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Webinar: The Impact of the China Trade on New England Architecture

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Friday, November 5 4:00 – 5:15 PM ET
Presented by Thomas Michie
Moderated by Curt DiCamillo
Cost: $15

After the Revolutionary War, the fortunes of New England merchants expanded rapidly as they led the way in developing new markets and trading partners. By necessity, trade expanded to China and India, well beyond the former colonial coastal trade and transshipping of European goods through the West Indies. The mansions built with the fortunes made (and lost) in the China Trade belie the notion that returning merchants sought to capture their experience of China in the design of their houses. With few exceptions, the urban residences of the early China Trade merchants were impressive, but conventional architectural statements. Only in their interior furnishings does one detect the impact of China. On the other hand, their country houses often featured curiosities that only a visitor or resident of China could have assembled. This talk considers a group of houses built between 1780 and 1850 by Providence, Newport, and Boston merchants and traces the impact of China upon both the merchants and their houses.

About the Speaker: Thomas Michie recently retired as Senior Curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While there, he oversaw numerous gallery renovations, including English and Scottish period rooms and the Kunstkammer, or cabinet of curiosities. He previously held curatorial positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. A graduate of Williams College, he holds an M. Phil. degree in the history of art from Yale University.

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