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Project

Mapping the Antwerp-Brussels-Oudenarde tapestry complex (1600-1700) via network analysis.

It is a truism that 17th-century Flemish tapestry production was exceptionally capital-intensive and perilous. While investments in cartoons, labour, and material were immense – the price of a high-quality Brussels set equaled that of a battleship (!) –, the recovery of the invested capital was usually slow and problematic. Thus, tapissiers had to find ways to maximize their creditworthiness and to minimize information asymmetries about quality, taste and market conditions. The question emerging from these observations is straightforward: How did they do it? How did 17th-century Flemish (i.e. Antwerp, Brussels and Oudenarde) tapissiers succeed in overcoming these challenges? The question is unconventional, for tapestry research bypasses the socioeconomic dimension of the medium. While a handful of studies suggest that network formation was the organising principle of the industry and trade, no attempt has been made to develop a longitudinal approach encompassing both prime and peripheral production centers, and no attention has been paid to the fact that networks have a temporal dimension and can be a liability to performance. As a result, it is not at all clear if and to what extent these interlocking networks were the lifeblood of Flemish tapestry. By taking the networks as the basic units of analysis, and by visualising and analysing the development and governance of these networks – making use of the graphical techniques and conceptual fabric of economic sociology and social network analysis – this project addresses this issue. Given its multi-disciplinary scope, the project will be supervised by a multi-disciplinary team: K. Brosens will be joined by P. McLean (Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University), an expert on historical network analysis, and N. De Marchi and H.J. Van Miegroet (Professor of Economics and Professor of Art History, Duke University), whose art markets studies have broken new ground in the field.

Date:1 Jan 2013 →  31 Dec 2016
Keywords:Wandtapijtnijverheid, Driehoek Antwerpen-Brussel-Oudenaarde
Disciplines:Art studies and sciences