Christina M. Anderson – författare

Despite the central importance of connoisseurship in the rarefied world of art collecting, it occupies an uncomfortable position in modern scholarship. On the one hand, the concept retains a significant role in the study of art and the care of public and private collections when it is linked with art appreciation, qualities visible to the attuned eye, or the processes of attribution and authentication. On the other hand, the last century has seen connoisseurship marginalized in academic discourse: it is often associated with amateurism, social elitism, status-display, and intellectual mystification. The present collection of essays enters this breach and--by adopting a broad, interdisciplinary approach--considers connoisseurship afresh, investigating its practice in both familiar and unexpected places. Essays on the role of connoisseurship in Western art history appear alongside innovative, global perspectives on Chinese numismatics and walnut collecting, wine and coffee expertise, the market for geological specimens, and the parallels between Morellian connoisseurship and modern forensics. These essays resonate with one another in surprising ways and create new dialogues about connoisseurship's meaning and application, demonstrating that its practice can be both intuitive and scientific.

Early Modern Merchants as Collectors encourages the rethinking of collecting not as an elite, often aristocratic pursuit, but rather as a vital activity that has engaged many different groups within society. The essays included in this volume consider merchants not only as important collectors in their own right, as opposed to merely agents or middlemen, but also as innovators who determined taste. Through bringing together contributions on merchant collectors across a wide geographical spread, including England, The Netherlands, Venice, Moghul India, China and Japan, among other locations, it aims to challenge the often Eurocentric view of the study of collecting that has shaped the discipline to date. The early modern period and its Wunderkammern formed the subject of some of the earliest, foundational texts on collecting. This volume expands on such previous scholarship, taking a more in-depth look at a particular class of collectors and investigating their motivations, social and economic circumstances, and the intellectual ideas and purposes that informed their collecting. It offers a fresh approach to the understanding of the role of merchants in early modern societies and will serve as a resource to historians of art, science, museums, culture and economics, as well as to scholars of transcultural studies.

The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift: the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms, and materials. In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift: the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms, and materials. In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 18th century saw the height of court culture in Europe as well as the beginnings of its demise with conflicts such as the American and French Revolutions. The Scientific Revolution, which had begun in the preceding centuries, also ushered in a new intellectual era which advocated the use of reason to effect change in government and to advance progress in society. For furniture, this meant ever-higher standards of luxury in the designs, techniques and materials utilized for the best pieces, and more structure and specialization in the furniture-making process itself. Furniture also came into its own during this period as a collectable work of art on its own merits. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 18th century saw the height of court culture in Europe as well as the beginnings of its demise with conflicts such as the American and French Revolutions. The Scientific Revolution, which had begun in the preceding centuries, also ushered in a new intellectual era which advocated the use of reason to effect change in government and to advance progress in society. For furniture, this meant ever-higher standards of luxury in the designs, techniques and materials utilized for the best pieces, and more structure and specialization in the furniture-making process itself. Furniture also came into its own during this period as a collectable work of art on its own merits. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 19th century in Western culture was a time of both confidence and turbulence. Industrial development produced a growing middle class as well as efficiency, convenience, and innovation across a range of fields from engineering to architecture. Alongside these improvements, the century began with the extended period of the Napoleonic Wars and was further disrupted by rebellions and revolutions both within Europe and in India, South America and other parts of the world. Slavery was abolished and urbanization increased dramatically. These myriad developments were reflected throughout the period in the proliferation of types of furniture, along with their categorization as ''industrial art'' at the international exhibitions and world fairs and the increasingly adventurous range of materials that were sometimes used in their construction. Nonetheless, a strong antiquarian/historicist strand also prompted interest in the revival of past styles in areas of art and design, including furniture. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 19th century in Western culture was a time of both confidence and turbulence. Industrial development produced a growing middle class as well as efficiency, convenience, and innovation across a range of fields from engineering to architecture. Alongside these improvements, the century began with the extended period of the Napoleonic Wars and was further disrupted by rebellions and revolutions both within Europe and in India, South America and other parts of the world. Slavery was abolished and urbanization increased dramatically. These myriad developments were reflected throughout the period in the proliferation of types of furniture, along with their categorization as ''industrial art'' at the international exhibitions and world fairs and the increasingly adventurous range of materials that were sometimes used in their construction. Nonetheless, a strong antiquarian/historicist strand also prompted interest in the revival of past styles in areas of art and design, including furniture. Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift: the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms, and materials. In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 18th century saw the height of court culture in Europe as well as the beginnings of its demise with conflicts such as the American and French Revolutions. The Scientific Revolution, which had begun in the preceding centuries, also ushered in a new intellectual era which advocated the use of reason to effect change in government and to advance progress in society. For furniture, this meant ever-higher standards of luxury in the designs, techniques and materials utilized for the best pieces, and more structure and specialization in the furniture-making process itself. Furniture also came into its own during this period as a collectable work of art on its own merits.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 19th century in Western culture was a time of both confidence and turbulence. Industrial development produced a growing middle class as well as efficiency, convenience, and innovation across a range of fields from engineering to architecture. Alongside these improvements, the century began with the extended period of the Napoleonic Wars and was further disrupted by rebellions and revolutions both within Europe and in India, South America and other parts of the world. Slavery was abolished and urbanization increased dramatically.These myriad developments were reflected throughout the period in the proliferation of types of furniture, along with their categorization as 'industrial art' at the international exhibitions and world fairs and the increasingly adventurous range of materials that were sometimes used in their construction. Nonetheless, a strong antiquarian/historicist strand also prompted interest in the revival of past styles in areas of art and design, including furniture.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

