www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
From Artefact to Daily Life EnvironmentFrom Artefact to Daily Life Environment
The « The « East India Company StyleEast India Company Style » »
in the Eighteenth-Century Pondicherry Trading Postin the Eighteenth-Century Pondicherry Trading Post
Europe's Asian Centuries, Trading Eurasia 1600-1830The University of Warwick
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford1st & 2nd July, 2011
Material Encounters of the East India Trade 1600-1830
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
INTR
OD
UCT
ION
Map of India by d’Anville, mid-18th CenturyMusée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient (France) – MCDI 967-1-8R
Pondicherry
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
INTR
OD
UCT
ION
Probate inventories of the French in India :
-Five trading posts : Pondicherry, Mahé, Karikal, Yanaon, Chandernagor-National Archives of Overseas Territories (Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer) Aix-en-Provence (France)
SourcesSources
Museum collections :
-Musée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient – France-Musée des Arts Décoratifs de l’océan Indien, La Réunion – France-Museum of Pondicherry, Pondicherry - India
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Teak CupboardEmbroidery Centre, Pondicherry (India)
Rosewood Console TableMuseum of Pondicherry (India)
The scope of analysisThe scope of analysis
- Sitting rooms or dining rooms in French homes- Mostly pieces of furniture- The « East India Company Style »
(local Indian types of wood and European Shapes)
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Teak Chest of Drawers, mid-18th Century, PondicherryMusée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient (France) – AF 3296
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Teak Chest of Drawers, mid-18th Century, PondicherryMusée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient (France) – AF 3296
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Teak Settee, mid-18th Century, PondicherryMusée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient (France) – AF 5861
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Teak Settee, mid-18th Century, PondicherryMusée de la Compagnie des Indes de la Ville de Lorient (France) – AF 5861
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
I. D
ESCR
IPTI
ON
OF
INTE
RIO
R FU
RNIS
HIN
G
Composition of interior furnishing in Pondicherry French Homes
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
II. T
HE
EVO
LUTI
ON
OF
THE
CON
CEPT
OF
EXO
TISM
The Concept of ExoticismThe Concept of Exoticism
- One of the decisive factors in the decision to acquire interior furnishing
- Exoticism: « the search for an elsewere, for something distant, not familiar, and which fascinates and attracts »
- Three factors: - Period of arrival in India- Lenght of residence- Current trends in the trading post
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
II. T
HE
EVO
LUTI
ON
OF
THE
CON
CEPT
OF
EXO
TISM
Evolution of the perception of Exoticism in Pondicherry
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
III. F
ROM
EXO
TISM
TO
OPE
NIN
G O
NTO
CI
VILI
ZATI
ON
S
- 1740’s / 1750’s: the desire for collecting grows
- Homogeneous collection of artefacts: - Prints from China- Terracotta statuettes from China- Stone or bronze Statues- Moorish weapons
The desire to collectThe desire to collect
The interest in civilizationsThe interest in civilizations
- Humanism: opening of minds
- Necessity for the French of knowing their interlocutors
www.univ-ubs.frKévin Le Doudic / [email protected]
CON
CLU
SIO
N
- The qualitative and quantitative analyses must be done in pairs to obtain a faithful
vision of the daily life environment
- Studies: on material, social, and cultural levels
- To go further:
- To correlate the composition of the interiors and the evolution of the
perception
of exoticism
- To distinguish two different periods: forced / choosen acquisition
- Identification of the mechanisms of transition between the two periods