When the Jesuit missionaries ventured from Europe to newly discovered territories in Asia and Latin America, they brought with them the traditions of Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture. This work examines what happened to the artistic and social practices already established.

Through a sweeping look at Japan, China, Mughul India, and Paraguay, the author focuses on four of the most flourishing artistic encounters and discovers much unrecognized or misunderstood art. He overturns the simple thesis that art was imposed on subject cultures in favour of the more difficult paradigm of exchange.