Global Enamels: A Symmetrical History of Cultural and Technological Exchanges Between France and China (mid-17th to end 18th Century) – EnamelFC

a) Objects as relevant material sources of stylistic and societal approaches: i) Given their official status, painted enamels serve above all as representations of power. Thus, identification of any European elements (decorative pattern and morphological detail) can shed light on how European stylistic vocabulary became one of the components of the new hybrid Manchu imperial art; ii) Observation of the various forms of appropriation (stylistic, technological) which can be seen as evidence of social shifts in China or as a scale to measure the understanding or misunderstanding between two court societies; iii) Comparisons of the political and social symbols conveyed by foreign objects, as well as the changes in their function as social symbols, and in their status in a transcultural context.
b) New approaches in the history of technology: The organization of artisanal work was not really separated by any institutional division of skills. Continuous contacts between artisans were important sources of the circulation of technology. We will highlight transfers across crafts: i) between different techniques of enamelling (painted, cloisonné, translucent) and different body materials (ceramic, metal, glass); ii) with links to other related European technologies (clockmaking, watchmaking, glass making).
c) The science of materials for the identification of technological exchanges: Innovative work in material science has shown that sub-micrometric analysis provides unrivalled information on how materials have been produced, information which would have remained unknown due to the protection of manufacturing secrets and the traditions of oral transmission in an artisanal environment. Such analysis often offers new quantification tools for material, economic and social studies of technology. But to date, almost all studies of Chinese enamelled objects remain qualitative and stylistic. Technical constraints have made enamelling one of the most advanced and sophisticated technology. Moreover, several techniques fostered the production of similar visual aspects. Only the analysis of micro- and nano-structures makes it possible to differentiate know-how. Significant information about the composition (colour palette), structure and production process of enamelling can be obtained using mobile micro-Raman and XRF set-ups on site (e.g. in museums). Completed by (micro) diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy on micro-samples they reveal the microstructures and nanostructures of the crystalline and amorphous phases of enamels.
d) Cross-study between Chinese and French archives to build a symmetrical history of exchanges;
The originality of the project lies in the development of methodological tools to optimize the exploitation of information derived from two separate archival collections of very different types and from different historical and textual contexts.

We aim to: (1) identify, hierarchize and if possible quantify the items circulated (objects, professional books, other visual supports), distinguish the exceptional from the regular flux of trade goods, and pay attention to the multiplicity of channels (in particular sub-contracting channels) and contacts (in particular trade networks). (2) identify the objects used as models, the chronology and modes of circulation between France and China: in particular to check whether 18 colours (raw materials) were indeed imported into China from Europe from the mid 17th to the early 18th century as stated in Chinese archival documents, to identify the milestones in the operational chain (pigment preparation processes, painting skills, or firing technology), and the stages in this chain for which the presence of European craftsmen made a difference (25 requests for sending European craftsmen to China and 5 French artisans’ names listed in archives). (3) compare European enamelling techniques to earlier Chinese enamelling techniques in order to shed light on discontinuities and evolutions, so as to identify stylistic and technological hybridization. (4) examine and compare the plurality of spaces of practice and circulation within the imperial spaces; to analyse and compare dynamics between the imperial and private spheres, within different imperial spaces in China (enamel workshops being identified in various imperial residences-the Forbidden City, the Yuanmingyuan Palace, the Chengde Summer Palace, and in other princely residences), between the Bourbon Court, the marchands-merciers and provincial workshops (enamelled objects from Blois, Alençon, Paris, Dieppe, Châteaudun introduced into China having been identified recently by us); (5) identify new groups of actors and their spheres of action in addition to the Manchu emperors and the Jesuits, specifically the Manchu princes, intermediary merchants and artisans. Both in China and in France, artisans have long been neglected in the historiography because of long-lasting clichés on their routines. However, they appear to have been pivotal in the spread of new tastes, in the rise of consumption and in the process of innovation through imitation, adaptation, substitution (for products, tools and processes), as complex trade circuits developed across Europe and within China (for sub-contracting and for repairs).

