‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016,
Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, offers an overview of eighteenth-century interpretations of ruin as applied to the images of Java’s abandoned temples that illustrated Thomas Stamford Raffles’ The History of Java. These images were surrounded by dis...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Art History, University of Birmingham
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Art Historiography |
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| Online Access: | https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/blair-rev.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811285439895568384 |
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| author | Anna Blair |
| author_facet | Anna Blair |
| author_sort | Anna Blair |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, offers an overview of eighteenth-century interpretations of ruin as applied to the images of Java’s abandoned temples that illustrated Thomas Stamford Raffles’ The History of Java. These images were surrounded by discourse on aesthetics, politics, and religion that served to reinforce British beliefs in their own cultural superiority, and Tiffin argues that this was particularly the case in Raffles’ book, which served as a retrospective justification of his administration and reflected his personal feelings of loss. In this review, I argue that Southeast Asia in Ruins raises interesting questions about the nature of historical objectivity, visual literacy and cross-cultural ruin appreciation that have relevance beyond the period examined by the book. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T02:45:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e77d873248941ae8714bc50aa031f33 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2042-4752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T02:45:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Department of Art History, University of Birmingham |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Art Historiography |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e77d873248941ae8714bc50aa031f332022-12-22T03:06:05ZengDepartment of Art History, University of BirminghamJournal of Art Historiography2042-47522017-12-011717AB1‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016,Anna Blair 0CambridgeSoutheast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, offers an overview of eighteenth-century interpretations of ruin as applied to the images of Java’s abandoned temples that illustrated Thomas Stamford Raffles’ The History of Java. These images were surrounded by discourse on aesthetics, politics, and religion that served to reinforce British beliefs in their own cultural superiority, and Tiffin argues that this was particularly the case in Raffles’ book, which served as a retrospective justification of his administration and reflected his personal feelings of loss. In this review, I argue that Southeast Asia in Ruins raises interesting questions about the nature of historical objectivity, visual literacy and cross-cultural ruin appreciation that have relevance beyond the period examined by the book.https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/blair-rev.pdfThomas Stamford RafflesJavatrust in imagesmonumentspostcolonial theory |
| spellingShingle | Anna Blair ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, Journal of Art Historiography Thomas Stamford Raffles Java trust in images monuments postcolonial theory |
| title | ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, |
| title_full | ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, |
| title_fullStr | ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, |
| title_short | ‘The resonance of ruins and the question of history’: Southeast Asia in Ruins: Art and Empire in the Early 19th Century, by Sarah Tiffin, Singapore: NUS Press, 2016, |
| title_sort | the resonance of ruins and the question of history southeast asia in ruins art and empire in the early 19th century by sarah tiffin singapore nus press 2016 |
| topic | Thomas Stamford Raffles Java trust in images monuments postcolonial theory |
| url | https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/blair-rev.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annablair theresonanceofruinsandthequestionofhistorysoutheastasiainruinsartandempireintheearly19thcenturybysarahtiffinsingaporenuspress2016 |