Publication Date
Spring 4-28-2026
Document Type
Student Project
First Advisor
McKee, Emily
Degree Name
B.S. (Bachelor of Science)
Department
Department of Anthropology
Abstract
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the west experienced a keen interest in the lives of the east. In an era of mystery, the people of the west relied on furniture, textiles, and objects to fill in the gaps of their fantasy of the mystical east and its people. This led to the boom of East Asian export and attempts of replication through Chinoiserie, the west’s interpretation of East Asian aesthetics. Chinoiserie and exportquickly filled the homes of affluent families in the west, such as the Ellwood family in Dekalb. This study aims to investigate the origins of various East Asian export and Chinoiserie found collected by the Ellwood Family during the 19th and 20th century through textual analyses and material investigation, further connecting the idea of how the affluent west collected them through the basis of Orientalism and Exoticization. In addition, what details catered to western audiences that differentiate Chinoiserie and export to genuine East Asian objects such as the use of Queen Anne style legs and American dovetail joints. Lastly, how has this ideology permeated through museum cataloguing practice in the Ellwood House Museum, a predominantly white institution.
Recommended Citation
Salapantan, Janine, ""Chinese" and Chinoiserie: Exoticization and Orientalism in the West during the 19th and 20th Century and its Effects on Museum Practices" (2026). Honors Capstones. 1593.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/studentengagement-honorscapstones/1593
