Description:
How did Ottoman individuals and objects interact within the wider nineteenth-century world? The eleven essays from scholars in the field of art history, history, and archaeology delve into the Tour d'Europe of junior bureaucrats; the transnational endeavors of learned societies; the artistic output of mobile agents; the Ottoman commodities sent to the World's Fairs; and the itinerant artifacts amassed in fledgling public museums and private collections. These chapters provide insights into the foundational stages of modern disciplines and areas of expertise, including archaeology, Islamic art, and engineering. Collectively, they emphasize the significance of actors often marginalized in existing historiographies or written out by the logic of national archives. Employing a detailed approach and interdisciplinary perspective, the contributors merge the insights of art, architectural, cultural, and intellectual historians whose work is grounded in archival research. Tailored for both students and scholars focusing on late Ottoman culture and Middle East studies, as well as historians of Islamic art, architecture and material culture, Ottoman Mobilities will also engage a wider audience interested in the interdisciplinary field of nineteenth-century mobility studies.