Exotic mania [ Taste & Manners ]
… which reflected and shaped broader economic and political debates. In his famous essay on the Royal Exchange in the Spectator n° 69, dated 19 May 1711, Addison describes the fictional Mr Spectator’s delight in mixing with Oriental merchants (Armenians, Jews, and so forth) emphasising the interconnections … the role of the protagonist in the opera of Hydaspes , thrown naked into an amphitheatre to be devoured by a lion ( Spectator n° 13, 15 March 1711). It is highly significant that this story of amusement for which Addison started an …
Animals | Australia | Chinoiserie | Collecting | Commerce | Exoticism | Menageries | North America
Encyclopedia