4th century AD; discovered in 1837; exhibited in 1867
National Museum of Romanian History
Bucharest, Romania
The Pietroasa Hoard, attributed to the Goths and dating from the 4th to the 5th century CE, was discovered accidentally in 1837. It was first exhibited on the international stage at the 1867 exhibition held in Paris, where it enjoyed a great success.
c.1852
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
Tunisia had been a participant at the World’s Fairs since the exhibition held in London in 1851. The Tunisian exhibits, including a Bedouin tent, aroused such interest on account of their peculiarity that they were selected at the end of the exhibition to be used in the newly opened Museum of Manufactures (later the V&A), to serve as inspiration for modern factories.
2nd half of the 19th century
Cerralbo Museum
Madrid, Spain
This polychrome plaster-cast recalls a window of the Alhambra Palace in Granada. It is possible that it was created in the workshop of Josè Contreras whose plasterwork brought him great success. His works, which were exposed initially at various World’s Fairs, were bought by private collectors and museums.
2nd half of the 19th century
Cerralbo Museum
Madrid, Spain
The plasterwork realised by the restorer-decorator José Contreras and his son, Rafael (1824–90) was very popular at the World’s Fairs and bought by private collectors and museums, such as the Museum of Manufactures in South Kensington, London (later the V&A).
3rd quarter of the 19th century
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art
Vienna, Austria
These Turkish jugs were bought by the Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst at the World’s Trade Fair in Vienna 1873. International Exhibitions played a large part in the circulation of objects, which were often purchased by private collectors and museums. It is interesting to compare the actual jugs with the engraving of them, which was probably made for a catalogue.
3rd quarter of the 19th century
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art
Vienna, Austria
This bowl, produced in Ottoman Turkey, was bought along with the group of jugs by the Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst at the World’s Trade Fair in Vienna in 1873. The purchase relates to the museum’s interest in documenting the production of objects from various part of the Ottoman Empire.
Little jar with crested handle
Second half of the 19th century
Museo Artistico Industriale, National Gallery of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini
Rome, Italy
Murano glass tends toward bizarre shapes, often of zoomorphic inspiration, which though not particularly functional is extremely successful aesthetically. This little ewer resembles types from the 17th century. Venetian glass has a long history; a prominent promoter of Renaissance glass in the 19th century was the lawyer Antonio Salviati who opened several workshops and showrooms in Westminster, London, from 1866.
Second half of the 19th century
Museo Artistico Industriale, National Gallery of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini
Rome, Italy
The motif of glass filaments worked to look like crests has also been used in this cup with a snake-shaped stem. This object, produced by “The Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company Limited”, are part of the collection at the Museo Artistico Industriale that was established in 1872 in Rome to represent products from antiquity to the 19th century and also as a school for the applied arts.
Glass vessel (cista) with fenicio ('Phoenician') decoration
Second half of the 19th century (before 1881)
Museo Artistico Industriale, National Gallery of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini
Rome, Italy
This cista, a sort of lidded casket inspired by a Spanish model known as a Façon de Venise, displays Phoenician decoration with evident influences of both “Eastern” and “Western” art. This type of product reproduced glass found by archaeologists. The mass emigration of Murano glass-workers to Spain during the 1600s saw the creation of numerous kilns, which worked according to Murano models but adapted it to the local taste.
c.1862 (made)
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
The ceramist Joseph-Théodore Deck, who is well known for his “bleu de Deck”, realised this vase from a copy of an extremely rare, so-called “Alhambra vase”, found at the Nasrid-era Alhambra Palace. Deck’s vase was probably shown at the exhibition held in London in 1862. Owen Jones made a study of the Alhambra Palace and its decoration. Built by the Arabs in Spain, the palace became the symbol of the rediscovery and re-interpretation of Islamic art and inspired the production of many objects.
1867
The British Museum
London, United Kingdom
Brocard, who was one of the first to revive Islamic enamelling techniques, exhibited his work at the Paris exhibition of 1867, making this lamp one his earliest and best executed documented pieces. Brocard’s mosque lamps earned him immense success; they were exhibited in London in 1871, Wien in 1873 and Paris in 1878.
1867 (printed)
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
The English architect Owen Jones designed this menu card for a banquet commemorating the exhibition held in Paris in 1867. International Exhibitions played an important role in introducing ornamental styles from abroad; the design of this card echoes illuminated Persian manuscripts, which Jones included in his book The Grammar of Ornament.
c. 1865
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
This Moroccan dish, displayed at the 1871 exhibition in London and now in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is an example of an original that was collected by George Maw, a British manufacturer of ceramic tiles, as a source of inspiration for the products produced in his factory.
1330’s; acquisition date: 1869
The British Museum
London, United Kingdom
This mosque-lamp, created in Egypt around 1345, is a good example of how Philippe-Joseph Brocard was inspired by original objects. Mosque lamps were luxury objects and are among the most spectacular achievements of enamelled glass ware from Egypt and Syria during the Mamluk period of the 12th‒14th centuries. They were avidly collected in Paris and elsewhere in Europe during the 1860s.
c. 1870
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
This bottle, made in Fez, was displayed at the 1871 exhibition held in London and donated by George Maw, founder of Maw & Co., to the V&A. His factory became one of the most important centres of ceramic production at the time, thanks largely to the use of modern steam presses.
1873
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art
Vienna, Austria
These Turkish jugs were bought by the Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst at the World’s Trade Fair in Vienna 1873.
Jars from the Company of Glass and Mosaic of Venice and Murano [Paris Exhibition, 1878]
1878
National Central Library
Rome, Italy
At the exhibition held in Paris in 1878 many glass products from the glass-producing city of Murano were exhibited. By presenting these objects, Italy wanted to proclaim the rebirth of antique art, which in her view had been a long time forgotten, and announce the rebirth of the contemporary glass industry. Their various forms, inspired by ancient, medieval and Byzantine art, corresponded to the sensibilities of the Orientalist fashion at the time.
1899
Jordan Folklore Museum, Department of Antiquities
Amman, Jordan
This Jordanian samovar suggests how a product could gain worldwide recognition by being exhibited at the World’s Fairs. This samovar, made in Tula (Russia) by the Batashev Factory, has on the bottom an engraved logo that reads: “International Universal Exposition, London, 1898”, which is probably testament to the success the factory enjoyed as a result of exhibiting their wares.
1100–1199; exhibited in 1910 and then acquired by Lázaro Galdiano
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
Madrid, Spain
The study of models of Islamic art as inspiration for 19th-century industrial products developed alongside the World’s Fairs which, as the expression of culture and good taste, attracted private and public collectors seeking to acquire items. The exhibition Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst, held in Munich in 1910, was one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of Islamic art ever seen in Europe.
Nasrid period (1232-1492); 1915–1930 (Lázaro Galdiano collection)
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
Madrid, Spain
This Nasrid-period textile from Spain was exhibited at the exhibition Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst, held in Munich in 1910, where it was acquired by the Spanish collector Lázaro Galdiano. The textile symbolises in many ways just how significant Islamic art and the rediscovery of the Alhambra Palace had become in the period.