Vortrag von Shih Ching-Fei: Canton Ivory Spheres - Raw materials, Techniques and Knowledge in a Global Context

1. Juli 2019, von AAI Webmaster

Foto: Staatl. Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Die Abteilung für Sprache und Kultur Chinas lädt herzlich ein zu einem Vortrag von Shih Ching-fei (Visiting Scholar at the Needham Research Institute/Murray Edwards College; Professor of the Graduate Institute of Art History, National Taiwan University) am 01. Juli 2019 um 18:00 Uhr in Raum 123 des Asien-Afrika-Instituts:

Canton Ivory Spheres

Raw materials, Techniques and Knowledge in a Global Context

This study began with a question: Are concentric spheres from Canton merely provincial craft items, undeserving of academic interest? First of all, we know that ivory was regarded as a precious and exotic raw material. They either came from Southeast Asia or from Africa, and became a global trade good during the early modern period. Secondly, it is possible that these Cantonese concentric spheres are related to the marvelous concentric ivory turnings from Saxony and Bavaria of the Holy Roman Empire during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Careful consideration of available evidence reveals that the concentric ivory spheres are not merely objects of wonder, nor mere Chinese emblems for the Western imagination; they are also proof of the cultural exchange between Europe and the Qing court. Furthermore, they are important embodiments of the complex relationship network between the Canton craftsmen, the Qing court ateliers, and Holy Roman Empire. Existing research has not yet explored this particular Sino-European interaction and exchange in the context of parallel global developments. This study aims to provide a broader, more global-historical (transnational) – thus perhaps a more objective – perspective on the topic by sharing verified evidences to this conjecture.