Furniture is an artifact so what can it tell us about culture? What social, religious, political, and economic factors have shaped its form and functions? How does furniture demonstrate the transformations in private and public life across time and cultures?In a work that spans 4,500 years, 60 experts chart across six volumes the changing cultural framework within which furniture was designed, produced, and used in Western Europe. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole and, to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six.The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity (2500 BCE - 500 CE); 2 - Middle Ages and Renaissance (500 - 1500); 3 - Age of Exploration (1500 - 1700); 4 - Age of Enlightenment (1700 - 1800); 5 - Age of Empire and Industry (1800 - 1900); 6 - Modern Age (1900 - present).Themes (and chapter titles) are: design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.The total extent of the pack is 1,792 pages. Each volume opens with a series preface, an introduction, and notes on contributors and concludes with notes, bibliography, and an index.The Cultural Histories SeriesA Cultural History of Furniture is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com . Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com .

Early Modern Merchants as Collectors encourages the rethinking of collecting not as an elite, often aristocratic pursuit, but rather as a vital activity that has engaged many different groups within society. The essays included in this volume consider merchants not only as important collectors in their own right, as opposed to merely agents or middlemen, but also as innovators who determined taste. Through bringing together contributions on merchant collectors across a wide geographical spread, including England, The Netherlands, Venice, Moghul India, China and Japan, among other locations, it aims to challenge the often Eurocentric view of the study of collecting that has shaped the discipline to date. The early modern period and its Wunderkammern formed the subject of some of the earliest, foundational texts on collecting. This volume expands on such previous scholarship, taking a more in-depth look at a particular class of collectors and investigating their motivations, social and economic circumstances, and the intellectual ideas and purposes that informed their collecting. It offers a fresh approach to the understanding of the role of merchants in early modern societies and will serve as a resource to historians of art, science, museums, culture and economics, as well as to scholars of transcultural studies.

The 16th and 17th centuries in Europe witnessed a significant paradigm shift: the exploration so characteristic of the period stemmed from religious motives but came to be propelled by commerce and curiosity as Europeans increasingly engaged with the rest of the world. Interiors in both public and private spaces changed to reflect these cultural encounters and, with them, the furniture with which they were populated. Visually, furniture of this period displayed new designs, forms, and materials. In its uses, it also mirrored developments in science, technology, government and social relationships as prints became more widely distributed, the Wunderkammer developed and there was religious strife and resistance to absolute monarchical rule.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 18th century saw the height of court culture in Europe as well as the beginnings of its demise with conflicts such as the American and French Revolutions. The Scientific Revolution, which had begun in the preceding centuries, also ushered in a new intellectual era which advocated the use of reason to effect change in government and to advance progress in society. For furniture, this meant ever-higher standards of luxury in the designs, techniques and materials utilized for the best pieces, and more structure and specialization in the furniture-making process itself. Furniture also came into its own during this period as a collectable work of art on its own merits.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

The 19th century in Western culture was a time of both confidence and turbulence. Industrial development produced a growing middle class as well as efficiency, convenience, and innovation across a range of fields from engineering to architecture. Alongside these improvements, the century began with the extended period of the Napoleonic Wars and was further disrupted by rebellions and revolutions both within Europe and in India, South America and other parts of the world. Slavery was abolished and urbanization increased dramatically.These myriad developments were reflected throughout the period in the proliferation of types of furniture, along with their categorization as 'industrial art' at the international exhibitions and world fairs and the increasingly adventurous range of materials that were sometimes used in their construction. Nonetheless, a strong antiquarian/historicist strand also prompted interest in the revival of past styles in areas of art and design, including furniture.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.

Furniture is a unique witness to the transformations of private and public experience amidst the upheavals of the 20th century: how we work, rest, and play are determined by the embodied encounter with furniture, defining and projecting a sense of identity and status, responding to and exemplifying contrasting social conditions, political and economic motivations, aesthetic predilections, and debates. Assessing physical and archival evidence drawn from a spectrum of iconic and under-represented case studies, an international team of design historians collaborate in this volume to explore key methodological questions about how the production, consumption, and mediation of furniture reveal shifting cultural habits and histories across diverse contexts amidst modernity.Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume of A Cultural History of Furniture presents essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of the modern period on the themes of design and motifs; makers, making, and materials; types and uses; the domestic setting; the public setting; exhibition and display; furniture and architecture; visual representations; and verbal representations.