This presentation examines cases in which imported ceramics were uniquely employed as architectural ornaments in palace spaces in 18th- and 19th-century India. Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, a global commodity emblematic of early modern trade, and British ceramics, which rose to prominence as industrial products after the Industrial Revolution, were recontextualized in India as decorative elements within palatial architecture.

Beyond their exotic appeal as goods of long-distance trade, the talk explores how the materiality of ceramics—including their blue-and-white motifs, textures, and tactile qualities—contributed to the sensory and symbolic dimensions of highly charged political and cultural spaces. By examining Indian perspectives on Chinese and European ceramics, the presentation seeks to move beyond the conventional Eurocentric framework of East-West exchange, instead highlighting the multidirectional and multilayered nature of transcultural interactions.

Heeryoon Shin is an art historian specializing in the art, architecture, and material culture of South Asia. Her research focuses on temple architecture, urban space, and cross-cultural encounters in early modern and colonial India. She is currently working on a book that investigates architectural interactions during the transitional period between the Mughal and British empires, centered on Hindu temple architecture in Varanasi.