1. Contribution to digital humanities
The Chinese archives will be tagged with the Markus software, which is linked to the CBDB “China Biographical Database” (https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cbdb/home), the most important database in the world of Chinese imperial history, developed at the Harvard University. We will be able to enrich the CBDB with an important number of actors (missionaries, administrators, artisans) mentioned in our sources and not yet mentioned in the CBDB. Our project will thus actively contribute to the development of digital humanities in the social sciences at both national and international levels, by enriching existing databases as well as by developing a new one.
2. International visibility of French scientific expertise and French museum collections
The ANR grant would enable to increase the international visibility of French expertise, as well as the visibility of French museum collections. It would also give France a pivotal role between other European and Chinese entities. The French archives corpus will be translated into Chinese and published in China. Our database will also be available on the website of the Palace Museum in Beijing.
3. Emergence of connected and comparative history of technology and material culture in France
Our case study on enamelled objects offers a remarkable field of investigation to analyse the multiple issues invested in these objects in Qing court. Beyond the technological issues of production or industrialization, what is equally crucial to this project is the role of technology and of material culture in the governance of states, the management of resources, the construction of the identities of social groups and of their representations of the world. In some ways our project is designed as a field of experimentation, which may contribute largely to the emergence of the global history of technology with a comparative approach, a field of research yet to be developed in France.
4. Contemporary societal impact both in France and in China
Our project focuses on a largely unknown episode of modern global history. The results of our research will be regularly posted on various French and international museum websites. We thus expect to contribute to establish a Franco-Chinese platform on the constitution of cultural heritage and the showcasing of arts and crafts through research and teaching in close collaboration between research institutions and museums. This will in turn provide public institutions and cultural actors in both countries with a basis for reflection and action. Finally, by offering a longue durée vision of long-distance circulations of technology and related issues in courts and in societies, our project will provide relevant historical data for a better understanding of the modalities of today’s globalization, and in particular of the technological, cultural and artistic hybridization that it involves.

The outcomes of this unprecedented encounter of exceptional objects, archives and physico-chemical data will be sustained via an open-access database that will be hosted at the CNRS research infrastructure Huma-Num (https://www.huma-num.fr/). This database will consist of four components: 1) the online edition of Chinese and French archive corpus in XML-TEI format; 2) the thematic sub-corpuses of French archives and Chinese archives translated into French; 3) the technical booklet; 4) the technical glossary.
Publication of scientific papers.
The final conference with proceedings will be hold in 2023.

Running counter to the cliché of an 18th century Europe enamoured with Chinese goods, culture and techniques, our project aims to uncover the —almost unknown— reverse side of the global history of technology, and in particular the taste for European decorative arts in the Sino-Manchu court. Our project focuses on the circulation of painted enamelware and of enamel technology between France and China from the mid-17th to the end of the 18th century. Enamel is a prime example of an originally Mediterranean and European technology whose practice was transferred eastwards —following objects— as far as China. Fascination with painted enamels and enamel technology in China was closely linked to the prestige of European scientific instruments, watches and clocks, which were partially enamelled. Our project will aim to: 1) explore the role of European objects and technologies in the enrichment of the imperial cultural heritage; 2) study the link between monarchic powers and cultural and technological heritage in France and in China, in a comparative perspective.
Our project is based on the analysis of objects, considered not merely as illustrations of some theory but rather as relevant material sources, combined with the study of Chinese and French institutional archives, the latter being treated as having equal documentary values. Our scientific aim is to overcome two stumbling blocks: 1) the standstill resulting from a Eurocentric historiography of diffusion derived from the Jesuits’ writings and a Sino-centric view denying foreign contribution; 2) visual parallelism, which relies solely on the stylistic features of objects. We will undertake an innovative triple cross-over study involving: 1) objects and archives; 2) Chinese and French data; 3) human sciences and hard sciences (mainly non-destructive physico-chemical analysis). Such an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach raises important methodological issues. Our project is also intended to be a field of experimentation in computerized analysis of archival data. We expect that our project will actively contribute to the emergence of the global history of technology with comparative and multidisciplinary approaches, a field of research yet to be developed in France.
The relevance and feasibility of our project has been demonstrated by our two-year preliminary work carried out mainly within the framework of the LIA involving six French laboratories, seven French museums and the Palace Museum, Beijing (INSHS, CNRS, 2017-2021). The ANR support will bring the implementation of our project to a new stage and guarantee the delivery of its results. The main deliverable will consist of an open-access database, with the online edition of the Chinese and French archive corpus, and three methodological tools to optimize its exploitation. This exceptional encounter of objects, archives and physico-chemical data will be made available to the general public via a virtual and evolving exhibition, mainly prepared by the Chinese partner. Finally, by offering a longue durée vision of long-distance circulations of technology and of its impact, we will provide relevant historical elements to better understand today’s globalisation, and in particular phenomena of technological, cultural and artistic hybridisation.
Our team comprises 27 members, specialising in various fields (social sciences / natural sciences) and professional skills (research, teaching, museology). UMR 8155-CRCAO, the coordinator team, is supported by UMR 8173-CCJ, EA337-ICT, UMR 8233-MONARIS, with the participation of scholars from UPR 8011 CEMES, Université of Clermont-Auvergne, Université de Bretagne Sud-Lorient, Université Jean Jaurès -Toulouse, Musée national du Château de Versailles, and Boston University.