Britain and the Far East: Influence of the Orient on the Decorative Arts (OUDCE)

At the furthest extremity of the Eurasian landmass, China and Japan have long exerted a strong attraction for the British as a place of mystery, the source of desirable and elegant commodities. This study day will chart the developing relationship with this distant and exotic part of the world, at once far distant and yet consumed and reinterpreted at home; a fusion of myth and exploration, profitable commerce, conspicuous consumption, colonialism and aestheticism. Looking primarily at the decorative and material aspects, we shall also explore the social and economic dimensions of this relationship.