The Gregorios Manos collection of East Asian objects: connoisseurship, networks, and market dynamics in early twentieth-century Europe

Metoikidou, Maria (2025) The Gregorios Manos collection of East Asian objects: connoisseurship, networks, and market dynamics in early twentieth-century Europe. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis delves into the collection of East Asian objects assembled by Greek diplomat Gregorios Manos (1850-1928), during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Despite never travelling outside of Europe, Manos acquired thousands of objects, primarily from Japan and China, and is today regarded as the first Greek collector-scholar of Asian art. His efforts culminated in the establishment of the Sino-Japanese Museum in Corfu, now Corfu Museum of Asian Art, which remains the only Greek institution entirely devoted to the arts of Asia and the first of its kind in the Balkan space. By tracing the trajectory of Manos’ collection from fin-de-siècle Vienna, through its transfer to Paris, and eventually its establishment on the Greek island of Corfu, this thesis aims to reconstruct its history and shed light on unknown aspects of its formation.

This involves situating Manos and his collecting endeavours within a period that witnessed the influx of East Asian objects in Europe, particularly after the opening of Japan to foreign trade following the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (1858) and the socio-political shifts surrounding the demise of the Qing dynasty in 1911. These historical events had a profound impact on the dynamics of the European art market, the gradual development of scholarship, and the formation of collecting networks. Manos’ involvement is closely analysed within this context. Particularly the roles he assumed as buyer and consignor in public auctions illuminate his taste for Japanese and Chinese objects as well as his acquisition and selling strategies. Moreover, this thesis explores a previously unknown aspect of Manos’ engagement with the institutional sphere, specifically his role as a lender to major exhibitions that contributed towards a more scholarly approach to the study of Asian art.

Drawing on a broad range of archival material, this thesis not only constructs a portrait of Manos as a collector, but also delves into the histories of individual objects that both entered and departed from his collection. The lives of Japanese and Chinese items are examined within their original context as well as within the European environments they ended up residing, prompting reflections into issues of provenance, identity, and transformed meaning. Ultimately, my thesis elucidates Manos’ legacy and underscores the significance of research into lesser-known collections.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities
• Supervisor's Name: Torma, Dr. Minna Katriina and Yazaki, Dr. Saeko
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85059
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 15 Apr 2025 14:50
• Last Modified: 15 Apr 2025 14:58
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85059
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85059