Creamer (part of a service) 1886 - 1896

Editor: We're looking at a "Creamer" from a larger service, crafted between 1886 and 1896 by Coalport, residing here at the Met. The porcelain piece, with its blue birds and geometric pattern, feels surprisingly opulent. How do you interpret the relationship between the East Asian motifs and its creation by a British company? Curator: Well, it's essential to situate this piece within the context of the late 19th century. What we see here is Orientalism, a Western fascination and appropriation of Asian aesthetics. Coalport, a British company, is essentially playing with established power dynamics by producing Asian-inspired decorative arts for a European market. Who benefits from these appropriations? Editor: So, it’s less about cultural exchange and more about commodity? Curator: Precisely. Consider how the imagery, the birds, the bamboo, are decontextualized, becoming design elements detached from their original cultural significance. It caters to Western desires for exoticism. Are we looking at genuine respect, or the commodification of Asian culture to generate wealth in a colonial context? Think about what's lost and gained through this translation. Editor: I hadn't considered the underlying power dynamics so explicitly, but it makes total sense when you lay it out like that. I was just looking at the birds. Curator: Right, it’s easy to get caught up in the surface-level beauty, the gold luster. But interrogating these works helps us understand the complexities of cultural exchange and appropriation, forcing us to be critical viewers and challenging preconceived notions.