Orientalism and the universal museum : the cases of Orient seduction (2008) vs. Stately Demeanour (2020)

Felipe Ramos, Ana Júlia (author), Gomes de Oliveira, Madson Luis (author), De Sousa Barreto, Rodrigo (author)

The article focuses on unravelling the discourses that guide the expographies of two exhi­bitions that are distinct, but which have Asia at their thematic core. The work is based on decolonial literature, drawing on notions developed by Edward Said, Aníbal Quijano and Homi K. Bhabha, which are used to decipher the narrative present in the exhibition Se­duction of the Orient (2008) at the National Historical Museum in Brazil. From the anal­ysis of this exhibition under decolonial concepts, a comparative examination is structured with the exhibition Stately Demeanour: Costumes of the Qing Emperors and Empresses from the Collection of the Palace Museum (2020) at the Macao Museum of Art. In order to better explain the curatorial differences and their nuances, two similar items belonging to the Qing dynasty, one from each show, were highlighted and both their expographies and catalogues were analysed in a comparative line. The work then investigates, using two similar pieces, the different understandings of Asia expressed in the expographic discourses, and seeks to point out the premises behind these differences and the modes of representing otherness within the museum-exhibition space.

• Language: English
• Keywords: expography, Orientalism, Seduction of the Orient, National Historical Museum (MHN), Macao Museum of Art
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 295-317
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190562
• ISSN on article: 2232-5131
• DOI: 10.4312/as.2026.14.2.295-317
• Publication date in RUL: 05.11.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Asian studies = Azijske študije
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 265206272

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Orientalizem in univerzalni muzej : primer Orientalnega zapeljevanja (2008) vs. Dostojanstvena drža (2020)

Abstract

Članek se osredotoča na razreševanje diskurzov, ki vodijo ekspografiji (način postavi­tve zbirke) dveh razstav. Ti razstavi sta sicer različni, vendar tematsko osredotočeni na Azijo. Delo temelji na dekolonialni literaturi ter se opira na pojmovanja Edwarda Saida (2003), Aníbala Quijana (2005) in Homija K. Bhabhe (1998), s pomočjo katerih dešifrira naracijo, prisotno v razstavi Orientalno zapeljevanje (2008), postavljeni v Narodnem zgodovinskem muzeju v Braziliji. Na podlagi analize te razstave v okviru dekolonialnih konceptov je vzpostavljena primerjalna analiza z razstavo Dostojanstvena drža: oblačila cesarjev in cesaric dinastije Qing iz zbirke Palačnega muzeja (2020) v Muzeju umetnosti v Makau. Da bi lažje pojasnili razlike v pristopu kustosov in njihove odtenke, sta iz­postavljena dva podobna predmeta iz dinastije Qing z obeh razstav, pri čemer so primer­jalno analizirani njuni ekspografiji in kataloga. Prispevek nadalje razišče različno razu­mevanje Azije, kot ga prikaže diskurz ekspografije, ter poskuša izpostaviti predpostavke teh razlik in načine reprezentacije Drugega v okviru muzejsko-razstavnega prostora.

• Keywords: ekspografija, orientalizem, Orientalno zapeljevanje, Narodni zgodovinski muzej (MHN), Muzej umetnosti v Makau