Looking for China in the Museums of Naples

Iside Carbone

Affiliated Researcher, Centre for History, Lisbon University – School of Arts and Humanities;

Founder of Asia Collections Network – ACN

Director of ACN – Europe


It may not be completely hazardous to guess that material traces of China could be found in Naples already in Roman times, carried through the networks of flourishing maritime trade connecting the port of Puteoli with Asian regions. While these conjectures are, however, difficult to prove with tangible evidence, nowadays it is possible to witness the richness of the material presence of China in Naples considering a number of museum displays. This paper offers an overview of museum collections of Chinese artefacts that are a testament to the historical relevance of Chinese art and culture in Naples. It was especially from the eighteenth century onwards that the interest in what was still perceived as a world of mystery grew considerably. As a consequence, the amount of objects that arrived from China and the demand for them also increased significantly. This trend was fuelled in particular by the aesthetic fascination with Chinese artistic and ornamental products that had become extremely fashionable in Europe, by intellectual debates and by the intense engagement of Christian missions in China.

Looking at the objects on public display today, it is possible to infer perceptions and representations of China in the past as well as in the present. Together with artefacts produced in China, this presentation will also consider chinoiserie, namely artefacts with Chinese references and inspiration but produced in Europe and in this specific case, in Naples. By means of a sort of comparison or dialogue between these different categories of objects, the cross-cultural entanglement embodied by their materiality will be highlighted. The collections are also presented in relation to their settings and contextualisation in the museum environment. This allows to determine the patterns of their visibility in space and time.

Iside Carbone. Holds a PhD from the Department of Anthropology, UCL. Her research interests focus on Chinese art and material culture in particular, and on museum ethnography as well as anthropology of art in general. The monograph China in the Frame. Materialising Ideas of China in Italian Museums and the edited volume Asia Collections outside Asia. Questioning Artefacts, Cultures and Identities in the Museum are among her main publications. She is Assistant Editor for the Anthropological Index Online published by the RAI (Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland) in cooperation with the Anthropology Library and Research Centre at the British Museum. Initiator of the project Asia Collections Network (ACN), co-founder and director of the non-profit association Asia Collections Network – Europe (ACN – Europe), she is also member of relevant research groups and associations: RAI Anthropology of Art Committee; MEG (Museum Ethnographers Group); CARN (Chinese Art Research Network); EACS (European Association for Chinese Studies); EAAA (European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology); and ACHS (Association of Critical Heritage Studies).