Selling China: A Neglected Encounter between Huo Mingzhi and France in the Early Twentieth Century
This thesis studies the intriguing interactions between a Peking-based antique dealer Huo Mingzhi (霍明志, 1880-1949) and the French art world in the 1930s. By delving into the circulations of both Chinese antiquities and Huo’s interpretations of them, this thesis provides not only a sketch of Huo’s strategies to reify Chinese national and cultural identities through manifold Chinese antiquities, but also a glimpse into the cultural environment for collecting Chinese art at the time. Despite being an influential tastemaker and expert in Chinese antiques during his day, Huo has rarely been studied either in art history or general historical research. By tracing Huo’s contact with Euro-American institutions and individuals within the changing context of the early twentieth century, I explore Huo’s self-presentation not only as a mercenary dealer, but also as a multicultural scholar, whose monographs and collections re-trained the eyes of prominent Euro-American connoisseurs for Chinese art. Studying Huo’s bilingual magnum opus: Preuves des antiquités de Chine 達古齋古证录 (1930), I argue that Huo not only contributed to the transmission of Chinese material culture and the acceptance of Chinese art abroad, but also crafted China’s national identity in a material form.
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