Travelling and Exoticism / Trade and cultural interaction

The material culture that resulted from trade, which at first was disseminated among the elite, afterwards became accessible to another tier of the general population.

The city of Lisbon, which was an important port of entrance for foreign products, played an important role in the diffusion of new tastes and habits. The tastes learned and the habits acquired were then transformed before finally being adopted by a number of other European courts in their ceremonial and courtly rituals.
The material culture that resulted from trade, which at first was disseminated among the elite, afterwards became accessible to another tier of the general population: commodities such as coffee, tea and chocolate became popular beverages, prompting the creation and adoption of new styles in the fine and applied arts, such as bureau cabinets to display porcelain. Sometimes the exotic and picturesque mingled, thus the concept of the exotic was in itself enlarged.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Grande Panorama de Lisboa / Panoramic View of Lisbonc. 1700National Tile Museum
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon is recorded on this tile panel, measuring almost 23 m-wide, produced before the earthquake of 1755. Depicting approximately 14 km of the riverbank, it shows a vast panoramic view of the capital and its outskirts, with focus on the centre of political and economic power, including the development of the city around the Royal Palace of Ribeira. Lisbon played a major role in the dissemination throughout Europe of new products, tastes and habits.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Grande Panorama de Lisboa / Panoramic View of Lisbonc. 1700National Tile Museum
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Built by King Manuel I in the 16th century close to the River Tagus, the royal palace was totally destroyed by the earthquake in 1755. The palace was a scenic setting for the court and an impressive venue for receiving diplomats: the Terreiro do Paço or court terrace was the main setting or point of departure for bullfights, the auto-de-fé of the Inquisition, Corpus Christi festivities and promenades on the river.
King João V of Portugal Drinking Coffee and Chocolate1720 (miniature); first quarter of the 18th century (silver frame)National Museum of Ancient Art
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
The painted miniature depicts King João V of Portugal seated and surrounded by a group of courtesans who are being served coffee and chocolate. These beverages, which at first were very fashionable among Portuguese aristocracy, then became popular throughout the rest of Europe. Set within an ornate silver frame displaying the royal coat-of-arms, this is one of only a few Joanine court artefacts to have survived the Earthquake of 1755.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
King João V of Portugal Drinking Coffee and Chocolate1720 (miniature); first quarter of the 18th century (silver frame)National Museum of Ancient Art
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
A coffee pot, hot chocolate maker, tea cups and a bottle alluding to the popularity of these beverages among the elite.
Bureau cabinet for the display of porcelainSecond quarter of the 18th centuryMuseum of Arts and Crafts
Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia
While the design for this type of furniture is typical of Venetian production, its purpose reflects the contemporary European enthusiasm for the art of the Far East, especially porcelain and lacquerwork. Although lacquer and porcelain objects were imported into Europe, European craftsmen attempted to master the techniques of lacquer and porcelain production. The first European porcelain factories opened in the first-half of the 18th century. The popularity of these wares resulted in special porcelain- and lacquerwork display halls in mansions and palaces, and the use of bureau cabinets such as this one.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Bureau cabinet for the display of porcelainSecond quarter of the 18th centuryMuseum of Arts and Crafts
Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia
Shelves displaying porcelain ware.
Still life with Fruits, Parrots and a White Cockatoo1710sHungarian National Gallery
Budapest, Közép-Magyarország / Central Hungary, Hungary
The Hungarian painter, Jacob Bogdány, travelled throughout Vienna and Amsterdam and finally reached London in 1688, where he worked for the English royal family. He painted animal compositions, mainly exotic birds, designed to go above doors or for mantelpieces.
Masquarade Ic. 1740Moravian Gallery, Brno
Governor's Palace, Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic
For this picture Minderhout works in the tradition of morality scenes based on aristocratic society. It was probably inspired by the prints of Claude Gillot (1673–1722) featuring scenes from commedia dell´arte, and the work of Hendrick Govaerts (1669–1720), from Antwerp, who was active in Prague and Vienna during the period when theatre established itself as part of court life. This type of scene was influenced by the Galli-Bibiena family, who were decorators to the Vienna court and well-known for their theatre designs, and whose members and pupils worked for the Czech and Moravian nobility. Czech and Moravian aristocrats often attended performances in Vienna and cultivated theatre culture in their own palaces.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Masquarade Ic. 1740Moravian Gallery, Brno
Governor's Palace, Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic
Figures wearing exotic costumes.
Monstrance of the Bemposta1740–1780National Museum of Ancient Art
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
A gilded-silver and gold monstrance encrusted with precious jewels and distingued by quality chiselling, which is the result of Portugal's trade with Brazil. Scholars attribute it to J. F. Ludovice, the German goldsmith and architect of the convent of Mafra. The sunburst, encircled by clouds, has irregular rays that are encrusted with precious stones.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Monstrance of the Bemposta1740–1780National Museum of Ancient Art
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
The surface of the monstrance is encrusted with precious stones mined in Brazil, some of them large, and all of them excellent quality. The spectacular decorative and chromatic effect created by the metal and gemstones befits the Baroque sense of theatre.