Framing ‘Islamic Art’ for aesthetic interiors: revisiting the 1878 Paris exhibition
Art islamique pour intérieurs d'esthétiques: l'exposition universelle de 1878 à Paris revisitée
Résumé
The 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris is known for the substantial scope and content of its Islamic art displays – the most extensive yet offered to an international audience. A renewed analysis demonstrates that this influential Paris event featured a network of distinct – though often interlinked - installations that come under that label, situated across a complex site. These included national initiatives, such as ‘L’Egypte des khalifes’ sponsored by the ruling Khedive of Egypt, and the purpose-built ‘Pavilion de Perse’ constructed by master-builders dispatched from Qajar Tehran. Commercial undertakings included Vincent Robinson’s Iranian carpets displayed in the British India section, and the ‘Galerie orientale’ curated by Albert Goupil in the Palais du Trocadero, where objects from private collections were on loan. Common across these various displays was persuasively staged architecture. This co-written article argues for the centrality of architectural salvage and reconstruction to the early history of private and public displays of Islamic art. By examining the different individuals who created both ‘L’Egypte des khalifes’ and ‘La Galerie orientale’, the article will propose a new assessment of an elite domestic culture, pursued by affluent bachelor aesthetes of the period, with many modern resonances.
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