Encounters

Vasco da Gama set sail in 1497 on a quest for highly prized spices from the East. His discovery of the sea route to India established, for the first time, direct relations between Europe and East Asia, ushering in a period of rich commercial and artistic exchange. Published to accompany a major exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, this sumptuously illustrated volume explores the contacts between these European and East Asian cultures over three centuries. The book shows how people from opposite sides of the world found each other equally strange and exotic, a mutual fascination that shaped both cultures and the art produced in each. Stunning images of exquisite objects in every medium are brought together to tell an epic story of commercial, personal, and religious exchange that had an enormous impact throughout the world.