The Art of a Corporation: The East India Company as Patron and Collector, 1600-1860

Description

The Art of a Corporation is a comprehensive study of artworks that were commissioned and collected by the East India Company from the early seventeenth to the midnineteenth centuries. These items range from oil paintings on canvas and marble statuary, to sandstone Buddhas and metal figurines of Hindu deities. The book takes a chronological approach and focuses on provenance to show that objects are valuable primary resources for understanding the East India Company’s history. The artworks illustrate how one of the longest-surviving multinational corporations in the Western world changed over its three-century history and provide a powerful visual account of its perpetually reinvented image. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of art history, colonial art, colonial studies, British history, economic history, business history, South Asian history, post-colonial studies, and cultural studies. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations Preface Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1 Chaos to confidence Chapter 2 Landscape and imperialism Chapter 3 Romans Chapter 4 Scandals Chapter 5 Indian sculpture Chapter 6 Bureaucracy Chapter 7 Continuities Bibliography Index