The Stages of Asia’s Exposure to the West
World’s Fairs
Asia on Display at the World’s Fairs
World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893
“The Greatest Exhibition the World Has Ever Seen”
The mid-19th century brought new Asian treaties and trade opportunities to the US and Europe, further raising awareness about Asia in the West. For example, with a public increasingly interested in details about Chinese society and economy after years of intensive Opium War coverage in the popular press, Chinese art and material culture began to be collected and appreciated on a scale not previously seen. This surging interest in Asian art and material culture, both in Europe and in the US, was further raised through a series of commercially successful public exhibitions to feed this growing appetite.
On Display at the World’s Fairs
Asia’s presence at the international exhibitions has changed through time.
