The Parisian Marchands-Merciers

A marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a corporation under rules codified in 1613.[2] The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took the connotation of a merchant of objets d’art.…

The ‘Court Fat Lady’

The Golden Age of Chinese History The Tang Era of Chinese history is heralded as a golden age. It witnessed the prosperity of culture, economy, diplomacy and politics under a unified government. Stability within China led to an expansion of foreigners entering and living within the country, bringing with them their own cultural and social…