Since ancient times, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony and ivory have circulated along the trade routes, revealing a taste for rare and precious materials. During the Renaissance in Europe, amateurs and princes collected these curiosities in their cabinets, while the crowds became enthusiastic about exotic...
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Since ancient times, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony and ivory have circulated along the trade routes, revealing a taste for rare and precious materials. During the Renaissance in Europe, amateurs and princes collected these curiosities in their cabinets, while the crowds became enthusiastic about exotic animals, ostriches, rhinoceroses, elephants and giraffes, which became models for artists.
While objects from China, Japan or even the "Indies" respond to the European elite's infatuation with other lands, they also reveal the interplay of influences and artistic adaptations from one world to another. Finally, the collections made during the great scientific and archaeological expeditions that multiplied between the 18th and 20th centuries remind us of the permanence of this curiosity for the unknown and conclude this journey to far-off places.
Exhibition at the Louvre's Petite Galerie from 22 September 2021 to 4 July 2022.
French
192 pages
Seuil / Louvre éditions
Collection Petite Galerie !
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