-Oriental- still bank c. 1900

Curator: This cast metal piece, dating from around 1900, is known as the "-Oriental- still bank." Its anonymous maker fashioned it as both a decorative object and a functional item, intended to hold coins. Editor: It's deceptively charming at first glance, but there's an undeniable tension there. The weathered metal and simplified forms have an almost haunting quality, a stark contrast to what I assume was supposed to be playful. Curator: The iconography here is fascinating. The camel, of course, has long symbolized the "Orient" in Western eyes, embodying notions of trade, exoticism, and even subservience. Here it appears with a calf—an additional layer of gentle domestication and also alludes to ideas about wealth, as they were essential in the trading culture and wealth. Editor: That so-called "Orient" being entirely imagined, of course. That period's fascination became a form of cultural appropriation and outright domination. It is important to remember these banks weren't about cross-cultural exchange; they were a means of accumulating wealth, fueled, often, by the very exploitation of the regions the camel evokes. Curator: Yes, and this representation of exotic lands as something to be possessed – miniaturized, secured within one's home – reveals much about the Western mindset. I am reminded of decorative styles where everything Oriental has a kind of luxurious allure but also carries ideas about power imbalances. The camel being placed on a rocking platform emphasizes its commodified form of decoration to serve the home. Editor: Absolutely. It’s hard to divorce its decorative-art appeal from its troubling context. That term "Oriental" plastered on the rocker— it’s a label imposed from the outside, flattening complex realities into a single, marketable brand that is only good for decorating houses, completely dismissing their origins. I would analyze this using postcolonial approaches of inquiry to fully grasp the historic and societal perspectives of appropriation during the early twentieth century. Curator: The patina, worn away from use, whispers about the countless coins that passed through this object—each one reinforcing those established power structures and ideas. The damage to the metal, the visible signs of time and the aesthetic qualities of aging. Editor: Looking at it now, I have such a mixture of sadness, rage and disillusionment, really, with how the "allure" or the attraction can mask deeper, more unsettling dynamics of social history and global capitalism. I find myself searching for a way to return dignity and truthfulness to cultural artistic expression in this "post" era.