The Politics of Display of the Eurocentric world view: Industry and Empire Paul Greenhalgh's work on the various exhibitions offers us a mapping of the intricate relations that underlay these events.1 As unique examples of interactions between imperial and colonial culture, between culture and industry, between elite authorships and 'low' audiences, between education and entertainment, between science and art, between technology and aesthetics, they offer us paradigmatic insights into the construction of the modern world. J2L ^ IT W tr ^ <>N^ wif ^ W V ^ , ^ |S* „ c. ^ ^ ^ - -^. ^^!F ^ ^Hv w,^ . — ^ q -3, ^tes. Tj(t-waF~" ^ tl Illus 1 The Indian Pavilion at the Empire Exhibition, Wembley, 1924 From Paul Greenhaigh, Ephemeial Vistas, The Expositions Univeiselles, Great Exhibitions and World Fairs, 1851-1939, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1988, Plate 18 As Britain's biggest territory and asset, India occupied pride of place at every one of these exhibitions (Illustration 1). In the 1851 Great Exhibition, for example, the Indian court filled a total of 30,000 square feet.2 Centrally located in the southwest corner of the intersection of the Crystal Palace's two grand transepts and running along the entire western aisle on its north-south axis, the displays consisted of numerous regalia and sumptuous objects. In general, the quality of oriental goods and artefacts created a new perception amongst Victorian aesthetes of the declining standard of English wares, the primary cause of which was felt to be the assault on the traditional systems of arts and crafts manufacturing by industrial mass production. One of the visitors to be affected by this sentiment at the time was a rather young and not yet quite renowned visitor from Journal of Arts & Ideas