Page 217 - Made For Trade Chinese Export Paintings In Dutch Collections

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prowess, but rather their transcultural features, presentation, where they serve increasingly to
as a result of increased EurAsian cultural illustrate ethnographic and historical pheno-
connectivity, plus their strong narrative aspects mena. 89 They are noteworthy, not only for their
that ensure the artistic value we need to artistry, but in particular for the story they tell
empower them with. us about the system responsible for their
Having said that, looking at this group of creation, the individuals responsible for their
paintings, neither the capacity, nor exchange, and the institutions responsible for
representations that claim to be truthful or real, their preservation. In other words: they are a
counts when value accruement is at issue. I agree material resource that is both an integral part
with Graeber’s idea that “the specific history of human heritage and central to understanding
216 accumulated by an object in its production, a specific time in history.
exchange and consumption in some way is As is generally known, most attempts to
crucial to its value.” 86 He argues, “it is prior categorise material culture are bound to fail.
human actions that are in some sense congealed However, nowadays, the problem of classifying
in objects that make them valuable. Thus it is objects in museum collections has become
action itself which is the source of value, even if important again, since many curators, as Ter
people do not recognize it as such.” 87 I also Keurs notes with concern, are struggling with
took this ‘action of exchange’ regarding the the development of thesauri for handling
social life of the studied group as a starting point computerised collections. 90 In general, I agree
for my research. The agency of this group as with Ter Keurs that material culture is a valuable
‘cast-offs’ and the awareness of their significance entry point into culture. Likewise, language,
made me act. The decision either to take action social structure, politics and norms and values
or not to take action is crucial for the future of prevailing in a society can be considered as
these Tartarian winter views. Yet, it is what is legitimate starting points for research into a
done with these paintings, rather than their culture. 91 But can we discover any key values of
inherent meaning, that gives them significance. Chinese (or Western) society condensed in these
These paintings, therefore, as Nicolas Thomas winter views? The paintings alone do not speak
posits in his influential work Entangled Objects, a language that answers our questions. They
“are not what they were made to be, but what cannot be considered sufficient for extracting
they have become.” 88 This group of winter relevant information from or about Chinese or
views possess a range of material qualities, but it Dutch culture. And, as said before, museum
is only when someone uses the paintings in such collections are limited sources for understanding
a way that those qualities with connected cultures. The paintings referred to in this
meanings are switched on that they become research patiently await their turn in the
significant and valuable. Until then, these storeroom. Currently, they are not on display
qualities are latent and invisible. In anticipating and are not accessible by the public. This fixed
future policy and the attitude of Museum and static status does not do justice to the way
Volkenkunde towards these paintings, it is in which they were used in their life, in the
important to know how their materiality heyday of production and consumption in the
intervenes with this museum’s collection. In nineteenth century. Contemporary users today,
particular, this museum context contributes to combined with current uses, are invested with
the interpretation and assignment of meaning to the power to generate change and bring the
them, as these aspects come into being in paintings back to the exchange-chain again.
interaction with the viewer and the researcher. Competent museum workers are, like
Especially in the context of ethnological Haselberger’s message recalled by Ter Keurs,
museums in the twenty-first century, which “are primarily interested in collecting and
more apt to deploy narrative and ‘experience’ documenting as much information as possible to
to stimulate the transfer of knowledge,” these secure solid evidence, records for generations to
paintings should be at the heart of a come. 92 Such documentation is valuable, but

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86 Graeber 2002, quoted in Sutton 2004, 374.
87 Ibid., 375.
88 Thomas 1991, 4.
89 Ter Horst 2012, 36.
90 Ter Keurs 2006, 87.
91 Ibid., 202.
92 Ibid., 203.