Chinese Art Objects, Collecting, and Interior Design in Twentieth-Century Britain

This book explores the relationship between collecting Chinese ceramics,  interior design and display in Britain through the eyes of collectors,  designers and tastemakers during the years leading to, during and  following the Second World War.

The Ionides Collection of  European style Chinese export porcelain forms the nucleus of this study –  defined by its design hybridity – offering insights into the agency of  Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts, from seventeenth-century Batavia  to twentieth-century Britain, raising questions about notions of  Chineseness, Britishness, and identity politics across time and space.  Through the biographies of the collectors, this book highlights the role  of collecting Chinese art objects, particularly porcelain, in the  construction of individual and group identities. Social networks linking  the Ionides to agents and dealers, auctioneers, and museum specialists  bring into focus the dynamics of collecting during this period, the  taste of the Ionides and their self-fashioning as collectors.

The  book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of art  history, history of collections, interior design, Chinese studies, and  material culture studies.