Monash University – The University of Warwick
2010-11 Strategic Funding Initiative for Joint Research and
Education Programmes
REPORT ON FUNDED ACTIVITY
Joint Project Title
Gifts, Global Connections and Early Modern Material Culture
Actual Start Date
March 2011
Actual End Date
Monash University
November 2011
Warwick University
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Title / Name
Dr Adam Clulow
Professor Giorgio Riello
Details of Project
KEY OUTCOMES.
The statement of anticipated outcomes and deliverables as per your proposal is provided here. Please
respond against this explaining what you have actually been able to achieve.
Please be sure to include a list of any papers completed or submitted for publication, including the
name of the relevant journal or publication, and/or any grants applied for (amount and to which funding
agencies you have applied).
Anticipated Outcomes:
-
A workshop to be held in Fiesole, Italy.
Depending on the quality of the contributions, the papers from this workshop will be collected
and submitted for publication as a special issue of an A-ranked journal or a related publication.
Overview:
A workshop was held at the European University Institute, Department of History and Civilization in
Florence on 20-21 June 2011 (please see programme). The workshop gathered together fifteen
scholars, primarily from Monash and Warwick but also from Italy, France, the United States and other
UK institutions (The European University Institute, York St John University, Université de Lille, Victoria
and Albert Museum, University of York, University of Bologna, Alfred University and University of
Teramo in Italy). In total, eleven papers were presented over two days.
As outlined in the initial application, the central theme of the workshop dealt with the role of gifts –
strategic exchanges of luxury goods – in the creation of a global network of prestige goods in the first
age of globalization. The presenters considered diplomatic gifts brought back by Dutch administrators
from Brazil, key exchanges of items between English representatives and Chinese officials in the
eighteenth century, offerings made by the Dutch East India Company to the Tokugawa shogun in early
modern Japan, courtly gift networks in Europe, and a range of other topics.
In addition to the workshop, separate planning meetings were held between staff at Monash and
Warwick to discuss ways to deepen the collaboration between the two universities. It was agreed to
focus our efforts on providing opportunities for research training for PhD candidates and other graduate
students at both universities. In this regard, two postgraduate research training seminars using highdefinition video conference suites will be held in which students can present their research and receive
feedback from their peers as well as from staff from both institutions.
The first of these seminars will be held on the 25th November 2011 with a second to follow on the 27th
April 2012. Four postgraduate coordinators (two at Warwick and two at Monash) have been appointed
from within the student body to drive forward this collaboration. The coordinators will develop links
between the two postgraduate communities, and will ensure that opportunities are created for students
to draw on the resources of the partner institution.
During the meetings in Florence, we discussed possibilities for further externally-funded connection and
collaboration. The Monash-Warwick connection will now be built into future applications to central
funding bodies such as the ARC.
To further the collaboration and introduce Warwick staff to the wider department, Giorgio Riello
travelled to Monash in August to present his research at a seminar organized by the History
department.
Courts and Luxury in the Early Modern World
20-21 June 2011
Held at European University Institute, Department of History and Civilization, Villa Schifanoia, Florence
organized by
The Warwick Global History and Culture Centre, Monash University
and the European University Institute,
Monday 20 June 2011
10.00-10.15
Introduction
10.15-12.15
Session 1. Production for the Courts.
Chair: Giorgio Riello (University of Warwick)
10.15-11.00
Anne Gerritsen (Warwick University), ‘The Material Culture of the Yuan Court’
11.00-11.30
Coffee Break
11.30-12.15
Guido Guerzoni (Bocconi University, Milan), ‘Make or Buy? The economic Impact of
Este Manufactures in the Sixteenth Century’
12.15-13.45
Lunch
13.45-18.00
Session 2. Gifts and Embassies
Chair: Luca Molà (European University Institute)
13.45-14.30
Adam Clulow (Monash University), ‘Gifts for the Shogun: The Dutch East India
Company, Global Networks and Tokugawa Japan’
14.30-15.15
Sarah Bercusson (York St John University) ‘Gift-giving and the Female Consort: The
Creation of Courtly Networks’
15.15-16.00
Susie Protschky (Monash University), ‘Maintaining the Lustre of the Golden Age: Tales
for Tourists in Dutch and Danish Museum Collections of Courtly and Colonial Gifts’
16.00-16.30
Coffee Break
16.30-17.15
Stephen McDowall (Warwick University), ‘Commodore Anson’s (1697-1762) Cantonese
Porcelain and Two Competing Histories of a Diplomatic Exchange of 1743’
17.15-18.00
Margot Finn (Warwick University), ‘Rejecting the Princely Gift: Public and Private in
East India Company Exchange’
Tuesday 21 June 2011
9.30-13.00.
