Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Global Qing: Decorative Objects of the Eighteenth-Century Court

Global Qing: Decorative Objects of the Eighteenth-Century Court

Kleutghen, Kristina

Hardcover

Art HistoryChinese Art

PREORDER - Expected ship date February 9, 2027

ISBN10: 0295755415
ISBN13: 9780295755410
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: Feb 9 2027
Pages: 296
Language: English

Imperial objects reveal a dynasty consciously engaging the foreign

In the eighteenth century, the Beijing imperial palaces displayed lavish decorative objects that embodied the Qing dynasty's engagement with the wider world. Global Qing uncovers the deeper meaning of these works through three remarkable categories: enameled Yixing ceramics inspired by Europe, lacquerwares evoking Japan, and carved jades associated with Hindustan. Together, these objects reveal a court fascinated by foreign materials, technologies, and aesthetics.

Produced or finished in the imperial workshops for the emperors Kangxi (r. 1661-1722), Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735), and Qianlong (r. 1736-1795), these objects did not simply imitate foreign styles. Instead, they translated global ideas into distinctly Qing forms. Artisans experimented with materials and techniques to evoke the feel of foreign craftsmanship while adapting those elements to ruling taste and political symbolism.

By examining how these objects were produced and appreciated within the palace, Kristina Kleutghen reveals a sophisticated strategy of cultural engagement. Decorative objects allowed the High Qing emperors to position the empire among other great civilizations of the eighteenth-century world. Objects associated with Europe, Japan, and Hindustan were carefully crafted to express imperial confidence, technical mastery, and cosmopolitan ambition.

Blending art history, material culture studies, and global history, Global Qing offers a compelling new interpretation of High Qing imperial culture, showing that China's eighteenth-century court was actively participating in global exchange through objects of extraordinary craftsmanship.

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