Ornamental blackness: the black figure in European decorative arts

Abstract

"This revelatory look at European decorative arts addresses the long-ignored implications of the depiction of Black bodies on luxury objects from the Baroque period through the nineteenth century. Adrienne L. Childs traces the complex history of the vogue for representing the Black body as an ornamental motif throughout spaces of wealth and refinement. Objects such as furniture, porcelain, clocks, silver, light fixtures, and more conveyed the taste for exoticism and portrayed the laboring Black body in the guise of décor. These objects also express larger ideas about the concept of race, romantic notions of distant lands, the harsh realities of slave labor in the colonies, the presence of Black servants in wealthy European households, and the culture of luxury consumption" -- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Introduction: finding ornamental blackness -- 1. The French Court and beyond -- 2. A Blackamoor's progress -- 3. The vanquished -- 4. Jewels, porcelain, and silver: Black bodies and eighteenth-century splendor -- 5. Blackness, luxury arts, and industry in the sumptuous nineteenth century -- 6. The Moors of Venice.