Asian silk in eighteenthcentury Scandinavia:
quantities, colour schemes
and impact
HANNA HODACS
Europe's Asian Centuries
Trading Eurasia 1600-1830
Global History and Culture Centre
Department of History - University of Warwick
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/ghcc/eac/
• Asian Goods in the Political
Economy of Europe
Bringing global
perspectives and
interdisciplinary
methods to bear on
histories of
industrialization,
consumer society
and material culture
Professor Maxine Berg
Project Director
• Asian Goods and European
Consumer Cultures
Investigating the
long distance
trade between
Asia and Europe
in material goods
and culture that
transformed the
early modern
world.
• Asian Goods: Making and
Distributing
• Asian Goods and the
Transmission of Knowledge
• Asian Export Ware and
Industrial Revolution
Dr Helen Clifford
Museum Consultant
Dr Hanna Hodacs
Research Fellow
Ms Meike Fellinger
PhD Student
Dr Chris Nierstrasz
Research Fellow
Ms Jiao Liu
Project Administrator
Dr Felicia Gottman
Research Fellow
Silk and Tea in the North.
Scandinavian Trade and the Market for Asian Goods in
Eighteenth Century Europe, Palgrave, forthcoming
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Scandinavian trade with China
Chapter 2: Buying Bohea in Canton: selling “Gothenburg Congo” in
Scotland
Chapter 3: Silk from China: fashion from France
Chapter 4: Relocation and substitution:
a local and global history of dyeing and drinking
Chapter 5: Tea and silk in the North: geographies and chronologies
Appendix A: Tea imported by SEIC and DAC 1731-1766
Appendix B: Wholesale traders in tea in Gothenburg (1734, 1748, 1756), and Copenhagen (1756)
Appendix C: Colour schemes on Poesis Damask, imported to Europe by SEIC
1734-761
Appendix D: Wholesale trades in silk in Gothenburg (1734, 1748, 1756), and Copenhagen (1756)
Sales Catalogue, Swedish East India Company, 1748
From Herrborum
Castle, Sweden
Objective:
Explore ways to use colours tracing
changes to the trade of Chines silk in
eighteenth century Scandinavia.
Sky blue
Citron or Lemon yellow
Sales Catalogue, Swedish East India Company, 1748
English,
modern
Ash
Cherry
Crimson
Flesh (Pink)
Jonquil Yellow
Lemon Yellow
Mazarin Blue
Mourant Blue
German*)
Asch
Kirschen
Carmoisin
Coul de Chair
Jonquille
Citron
Mazarin Blau
Bleumourant
Swedish
Askfärgad
Körsbär
Carmoise
Coul. de Chair
Jonqville
Citrongohlt
Mazarinblå
Blomerant
Danish
Aske Graa
Carmoisin
Jonquille
Citron
English
Ash
Cherry
Crimson
Junquille
Citron
Mazarin
English,
modern
Pearl
Poppy Red
Purple
Rose (Pink/Red)
Scarlet
Sky Blue
Straw
Turquin Blue
German*)
Perle
Ponso
Purpur
Coul de Rose
Scharlaken
Himmel Blau
Paille
Turquin Blau
Swedish
Perlfärg
Ponceau
Purpur
Coul. De Rose
Skarl.färg
Himmelsblå
Paille
Turqvinblått
Danish
Perle
Ponceau
Pallie
Turkin
English
Pearl
Straw
Turquin
Roesa
Purple
Pink
Scarlet
Skyblew
Bleumerant
*Sources: German from SEIC Catalogue 1733, 36,42,
Swedish from SEIC Catalogue 1740s, Danish from DAC Negotiation protocol,
English, ordering lists of the EIC
Top ten colours of Poisies Damask pieces imported by the
Swedish East India Company 1733-1761
16
14
12
10
%
8
6
4
2
0
Crimson
White
Jonquille
Skyeblue
Green
Black
Brown
Yellow
Ash
Dark blue
Relative value (Canton prices) of silk and porcelain imported by the Danish East
India Company 1734-1759
6000
20
18
5000
16
Fig. 4 Number of
pieces of Poisies
Damask imported
by the SEIC, and
number colours
14
4000
12
3000
10
8
2000
6
No. of colours/ cat
4
1000
No. of pieces
2
0
0
1733 1742 1743 1745 1748 1749 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1761
Colour scheme on Poisies Damask textiles (24125 pieces) imported by Swedish East India Company
1733 to 1761, relative numbers.
100
90
Grey (Pearl, Lead, Silver)
80
Black
70
White
60
Gray total
Green (Celandon, Light, Dark, Green)
Black
White
50
Yellow (Jonquille, Lemmon, Paille, Yellow)
Green, total
Yellow total
Blue total
40
Red total
30
Blue (Dark, Middle, Light, Mazarine, Millan, Bleumerant, and Sky Blue)
20
10
0
1733
Red (Crimson, Poppy, Incarnat, Cherry)
1742
1743
1745
1748
1749
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1757
1758
1761
Different shades of red on Poisies Damask pieces imported by the
Swedish East India Company 1733-1761
30
25
20
Red, Cherry, %
15
Red, Incarnat %
Red, scarlet %
Red, Poppy %
Red, Crimson %
10
5
0
Year
1733
1742
1743
1745
1748
1749
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1757
1758
(603
(3136 (1224 (3122 (4890 (1800
(500
(1922 (2270
(924
(1300
(999
1311
pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces)
Different shades of blue on Poisies Damask
pieces imported by the
Swedish East India Company 1733-1761
30
25
20
Blue, Middle %
Blue, Milano %
Blue, Light %
15
Blue, Mourant %
Blue, Turqin %
Blue, Mazarin %
Dark blue %
10
Blue, Sky %
5
0
1733 1742 1743 1745 1748 1749 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1757 1758 1761
(603 (3136 (1224 (3122 (4890 (1800 (500 (1922 (2270 (924 (1300 (999 1311
(97
pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces) pieces)
Colours
Carmoise
Jonguil
Ponceau
Brun/Brown
Pärlfärg/Perl coloured
Himmelsblå/Sky blue
Askfärg/Ash coloured
Skarlet/Scarlet colour
Turquinblått/Blue Turguin
Blyfärg/Lead coloured
Grön/Green
Mazarine blå/Blue
Hwita/White
Citronfärg/Lemon Yellow
Coul. De Rose/Pink
Swart/Black
Price (average) per piece
Swedish silver dollar
31 pieces of Damask Poisies
in 16 colours (30 lots)
4
3
2
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
55.89
37 pieces/ 6 colours (1 lot)
23
2
3
2
3
4
44.75
More is more – colour variation
but not colour innovation
25000
Chinese silk
textiles banned
on the Swedish
market
20000
15000
Silk bought for
re-export
10000
5000
0
Silk pieces put up for sale in Gothenburg by the Swedish East India Company
1733 to 1759 (130 000 pieces excluding smaller pieces and ready made clothes)
Johan Westring’s The Colour History of Swedish
Lichen, or how to use them for colouring and in
other useful ways for the household
% of value
of cargo
35
Relative value (Canton prices) of silk and porcelain imported by the
Danish East India Company 1734-1759 and average price of Bohea tea
Price of Bohea
tea silver teil
per picule
18
16
30
14
25
12
20
15
10
8
6
10
4
5
2
0
0
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Silk pieces put up for sale in Gothenburg by the Swedish East India Company
1733 to 1759
% of value
of cargo
35
Price of Bohea
tea silver teil
per picule
18
16
30
14
25
12
20
15
10
8
6
10
4
5
2
0
0