Decorating the Homes of the Nouveau Riche: Establishing Legitimacy Through the Antique
Date
2024
Authors
Macnab, Heather
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Victoria
Abstract
This research considers how Nouveau Riche Families used the aesthetics of the antique within the decoration of their homes to legitimize their position as Canada's upper class. The industrialization of the British Empire during the 19th and early 20th triggered the rise of a new class of wealthy industry magnates who accumulated their fortunes in a single generation and established themselves as a new type of elite. The insecurity of this new position led the Canadian Nouveau Riche to utilize aesthetics of the past to legitimize their status and attempt to establish themselves as Canada's landed gentry. British antique and antique aesthetics were believed to show sophistication and refinement and thus indicate British cultural superiority. By examining architectural and furnishing styles, this project explores how Canada's wealthiest families worked to assert economic, cultural, and racial superiority, which proved central to the justification of the colonial process and their position within it.
Description
Keywords
Victorian, Canada, antique, architecture, furniture, colonialism