Exotic mania [ Taste & Manners ]
… of exotic items appears to be a form of luxury defined by Adam Ferguson as ‘a manner of life which we think necessary to civilization, and even to happiness. It is [...] the parent of arts, the support of commerce, and the minister of … great variety of exotic goods (including china, silk, perfumes, and precious stones), giving lustre to those members of society whose aim was to exhibit social and political status, as well as international reputation. 1 . See Peter Mason, … in the Enlightenment’, Anthropos (vol. 86, nos. 1-3, 1991), p. 167. 2 . Adam Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society (London: A. Millar & T. Caddel, 1767), p. 381-382. Exotic gardens as sites of sociability Members of the …
Animals | Australia | Chinoiserie | Collecting | Commerce | Exoticism | Menageries | North America
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