World trade, in the context of antiques, refers to the long-distance exchange of goods, materials and ideas between continents that shaped the decorative arts of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Many of the objects and materials most familiar to collectors exist because of these trading networks.
The overland Silk Road and maritime routes across the Indian Ocean carried silk, spices, ceramics and metalwork between China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean for centuries. From the seventeenth century the Dutch and English East India Companies brought Chinese and Japanese porcelain, lacquer, tea, silk and printed Indian cottons to Europe in vast quantities, inspiring imitations such as Delftware, European porcelain, japanning and the fashion for chinoiserie. Atlantic trade supplied mahogany, rosewood and other tropical timbers that transformed eighteenth-century furniture, while much of that trade was bound up with slavery and colonial exploitation, a history now openly acknowledged by museums and historians. Export wares were often made specifically for Western buyers, with European shapes, armorial decoration and adapted designs. For collectors, an understanding of world trade helps explain the origin, dating and hybrid styles of many objects, and adds depth to the story behind a piece.
