Selling China: a neglected encounter between Huo Mingzhi and France in the early twentieth century
Open Access
Author:
Chen, Han
Graduate Program:
Art History
Degree:
Master of Arts
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
March 22, 2021
Committee Members:
Chang Tan, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor Elizabeth C Mansfield, Program Head/Chair Nancy Locke, Committee Member
Keywords:
Huo Mingzhi Chinese art early-twentieth-century art market
Abstract:
This thesis studies the intriguing interactions between a Peking-based antique
dealer Huo Mingzhi (霍明志, 1880-1949) and the French art world in the 1930s. By
delving into the circulations of both Chinese antiquities and Huo’s interpretations of them,
this thesis provides not only a sketch of Huo’s strategies to reify Chinese national and
cultural identities through manifold Chinese antiquities, but also a glimpse into the cultural
environment for collecting Chinese art at the time. Despite being an influential tastemaker
and expert in Chinese antiques during his day, Huo has rarely been studied either in art
history or general historical research. By tracing Huo’s contact with Euro-American
institutions and individuals within the changing context of the early twentieth century, I
explore Huo’s self-presentation not only as a mercenary dealer, but also as a multicultural
scholar, whose monographs and collections re-trained the eyes of prominent EuroAmerican connoisseurs for Chinese art. Studying Huo’s bilingual magnum opus: Preuves
des antiquités de Chine 達古齋古证录 (1930), I argue that Huo not only contributed to the
transmission of Chinese material culture and the acceptance of Chinese art abroad, but also
crafted China’s national identity in a material form.
