Diplomatic gifts

In the modern and contemporary periods

02.03 - 03.03.2026

Attribué à Bishandas, Jahangir accueillant Shah Abbas, Washington DC, Freer Gallery of Art, vers 1618.

On March 2–3, 2026, the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici will host an international symposium dedicated to diplomatic gifts in the modern and contemporary periods, examined in terms of their definitions, transformations, and processes of heritage-making on a global scale. These “ambassador objects” will be studied in their material, political and symbolic dimensions, as well as in their role in shaping international relations and ritualizing exchanges. Adopting polycentric perspectives, the conference encourages cross-views and bilateral or multilateral analysis of the sources.

Find the programme for these two days of conferences right here.

Organizing Committee
ALESSANDRO GALLICCHIO, Director of the Department of Art History, Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis ;

VALENTINA HRISTOVA, senior lecturer in History of Modern Art, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens;

NATACHA PERNAC, senior lecturer in History of Modern Art, Université Paris-Nanterre.
Scientific Committee
LUCIEN BÉLY, professor emeritus of modern history, Paris, Sorbonne University, member of the Institut, Académie des sciences morales et politiques;

FRANCESCO FREDDOLINI, Associate professor of modern art history, Rome, Sapienza – University of Rome ;

SERGE GRUZINSKI, Director Emeritus of Historical Research, Paris, CNRS / EHESS ;

GUIDO GUERZONI, historian and economist, Milan, Luigi Bocconi University ;

MEI MEI RADO, assistant professor of Textile and Dress History, New York, Bard Graduate Center.