NOTÍCIAS DA SEDA. REFERÊNCIAS À SEDA CHINESA NA DOCUMENTAÇÃO IMPRESSA DOS SÉCULOS XVI A XVIII E SEU IMPACTE NA SOCIEDADE EUROPEIA16 - 18世紀出版物中有關中國絲綢的資料及其對歐洲社會的影響
The article analyzes the references to Chinese silk found in European printed documentation from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, discussing how this news coverage helped shape perceptions, desires, and commercial practices within the European sphere. Starting from the observation that sil...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
October 2005
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40016/3789 |
| Summary: | The article analyzes the references to Chinese silk found in European printed documentation from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, discussing how this news coverage helped shape perceptions, desires, and commercial practices within the European sphere. Starting from the observation that silk frequently appears in works of the period and that, although trade involved it as a commodity, its value extended beyond a strictly economic logic, the author argues that the printed circulation of "news" about silk also functioned as a mechanism for producing imaginaries about the East, reinforcing the prestige of China as a region of wonders and artistic excellence.
Methodologically, the work carries out a historiographic and documentary reading of European editorial production, organizing the contents into thematic nuclei to identify how the origin, material qualities, forms of circulation (including circuits and entrepôts), and social uses associated with the fabrics are described. As a result, it concludes that Chinese silk, even when compared with less expressive European textiles, was perceived as incomparable in lightness, resistance, color, and plasticity, fueling demand among civil and religious elites. Thus, printed documentation not only recorded the presence of the product but also intensified its capacity to impact European society, articulating consumption, status, and cultural fascination. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |