To one’s surprise, the notable work of Timothy Brook, Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World, is not merely centralized around one hat, but rather an entire spectrum of historical affiliations which dramatically defined the modern era. Through the utilization of six paintings of the distinguished Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, an image of a replication of prominent Chinese blue and white porcelain décor, and finally a photograph of an ivory statue of Emperor Guan, or the Chinese god of war, Brook illustrates a system of the very inception of connections on an international level, catalyzed by trade and cultural exchange. Initially beginning the novel within the hometown of Vermeer, Delft, Brook broadens the
