BOOK LAUNCH

AT THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

China in the Frame: Materialising Ideas of China in Italian Museums

Dr Iside Carbone, Royal Anthropological Institute

Wednesday 27 May at 5.30 pm

Mechanisms of representation of the cultural Other and their connections with processes of self-expression constitute the core of China in the Frame. This original ethnographic study of Chinese-themed displays of artworks in a selection of permanent and temporary exhibitions in Italy highlights specific forms of the materialisation of ideas of cultural identities. The Other represented by these displays is China, the identity of which is nowadays perceived by a wider western public, if not unambiguously, at least more closely, thanks to faster and intensified means of communication and interaction. The representing counterpart is Italy, the identity of which, far from being firmly univocal, is fragmentary and not rigidly set due to the country’s peculiar socio-historical circumstances.

Author Biography:
With a solid background in Chinese language and culture, Iside Carbone graduated from Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, and further specialised in Chinese Art and Archaeology at Nankai University, Tianjin, and SOAS, University of London. She received a PhD in Anthropology at University College London in 2010. Her research interests and publications focus on museum ethnography, art and anthropology in general, and Chinese art in particular. She is Assistant Editor for the Anthropological Index Online, published by the Royal Anthropological Institute in cooperation with the Anthropology Library and Research Centre at the British Museum. She is also Asian Art Specialist for a regional auction house. She is Associate at the Centre for Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies, UCL, and a member of the Museum Ethnographers Group.

This event is free, but tickets must be booked. To book tickets please go to http://isidecarbone.eventbrite.co.uk