De quelques déclinaisons mobilières de l’orientalisme fin de siècle, entre ancrage local, diffusion globale et syncrétisme

Résumé 0

This article examines an under-studied genre of Orientalism, represented by the invention of neo-Islamic furniture beginning in the 1860s. Its guiding principle is the appropriation, at once Occidental, Ottoman, and Egyptian of the kursi, a small polygonal table, incrusted with mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell, or bone, and its material transformation according to its interactions with arts and crafts, interior decorations and international commerce. After having recalled the history both complex and varied of the furnishing the article focuses on the distinctive style created in Cairo by the Italian cabinetmaker Giuseppe Parvis, and the global impact of his invention after the integration of Egypt into the British Empire, as witnessed by the catalogues of department stores such as Liberty & Co. in London, and Zacchiri in Vienna and Budapest. The article concludes by highlighting the documentary contribution that Orientalist painting can provide for closely following these developments.