Research

 This section of the website was created in 2014 as part of the Delaware Public Humanities Institute (DelPHI) as I was beginning research for my dissertation "The Material Possessions of an Elite Family in Eighteenth-Century Minas Gerais, Brazil." 
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Map of the routes connecting the mining region to the ports of Rio de Janeiro and Parati
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Domestic Material Culture in Eighteenth-Century
Minas Gerais, Brazil

​In the 1690s gold was discovered in a previously unexplored area of Brazil. The region was named Minas Gerais, meaning general mines. The discovery spurred a gold rush and towns began to be formed. In addition to much gold, diamonds were found in the 1720s. The wealth acquired from gold and diamond mining enabled prolific artistic production and consumption throughout the eighteenth century.

Unlike the other population centers in eighteenth-century Brazil, the towns of Minas Gerais were far from the coast. Travel between Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, the nearest port, was difficult. However, local inhabitants wanted to possess the valued objects that were manufactured in other parts of the world and were common in elite homes in Europe. 

The examples of furniture, textiles, ceramics and metalwork discussed here are representative of the types of objects that a wealthy residents of Minas Gerais typically owned. The focus is on the luxuries that allowed the elite to exert their status. In addition to the objects discussed here, wealthy estates contained agricultural and mining tools, weapons, livestock and slaves.
Cite this page as: Rachel A. Zimmerman, "Domestic Material Culture," April 22, 2018, accessed [date], http://www.razimmerman.com/minas-gerais-setecentista.html
Copyright 2018 Rachel A. Zimmerman