Luxury and Power by Helen Jacobsen

Luxury and Power by Helen Jacobsen

Luxury and Power examines the material world of English ambassadors at the end of the seventeenth century, and illustrates the way in which architecture and the arts played an important role in diplomatic life. It positions luxury consumption firmly in the political domain and demonstrates the significance of diplomats as cultural intermediaries, highlighting the importance of the material world to politicians and the role that diplomats played in the evolution of artistic appreciation in England.Split into two parts, the first half covers the life of diplomats abroad: where they lived, what they took with them, and the style in which they lived when away from home. It investigates the ambassadorial household and the role of wives in embassy life, and positions women at the centre of the diplomatic world. Within the wider context of artistic patronage, not just fine art, Helen Jacobsen assesses their impact as conduits for the arts, examining their own collecting and the acquisitions they made for their friends and patrons back home. Through case studies, part two examines how cultural politics drove the luxury consumption in which so many diplomats indulged. Such expenditure was not random, but was informed by diplomatic activity and was affected by the evolution in European diplomacy during these years. Importantly, it reveals that far from being the magpies satirised by eighteenth-century commentators, many of these patrons displayed a knowledge and understanding of many areas of artistic endeavour that made them indubitable connoisseurs of architecture, painting, furniture, textiles, silver, and coaches. Helen Jacobsen re-evaluates the reputation for artistic patronage of the later Stuart years and finds that the contribution by English diplomats has been sorely neglected.

Helen Jacobsen's book is an example of the kinds of insights that a more imaginative approach to the social and cultural history of diplomacy can provide.. A brief review can provide no more than a cursory synopsis of the wealth of information in Jacobsens book, which should be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the elite society and culture of the period it covers. * Malcolm Smuts, Emeritus University of Massachusetts Boston, The American Historical Review *
Helen Jacobsens fine study of the material world of late Stuart diplomats richly documents their purchase of lavish furnishings, plate, tapestries and artwork for their embassies abroad, and their transfer of European fashion and artists home to England. Superbly researched, the book lays out just how an embassy was set up, from the appropriate house to the symbolic representations of the Crown, including the chair of state, royal portrait, and parade coach. * Linda Levy Peck, English Historical Review *
Helen Jacobsen is to be congratulated on bringing together much original research and providing case studies which bring to life the role of the material world of the Stuart diplomat and the influence that exposure to the culture of another nation could have on patronage and aspirations back home. * Tessa Murdoch, The Huguenot Society Journal *

Dr Jacobsen graduated from Cambridge University and pursued a career in investment banking, working in London, New York, and Tokyo. She returned to academia to pursue her overriding interest in cultural history and studied for her D.Phil at New College, Oxford, on the subject of seventeenth-century diplomats and their material world. She currently lectures on architecture and the decorative arts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780199693757
ISBN 10	0199693757
Title	Luxury and Power
Author	Helen Jacobsen
Series	Oxford Historical Monographs
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2011-11-03
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.