In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a
bustling community of merchants who sailed to the southern Arabian
Peninsula from the east and the west, seeking and offering a range
of commodities, both luxury and mundane. In Shipped but Not Sold,
Nancy Um opens the chests these merchants transported to and from
Yemen and examines the cargo holds of their boats to reveal the
goods held within. They included eastern spices and aromatics,
porcelain cups and saucers with decorations in gold from Asia,
bales of coffee grown in the mountains of Yemen, Arabian horses,
and a wide variety of cotton, silk, velvet, and woolen cloth from
India, China, Persia, and Europe; in addition to ordinary
provisions, such as food, beer, medicine, furniture, pens, paper,
and wax candles. As featured in the copious records of the Dutch
and English East India Companies, as well as in travel accounts and
local records in Arabic, these varied goods were not just
commodities intended for sale in the marketplace. Horses and
textile banners were mobilized and displayed in the highly visible
ceremonies staged at the Red Sea port of Mocha when new arrivals
appeared from overseas at the beginning of each trade season.
Coffee and aromatics were served and offered in imported porcelain
and silver wares during negotiations that took place in the houses
of merchants and officials. Major traders bestowed sacks of spices
and lavish imported textiles as gifts to provincial governors and
Yemen’s imam in order to sustain their considerable trading
privileges. European merchants who longed for the distant comforts
of home carried tables and chairs, along with abundant supplies of
wine and spirits for their own use and, in some cases, further
distribution in Yemen’s ports and emporia. These diverse items
were offered, displayed, exchanged, consumed, or utilized by major
international merchants and local trade officials in a number of
socially exclusive practices that affirmed their identity, status,
and commercial obligations, but also sustained the livelihood of
their business ventures. Shipped but Not Sold posits a key role for
these socially significant material objects (many of which were
dispatched across oceans but not intended only for sale on the open
market) as important signs, tools, and attributes in the vibrant
world of a rapidly transforming Indian Ocean trading society.
General
| Imprint: |
University of Hawaii Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Series: |
Perspectives on the Global Past |
| Release date: |
March 2022 |
| Authors: |
Nancy Um
• Anand A. Yang
• Kieko Matteson
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
256 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-8248-9392-7 |
| Categories: |
Books
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-8248-9392-1 |
| Barcode: |
9780824893927 |
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