Bowl c. 1775 - 1800

This delicately painted bowl sits within a long history of cross-cultural exchange. Its anonymous maker would have been working in a world increasingly shaped by the movement of goods and ideas. Looking closely, you’ll see the bowl is decorated with chinoiserie motifs. These fanciful, distinctly European interpretations of Chinese aesthetics were incredibly popular in the 18th century. They speak to Europe’s fascination with the “exotic” East. But it's a vision of the East filtered through Western fantasies and colonial desires. Consider what it means to create an object that embodies both admiration and misrepresentation. Whose stories get told, and whose are erased in this dance of cultural appropriation? Ultimately, this bowl invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in cultural exchange. It asks us to consider the complex relationship between perception, appropriation, and artistic creation.