1155. At present, the Company retains a conn ...

(est. by 1130AD). An accredited speaker for (inter alia) The Arts Society (NADFAS), Tharp lectures throughout Europe, Asia and Australasia and leads cultural tours to China, Dresden, Scandinavia and within the UK. In February 2021 Tharp was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire.

Personal life

Tharp lives in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

with his wife Gillian Block, whom he married in 1983. They have two daughters, Helena and Georgina, who share a birthday. Apart from antiques, Tharp has a particular interest in music, having played the cello since the age of eight. He also lists travel among his interests, leading cultural tours in Britain, China and Scandinavia.

Media appearances

Television

All BBC unless stated: * '' Quizeum'' (2015) – panellist * ''

'' (Alumni) – panellist Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (series winner, 2013/4) * ''

One Man and his Pug -in search of Hogarth's 'Trump' 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

'' (2013 * '' China in Six Easy Pieces'' (2013) – presenter, writer * '' Treasures of Chinese Porcelain'' (2011) – presenter, co-writer * '' Fragile History of Ceramics: Handmade in Britain'' (2011) – expert * '' The Antiques Roadshow'' (1986–2024) – expert * ''The Real Collector's Guide'' (1995) – presenter (Channel One, London) * '' Antiques Inspectors'' (1997, 1999) – expert * ''Inside Antiques'' (2004) – presenter * '' Castle in the Country'' (2004–2008) – expert

Radio

* ''Hidden Treasures'' (1998–2002) – chairman/ co-writer * ''Out of the Fire'' (2000) – presenter * ''For What It's Worth'' (2002–2006) – presenter * ''Archive Hour (Radio 4): Men in Bow Ties'' (2007) – presenter * ''On the China Trail'' (2007) – presenter * ''Earth to Earth: Potted Immortality'' (2009) – presenter * ''Twenty Minutes: There's Something About the Cello'' (2011) – presenter * ''A journey around Hans Christian Andersen'' (2005 – co-presenter with

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is an English children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster, activist, and academic, who is a professor of children's literature in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths ...

)

Publications

* ''The Little, Brown Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Antiques'' (ed. with Paul Atterbury), 1994 * ''Hogarth's China: Hogarth's Paintings and Eighteenth-century Ceramics'', 1997 * ''Reader's Digest: Treasures in Your Home'' (with David Battie) * ''How to Spot a Fake'', 1999 * ''A-Z of 20th Century Antiques'' (ed.), 2000 * ‘’Hogarth and Europe’’(Tate 2021-2022 exhibition catalogue, contributor) 2021

References

External links

Official websiteDe Montfort University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharp, Lars 1954 births Living people Danish emigrants to England People from Copenhagen People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Danish curators English curators Antiques experts Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Leicestershire Danish lecturers Danish historians