1. Russian conceptualizations of Asia.
- Author
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Di Ruocco, Adele
- Subjects
RUSSIANS ,20TH century art -- Collectors & collecting ,ASIAN civilization ,TWENTIETH century ,COLLECTION management (Museums) ,SOCIAL history - Abstract
The question of what Asia meant for Russians living at the turn of the twentieth century is addressed here, with special reference to the history of Asian art collections in St Petersburg and Siberia against the background of the 'Great Game', an early version of the Cold War among European powers. Unlike other nations in Western Europe, Russia did not consider Asia a remote land: on the contrary, she was a sometimes beloved, sometimes hated neighbour. In light of these considerations, the artefacts and works of art present in renowned museums such as the State Hermitage, the St Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, and the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography at the Russian Academy of Science (known as the Kunstkamera) can help us better understand what issues affected Russian ways of conceptualizing Asia and what collecting practices really meant at that time. In other words, since some of the Asian collections in Russia were formed in the same period as those in England, Germany and France, it is important to examine the Russian case within a comparative framework in order to show that much more than archaeology was at stake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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