Chinese Art Objects, Collecting and Interior Design in Twentieth-century Britain

Glaister, Helen

ISBN 10: 1032137827 / ISBN 13: 9781032137827

Published by Routledge, 2024

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 48138565-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chinese Art Objects, Collecting and Interior Design in Twentieth-century Britain
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032137827
• ISBN 13: 9781032137827
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This book explores the relationship between collecting Chinese ceramics, interior design and display in Britain through the eyes of collectors, designers and tastemakers during the years leading to, during and following the Second World War.

The Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain forms the nucleus of this study – defined by its design hybridity – offering insights into the agency of Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts, from seventeenth-century Batavia to twentieth-century Britain, raising questions about notions of Chineseness, Britishness, and identity politics across time and space. Through the biographies of the collectors, this book highlights the role of collecting Chinese art objects, particularly porcelain, in the construction of individual and group identities. Social networks linking the Ionides to agents and dealers, auctioneers, and museum specialists bring into focus the dynamics of collecting during this period, the taste of the Ionides and their self-fashioning as collectors.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of art history, history of collections, interior design, Chinese studies, and material culture studies.

About the Author

Helen Glaister, PhD, is the Course Director of the Arts of Asia Programme, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, UK.