India by Design: Colonial History and Cultural Display

by Saloni Mathur

India by Colonial History and Cultural Display maps for the first time a series of historical events―from the Raj in the mid-nineteenth century up to the present day―through which India was made fashionable to Western audiences within the popular cultural arenas of the imperial metropole. Situated at the convergence of discussions in anthropology, art history, museum studies, and postcolonial criticism, this dynamic study investigates with vivid historical detail how Indian objects, bodies, images, and narratives circulated through metropolitan space and acquired meaning in an emergent nineteenth-century consumer economy. Through an examination of India as represented in department stores, museums, exhibitions, painting, and picture postcards of the era, the book carefully confronts the problems and politics of postcolonial display and offers an original and provocative account of the implications of colonial practices for visual production in our contemporary world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

230 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2007

Reviews

[Samir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a dancer, artist, and service designer. I am NOT an academic nor am I in school. I forget how I came across the book but my life is richer for having read Mathur's well-researched, penetrating deconstruction of how the West sees India, how Indian art sees itself, and the impact of 300 years of history of and the construction of Indian "high" and "low" arts.

As other reviewers had written, the book is dense at times. In fact I'm not embarrassed to admit a few sentences made absolutely no sense to me no matter how many times I read them (An account of the dynamic processes of reinscription and reconfiguration that objects put into play is one way to challenge the powerful assumptions regarding objects, places, and permanent "homes" that persist in determining our contemporary paradigms of museology and its discourses of return.) though admittedly these times were rare. The joys of the book are found far beyond her seemingly thorough examinations of the arts of the subcontinent. the author gives delightful brief histories like that of the postcard she delivers in chapter 4.

This book brings together the world of art the (then) emerging science of anthropology, the fashionable culture of the department store, and the professional practices of painters and museum curators in crafting a picture of Indian culture.

[Lilly Irani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super academic. Super interesting for me but probably not a page-turner if you're not also an academic interested in cultural globalization, material culture, or conceptions of cultural authenticity.

[Nageen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only if the academic jargon was limited...

[J.M. Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

just ok, Miwon Kwon's chapter was my fav obvi