Exposições oitocentistas fora de portas e o contributo dos objectos coloniais para a criação imaginal do Império Português

The idea of a golden era of the discoveriesassociated to identity has long been shared by some Portuguese discourse and memory. Visual culture spread by 19th century exhibitions has contributed to strength the aforesaid narrative. These exhibits branded Portugal through a selection of episodes of the country’s history that were emphasized by conceptual programs and the display of objects (art and material culture), hence creating a narrative and an imaginary expected to be shared by all, and that in fact survived for more than a century. In this text I analyze some aspects that shaped that imaginal construction looking at specific events: the moment when colonial commodities were introduced in the discourse of national production, the way in which these products were presented, the circumstances that transformedethnographic in artistic objects, and which other material culture was associated to the Portuguese discoveries since the beginning of its representation