Bald and Ayahs on the "fetishisation" of South Asian culture in the UK
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Bald explores how the concept of “Oriental” became vogue and symbolic of one’s wealth and status in society. Bald writes “Upper-class women used Oriental goods to create lavish schemes for the interiors of their homes.” This highlights how “Oriental” products were viewed as opulent and exclusive, helping to elevate the appearance of their homes.
This reminds me of the piece by Visram's Ayahs entitled “Lascars and Princes” which we read two weeks ago that discusses how the enslavement of South Asians in the UK was also part of a wider trend regarding the “Oriental”. Ayahs says “With ‘full-blooded’ Asians available, there was no longer any need to dress African servants in Oriental costumes.” This underlines how South Asians were considered such an indicator of wealth and status that British families were dressing enslaved Africans in “Oriental costumes.” Ayahs goes on to say that “Asian valets and footmen came to be quite in vogue for fashionable British families in the eighteenth century.” Once more emphasising the fetishisation of South Asian culture in the UK during the 18th century.