Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1700-1950

This book explores the ways in which Nordic private collectors displayed their collections of Chinese objects in their homes.

This leads to a reconsideration of how to define collecting and display by analysing the difference between objects serving as decorative or collectible items, while tracing collecting and display trends of the twentieth century. Minna Törmä examines four Scandinavian collections as case studies: Kustaa Hiekka, Sophus Black, Osvald Sirén and Marie-Louise and Gunnar Didrichsen, all of whom had professional backgrounds (a jeweler, two businessmen and a scholar) and for whom collecting became a passion and an educational endeavour.

This book will be of interest to scholars in art history, museum studies, Chinese studies and design history.