The peregrinations of porcelain: The collections of Duchess Eleonora d’Aragona of Ferrara

Clark, Leah R. (2020). The peregrinations of porcelain: The collections of Duchess Eleonora d’Aragona of Ferrara. Journal of the History of Collections, 32(2) pp. 275–288.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jhc/fhy063

Abstract

The Medici of Florence have long been acknowledged as possessing the largest collection of Chinese porcelain in the fifteenth century, but this article reveals that in fact Eleonora d’Aragona, Duchess of Ferrara had the largest such collection in Italy at this time. In fifteenth-century Europe, porcelain came not directly from China but rather through trade and diplomacy with foreign courts, so that its peregrinations gave rise to entangled histories and reception. Taking porcelain as a case-study, it is argued here that examining collecting through the lens of trade and diplomacy provides new interpretations of – and demands new approaches to – the history of collecting.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 57522
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 1477-8564
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  The Peregrinations of Porcelain: Touch, Transfer, and Translation in Cross Cultural Exchange (1450-1500)	SG151914	BRITAC British Academy

• Keywords
• collecting; porcelain; Ferrara; Eleonora d'Aragona; cross-cultural exchange; Italian courts; Renaissance
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Arts and Humanities > Art History
  Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Arts and Humanities
  Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2019 Leah R. Clark
• Depositing User
• Leah Clark