Session 3. The Material Culture of the Court
Chair: Giulia Calvi (European University Institute)
9.30-10.15
Isabelle Paresys (Université de Lille), ‘Luxury Dress at Court in Early Modern France’
10.15-11.00
Susan Strong (Victoria and Albert Museum), ‘New Year at the Mughal Court’
11.00-11.30
Coffee Break
11.30-12.15
Hannah Greig (University of York), ‘Faction and Fashion: The Sartorial Politics of Court
Dress in Eighteenth-Century England’
12.15-13.45
Lunch
13.45-16.45.
Session 4. Collecting and Exotica
Chair: Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli (University of Bologna)
13.45-14.30
Leah R. Clark (Alfred University), ‘Pawning and Exchange in the Italian Courts: The
Circulation and Replication of Gems and Jewels in the Quattrocento’
14.30-15.15
Raffaella Morselli (University of Teramo), ‘Ferdinando Gonzaga and his Museum: Trade
and Collections of Exotic Objects in Mantua in the Seventeenth Century’
15.15-15.45
Coffee Break
15.45-17.00
Final Roundtable followed by drinks and dinner
Due to the diverse nature of the papers and the fact that many of the presenters have already made
publication arrangements, it was resolved to focus on postgraduate publication as the best outcome for
this collaboration. It is anticipated that some of the papers presented by graduate students at the
seminars will later be submitted for publication. Discussions are currently underway to link the
seminars to a special issue of a journal focused on visual and material culture.
PLANNED FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
-
Two Online Postgraduate seminars to be held on the 25th November 2011 and the 27th April
2012. Four postgraduate coordinators (two at Warwick and two at Monash) have been
appointed with the aim of fostering PG collaboration between the two institutions.
PLEASE ADD ANY FEEDBACK TO ASSIST WITH THE OPERATION OF FUTURE ROUNDS
BELOW
The different research strengths of the two History departments and institutions as well as the different
timetables of the academic years in Australia and the United Kingdom make possible a fruitful
postgraduate exchange, especially at PhD level. We would like to encourage both universities to think
specifically about the mobility of students as part of the internationalisation of the two institutions.
We hope that future funding will be made available to support one student from Monash to spend a
month at Warwick (possibly January-February) and one student from Warwick to spend a month at
Monash (possibly August-September). This exchange should be based on the appointment of a
supervisor in the hosting institution and the full participation of the visiting student in the life of the
hosting institution. This scheme would favour access to resources and academic expertise, but also a
deeper understanding of academic institutions in other countries.
PARTICIPANTS
University
Title / Name
Position
Department
Faculty/School
York St John
University
Dr Sarah Bercusson
Lecturer
History
European
University Institute
Prof. Giulia Calvi
Professor
History
Alfred University
Dr Leah R. Clark
Assistant Professor
History
Monash
Dr Adam Clulow
Lecturer
History
Philosophical, Historical
and International Studies
Warwick
Prof. Margot Finn
Professor
History
Humanities
Dr Anne Gerritsen
Associate Professor
History
Humanities
Univ. of York
Dr Hannah Greig
Lecturer
History
Univ. Bocconi,
Milan
Dr Guido Guerzoni
Research Fellow
Management and Politics
Warwick
Dr Stephen McDowall
Research Fellow
History
Univ. of Bologna
Prof. Giuseppina Muzzarelli
Professor
History
European
University Institute
Prof. Luca Molà
Professor
History
Univ. of Teramo
Prof. Raffaella Morselli
Professor
Scienze dell’educazione
Université de Lille
Dr Isabelle Paresys
Lecturer
Institute of Historical
Research
Monash
Dr Susie Protschky
ARC Postdoctoral Fellow
History
Philosophical, Historical
and International Studies
Warwick
Dr Giorgio Riello
Associate Professor
History
Humanities
Victoria and Albert
Museum
Ms Susan Stronge
Senior Curator
Asian Arts
Humanities
Once completed, this form should be submitted jointly by email to:
WARWICK: Victoria Strudwick, Senior Liaison Officer, International Office, Tel: +44 (0)24 7657 5543
Email: victoria.strudwick@warwick.ac.uk
MONASH: Allan Mahler, Project Officer, Office of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement).
Tel: +61 3 9905 0909
Email: adm-funding@monash.edu