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Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750-1850

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If there was ever a `clash of civilisations' it was arguably during the age of colonies where cultures, values, religions and industries convulsed together. The interactions were mostly fractious but occasionally there were some constructive paths that got paved along the way. Compulsive wealth seeking on the part of the colonialists made interactions with the `other' compulsory at one level. No matter how much they may have tried to wall themselves within the sanctuary of clubs and salons, contact with the colonised was inevitable.

In some cases, the contact was alluring and left its mark in strange ways that revealed how human beings have a remarkable propensity for connections -- often through the collection of objects. The resplendent museums that we savour in many Western capitals today are a result of this urge, which in some cases was outright theft, but in others was a more nuanced acquisitive process. Maya Jasanoff has provided a humanising history of this time that addresses the process of mutual change during colonisation through the eyes of these collectors.

Spanning the period of British colonisation of the Indian subcontinent and Egypt from 1750 -1850, Jasanoff has uncovered a fascinating world where British aristocrats try to take on Eastern traditions and cultures. The mere act of collecting art may seem like a self-centred proposition to many but it shows how an ability `cross borders' in multiple ways. As the daughter of an Indian mother and an American father (both of whom are now professors at Harvard), Jasanoff has a somewhat personal connection to this narrative.

Collectors tried to understand the stories behind the objects that they collected. Focusing on the seductive city of Lucknow, Jasanoff shows how Muslim and Hindu traditions were embraced with equal fervour under the banner of cultural curiosity. Each side tried to co-opt the other in subtle ways, leading to a more nuanced portrayal of East-meets-West than earlier works such as Edward Said's Orientalism have done.

South Asia in particular is a region that has been at the fulcrum of world trade and colonisation for millennia. Aryans who brought Hinduism colonised the Dravidians. Waves of Muslim dynasties in turn colonised the region as well and forged their own alliances and avenues for cultural exchange. This book provides an erudite review of these issues though with some rather academic prose.

This book has interesting episodes- Lucknow, Seringpatam , Egypt and the role of France versus the British,-but lacks a logic or argument which would justify the book. It touches on europeans collecting local objects and local rulers buying foreign technology and advice to defend themselves However as it starts in North America, there should be discussion of why artefacts of North American Indians were not collected. On the other hand there could be some reference to the tradition of collecting of antiquities ( see Jonathon Scott Pleasures of Antiquity or the catalogue of the exhibition at the Gulbenkian Foundation Exotica )The role of France in opposing the British in India should have been argued through : intriguing in the Mutiny but allies in the Crimean War ?
In general the prose is over adjectived, why is the Dictionary of national Biography " compendious ", when is is actuaully comprehensive ?
And the illustrations are a disgrace, too small and dark, the wonderful Col.Mordaunt's Cockfight reproduces as a black postage stamp

I ordered the book before i went on an international trip, hoping that it would be delivered before i came back - it was! Also, the book was in mint condition practically.