The Global Lives of Things: The Material Culture of Connections in the Early Modern World

by Anne Gerritsen, Giorgio Riello

The Global Lives of Things considers the ways in which ‘things’, ranging from commodities to works of art and precious materials, participated in the shaping of global connections in the period 1400-1800. By focusing on the material exchange between Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia, this volume traces the movements of objects through human networks of commerce, colonialism and consumption. It argues that material objects mediated between the forces of global economic exchange and the constantly changing identities of individuals, as they were drawn into global circuits. It proposes a reconceptualization of early modern global history in the light of its material culture by asking the what can we learn about the early modern world by studying its objects? This exciting new collection draws together the latest scholarship in the study of material culture and offers students a critique and explanation of the notion of commodity and a reinterpretation of the meaning of exchange. It engages with the concepts of ‘proto-globalization’, ‘the first global age’ and ‘commodities/consumption’. Divided into three parts, the volume considers in Part One, Objects of Global Knowledge, in Part Two, Objects of Global Connections, and finally, in Part Three, Objects of Global Consumption. The collection concludes with afterwords from three of the leading historians in the field, Maxine Berg, Suraiya Faroqhi and Paula Findlen, who offer their critical view of the methodologies and themes considered in the book and place its arguments within the wider field of scholarship. Extensively illustrated, and with chapters examining case studies from Northern Europe to China and Australia, this book will be essential reading for students of global history.

Genres: History, Material Culture

266 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Patricia]

A fascinating collection of scholarly essays on the itineraries of artefacts, on how local products have become globalized--how Brazilian bird feathers end up on European ladies' shoulders, and how shark and stingray skins (shagreen) from Japan traverse the world to decorate small luxury scientific objects on Englishmen's desks, how Mediterranean red coral is turned into official court beads in Chinese courts ... or how communities have been 'globalised' through a mixture of temporary and permanent residents or the artefacts that have passed through their hands. The subtitle describes the overall theme the best--the material culture of connections in the early modern world, or "where global history and material culture intersect" (p. 23).

Some essays will have more appeal than others dependent on your interests--Africa, North America, Asia--as they focus on "small but crucial portion material culture that contributed to the creation of long-distance social and economic connections" (p. 23). The numerous and excellent footnotes and bibliographies allow you to delve deeper into each topic as desired. In fact, I found some so diverting that long hours passed as I hunted down some of the references to read the source in its entirety. Many are academic articles available online from university libraries or such online services as JSTOR.

Living and doing research in Asia, I found the selections on shagreen and the trading of red coral to the Qing imperial court in the 18th century, and those chapters relating to kunstkammer, the making of vermilion, and Portugal's and Holland's early trade in Asia the most relevant. The authors' introductory essay is especially well written and should be read by anyone interested in or teaching early [trade] history or for that matter, working in a museum. Scholars have long written on the influence, for example, of Central Asian silver on Asian ceramics, but recent works such as this collection of essays make one aware that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of such examples of movement and influence.

This is a timely volume as we see more and more museums transforming their once geographically-organized galleries into 'trade galleries' and exhibitions on 'port cities' pop up all over the world. As Surabaya Faroqhi notes in an Afterword, "scholars in recent years [seem to have] become more and more interested in beautiful, unique and luxurious things" P. 247).