Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the constitution and influence of Indian collections in France, and more especially in Paris, during the 18th and 19th centuries. It includes a comparative perspective with Indian collections that were set up in Britain at the same period.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the constitution and role of Indian collections in France, and more especially in Paris, during the 18th and 19th centuries. In the course of this period, French presence in India varied in nature and degree, from missionary enterprises to the rise of commercial interests, which in turn led to the development of political and colonial ambitions. French India was however reduced to five trading posts in the second half of the 18th century. In the following decades and throughout the 19th century, French people, including so-called adventurers who worked for Indian sovereigns or the East India Company, travelled to and stayed in these establishments and elsewhere in India. This framework sheds light on trajectories of individuals who travelled between France and India and their contribution to the shaping of collections that made their way to France (manuscripts, miniatures, statues, coins and objets d'art). This paper will explore the canals through which objects were collected in India and brought back to France, the institutions and places in which they were kept and displayed, as well as the role they had in knowledge production and their influence on cultural life in the urban setting. It will offer a comparative perspective with Indian collections in Britain.