ADFAS Canberra Guest: Vivienne Lawes Lecture

THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND EAST–WEST TRADE: CHINTZ, CHINESE EXPORT AND CHINOISERIE, 1600–1800

This lecture explores how the East India Company developed its methods of trade and facilitated the increasingly sophisticated and profound exchange of ideas between East and West. It focuses on textile design, but also includes wallpaper, porcelain and furniture, as well as the vast commercial trade in spices and tea. Concentrating at first on the 17th century textile trade with India, Viv then turns to the 18th century and the trade with imperial China. The distinction is drawn between export trade and evolving Western culture.