Making the grand figure
Subtitle: lives and possessions in Ireland, 1641-1770
By: Toby Barnard.
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
Number of pages: 497
Subjects: Material culture -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century; Material culture -- Ireland -- History -- 17th century; Collectors and collecting -- Ireland -- History -- 18th century; Collectors and collecting -- Ireland -- History -- 17th century; Ireland -- Social life and customs -- 18th century; Ireland -- Social life and customs -- 17th century
Description: "In this study of the material culture of Stuart and Hanoverian Ireland, Toby Barnard reveals hitherto unsuspected richness and diversity of lifestyle, habitat and mentality. Like its much-praised predecessor, A New Anatomy of Ireland, it abounds with quirky people and vivid scenes, and amounts to a reappraisal of Ireland under the Protestant Ascendancy." "The compass of the book is wide, from the governing elite of Dublin Castle to the varied metropolis of Dublin itself, and to provincial towns and the countryside beyond. Looking yet further, it follows the Irish overseas to Britain and to the continent of Europe. What emerges is a world more crowded with stylish buildings, gardens, pictures and belongings than has often been imagined." "Through such everyday articles as linen shirts, wigs, silver teaspoons, pottery plates and engravings, Barnard evokes a striking variety of lives and attitudes. Possessions, he shows, even horses and dogs, highlighted and widened divisions, not only between rich and poor, women and men, but also between Irish Catholics and the Protestant settlers. Displaying fresh evidence and unexpected perspectives, the book throws new light on Ireland during a formative period. Its discoveries, set within the context of the 'consumer revolution' gripping Europe and North America, allow Ireland for the first time to be integrated into discussions of the pleasures and pains of consumerism."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.