Colonialism and the Object: Empire, Material Culture and the Museum

ISBN-13: 9780415157766 / Angielski / Miękka / 1997 / 236 str.

Tim Barringer; Tom Flynn

Opis

The post-colonial world has seen a major re-evaluation of the insititutions and ideologies of colonialism. Post-colonial theory has enriched our understanding of the history and literature of colonial periods. With reference to this trend, this collection examines the artistic production of both imperial nations and their colonies and aims to show how it was affected by colonial contact. Drawing together an international group of scholars from a variety of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, it presents case studies of objects from India, Pakistan, New Zealand, China and Africa which were collected by or exhibited in the institutions of the British Empire. Other chapters address issues of racial identity across cultural barriers and the hybrid styles which can emerge when cultures meet. The contributors also consider how we, in the post-colonial era, should interpret the cultural production of the colonial world and how through displaying these objects, contemporary museum practice can address the artistic inheritance of colonialism.

Spis treści

1. Introduction  Part 1:  2. The South Kensington Museum and the Colonial Project  3. Chinese Material Culture and British Perceptions of China in the Mid-Nineteenth Century   4. China in Britain: The Imperial Collections  5. Colonial Architecture, International Exhibitions and Official Patronage of the Indian Artisan: The Case of a Gateway from Gwalior in the Victoria and Albert Museum  6. Stylistic Hybridity and Colonial Art and Design Education: A Wooden Carved Screen by Ram Singh  7. Race, Authenticity and Colonialism: A 'Mustice' Silversmith in Philadelphia and St. Croix, 1783-1850  8. Domesticating Uzbeks: Central Asians in Soviet Decorative Arts of the Twenties and Thirties  9. Keys to the Magic Kingdom: The Gallery of Transcultural Arts in Bradford  Part 2: 10. Perspectives on Hinemihi - A Maori Meeting House  11. Maori Vision and the Imperialist Gaze  12. Gathering Souls and Objects: Missionary Collections  13. Photography at the Heart of Darkness: Herbert Lang's Congo Photographs (1909-15)  14. Taming the Tusk: Belgian Decorative Arts and the Promotion of Ivory as a Colonial Commodity at the 1897 Brussels International Exhibition  Bibliography  Index

O autorze

Tim Barringer is a lecturer in History of Art at the University of Birmingham, following earlier positions at Birbeck College, University of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Tom Flynn is a freelance art historian and writer. He is currently completing a book on sculpture and the body.