From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market
The paper examines both tangible and intangible materials that had a ritualistic value for Indians and once taken into the colonial market became objects of antiquity. The famous Koh-i-noor diamond was one such object which was a symbol of imperial sovereignty but once brought into the global market...
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Firenze University Press
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Diciottesimo Secolo |
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| Online Access: | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15474 |
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| author | Sutapa Dutta |
| author_facet | Sutapa Dutta |
| author_sort | Sutapa Dutta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paper examines both tangible and intangible materials that had a ritualistic value for Indians and once taken into the colonial market became objects of antiquity. The famous Koh-i-noor diamond was one such object which was a symbol of imperial sovereignty but once brought into the global market became a thing of antiquity. The meaning of certain objects change when moved from one place to another. It is this cross-cultural global contact that gives things their new meanings, and in this context the essay also looks at the Hitopadesha, a text on morals and ethics, ‘the most popular story-book of India’ as Max Muller called it. It is in the process of getting transferred/translated/transformed that such antiquities acquired a new meaning. The essay brings out the complex and ambiguous imperial dynamics of appropriating, recreating and canonization of such tangible and intangible antiquities from India. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c4e68dc49ffe4b508f7ea875990db461 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2531-4165 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diciottesimo Secolo |
| spelling | doaj-art-c4e68dc49ffe4b508f7ea875990db4612025-08-20T03:08:13ZengFirenze University PressDiciottesimo Secolo2531-41652025-06-01334810.36253/ds-1547414311From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial MarketSutapa Dutta0Gargi College, University of Delhi, IndiaThe paper examines both tangible and intangible materials that had a ritualistic value for Indians and once taken into the colonial market became objects of antiquity. The famous Koh-i-noor diamond was one such object which was a symbol of imperial sovereignty but once brought into the global market became a thing of antiquity. The meaning of certain objects change when moved from one place to another. It is this cross-cultural global contact that gives things their new meanings, and in this context the essay also looks at the Hitopadesha, a text on morals and ethics, ‘the most popular story-book of India’ as Max Muller called it. It is in the process of getting transferred/translated/transformed that such antiquities acquired a new meaning. The essay brings out the complex and ambiguous imperial dynamics of appropriating, recreating and canonization of such tangible and intangible antiquities from India.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15474 indian antiquitieskoh-i-noorhitopadeshacolonial market stendhal (henri beyle) |
| spellingShingle | Sutapa Dutta From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market Diciottesimo Secolo indian antiquities koh-i-noor hitopadesha colonial market stendhal (henri beyle) |
| title | From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market |
| title_full | From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market |
| title_fullStr | From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market |
| title_full_unstemmed | From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market |
| title_short | From the Koh-i-noor to the Hitopadesha: Consumption of Indian Antiquities in the Colonial Market |
| title_sort | from the koh i noor to the hitopadesha consumption of indian antiquities in the colonial market |
| topic | indian antiquities koh-i-noor hitopadesha colonial market stendhal (henri beyle) |
| url | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15474 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sutapadutta fromthekohinoortothehitopadeshaconsumptionofindianantiquitiesinthecolonialmarket |