It is a fascinating story that the merchant companies of Europe, established with the aim of sourcing exotic eastern spices, stumbled upon Indian handmade textiles and found these a highly profitable product for their home markets. This process was t
About the Author
Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis (born 1944 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch art historian specialised in European tapestries and Indian trade textiles. In 2009 she retired from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where she had been Curator of Textiles since 1992. Previously she was Curator of Decorative Art and Design at the State Owned Art Collections in The Hague and liaison officer for Dutch museums at the Ministry of Culture. Books of which she was (co-)author or main contributor include Sits. Oost-West Relaties in Textiel (Chintz. East-West Relations in Textiles) (1987), Sitsen uit Indian/Indian Chintzes (1996), European Tapestries in the Rijksmuseum (2004) and Asian Splendor. Company Art in the Rijksmuseum (2011). She has also published about Sri Lankan ivory carvings made for Dutch customers between 1650 and 1700.