Travel, Collecting, and Museums of Asian Art in Nineteenth-Century Paris

'Chang is at her most compelling in unravelling the master narratives in the field with her interpretation of Goncourt's collection... a welcome addition to the scholarship on Asian art collecting.' Journal of the History of Collections 'This book offers fresh and provocative analytical frames for the study of the formation of nineteenth-century Euro-American collections of Asian art through an examination of the activities of three French collectors.' H-France '...clearly written and persuasively argued... makes an original contribution to this emerging area of art history by concentrating on the material aspects of works of art and to the literature of colonial encounters, stressing neglected areas such as the complexity of economic and social relations in these human encounters.' Journal of Art Historiography 'Ting Chang's erudite and intriguing study of travel and Asian art collections in nineteenth-century Paris offers a challenging re-examination of collections and objects... The richness of references and critical frameworks offers a nuanced discussion of preconceptions and presents new conclusions about the relationships between East and West and the complex structures at play in intercultural exchange and interpretation.' Nineteenth-Century French Studies 'By focusing on collecting as a form of cross-cultural encounter, and attending to the specific experiences of her collectors as they assembled and displayed their treasures, she has produced an illuminating study spiralling outwards in unexpected directions.' French Studies