The Islamic taste in American domestic interiors, 1860-1910
Date
1990
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis treats the phenomenon of Islamic-style interiors created in American homes between 1860 and 1910. It traces the West's interactions and perceptions of the Near East through the avenues of travel, literature, and art. Using evidence from photographs, extant interiors, trade catalogues, personal papers, and prescriptive literature, it describes and interprets a finite number of key American interiors that illustrate the Islamic taste over time. These interiors begin as rooms decorated with a superficial overlay of Islamic ornament and become individual rooms devoted to the accumulation of Near Eastern objects and curiosities. The subsequent adoption and transformation of the taste by the middle class is addressed. Novelty and fashion, cultural and racial imperialism, and sensuality and exoticism are issues used to explain why the phenomenon arose and retained significance to people in the nineteenth century. (Abstract from ProQuest citation page.)