A three-day international colloquium was held from 25 to 27 September on ‘The Commerce and Circulation of the Decorative Arts 1792-1914: Auctions, Dealers, Collectors and Museums’ at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon. With sessions on auctions, defining the dealer, dealer-decorators in the Gilded Age, the art market and the museum, networks and cultural exchange across the oceans, the Middle East and Asia in Europe, connoisseurship – framing and reconfiguring objects for the market – and research approaches for the digital age, the conference aimed to redress the scholarly bias that has, hitherto, tended to focus on the market for fine arts.
Over 30 speakers took part, many of them emerging scholars, to share their insightful new research that was informed by in-depth archival work and object study. The brainchild of Camille Mestagh, it was part of her wider research project on the market for decorative arts: OBJECTive (ANR ACCESS ERC ) : OBJECTive – ANR Objects Through the Art Market : A Global Perspective – LARHRA, sponsored by Université Lumière Lyon-2, ENS Lyon, LARHRA, SAPRAT (EPHE). Lyon, with its silk industry heritage, was a fitting venue and the museum, with its wonderful collection, proved an ideal setting for animated discussion and networking among the many participants. The conference brought together academics from around the world: France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Greece and Spain. Similarly, the audience comprised not only academics but dealers, auctioneers and collectors. TIAMSA members Camille Mestagh and Diana Davis, co-organisers, wish to thank the scientific committee, the museum and the university of Lyon for their support and encouragement. A publication of the conference proceedings is planned.
You must be logged in to post a comment.