Osterley Case Study: Material Goods - Lacquer

Osterley Case Study: Material Goods – Lacquer

A decorative art in Japan, Korea and China, lacquerware held a particular exotic appeal for its European collectors as a luxury craft especially popular for…

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Osterley Case Study: Material Goods - Textiles

Osterley Case Study: Material Goods – Textiles

During Francis Child the elder’s tenure as EIC committee member and later as a Director, the Company was responsible for augmenting the trade in cotton…

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Osterley Case Study: Material Goods - Porcelain

Osterley Case Study: Material Goods – Porcelain

I find that the ship will floor forty half chests more of China ware than expected therefore request that you will order that quantity which…

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Osterley Case Study: Winds of Trade

Osterley Case Study: Winds of Trade

The Child family’s interest in East India Company sea trade was carried forward through their investment in shipping. Company ships were instrumental in the network…

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Shugborough Case Study: Conclusion - Reading Shugborough, Reading Chinoiserie

Shugborough Case Study: Conclusion – Reading Shugborough, Reading Chinoiserie

Shugborough represents, in very tangible form, a fascinating example of the British engagement with China during the eighteenth century.  Admiral Anson despised the Chinese, thought…

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Shugborough Case Study: The Chinese House, c.1747

Shugborough Case Study: The Chinese House, c.1747

Such was the domestic context in which a Chinese House, complete with boathouse, was erected on an island in an artificial canal to the north…

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Shugborough Case Study: China in the Eighteenth-Century British Landscape

Shugborough Case Study: China in the Eighteenth-Century British Landscape

Chinese decorative objects such as porcelain had been known in Britain long before Commodore Anson’s unhappy stay at Canton in 1743.  The Venetian painter Bellini…

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Aske Hall Case Study: East India Company Connections

Aske Hall Case Study: East India Company Connections

East India Company Connections Although Lawrence Dundas was never a ‘servant’ of the East India Company, he was closely involved in its affairs. He bought…

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Valentines Mansion Case Study: Shipwrecks and the East India Company's 'Immaterial' Material Culture

Valentines Mansion Case Study: Shipwrecks and the East India Company’s ‘Immaterial’ Material Culture

As the fate of both the Valentine and the Abergavenny attests, shipwreck was a frequent occurrence in the history of the EIC in the Georgian era. Of the 980…

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Valentines Mansion Case Study: The Valentine: The EIC's Ships at Trade and War

Valentines Mansion Case Study: The Valentine: The EIC’s Ships at Trade and War

Navigating, investing in and managing the vessels that carried the EIC’s goods from India to Britain was a risky business in the eighteenth century. European…

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