Courtly Gifts and Cultural Diplomacy

Art, Material Culture, and British-Russian Relations

Volume editor Louise Hardiman

Book cover: Courtly Gifts and Cultural Diplomacy

Extent: 426 pages

Publisher: Brill | Schöningh

Subjects: Art & Art History, Slavic Studies, Social Sciences 

Series: Russian History and Culture

Series volume number: 24

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(April 2023)

ISBN: 9783506793768

6.1 x 9.25 inches

Price: $171.00

In stock

“Courtly Gifts and Cultural Diplomacy” explores the history of British-Russian state relations from the perspective of art and material culture. This richly illustrated book presents manifold practices of courtly gift-giving and vivid case studies of British-Russian artistic diplomacy over the centuries. It traces a visual and material history of cross-cultural dialogue that starts with an early English map of Russia made in the 16th century and ends with gifts of Faberge art objects and domestic photographs exchanged between the British royal family and the family of Tsar Nicholas II in late Imperial Russia. Twelve expert authors from academia, the arts, and the museum sectors in Britain, Russia, Australia, and the United States present new narratives and critical interpretations based on material from previously unexplored archives. Their diverse approaches reveal the importance of artistic diplomacy and the agency of gifts of art and material culture in courtly and state relations.

  • Volume editor Louise Hardiman