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agarwalmanoj2000
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A: It was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century that Western designers, artists and crafters were inspired to imitate them.
Here, it is an expletive: a PLACEHOLDER pronoun that serves to DELAY THE SUBJECT.
The delayed subject is the noun clause in red.
The OA conveys the following meaning:
That Western designers, artists and crafters were inspired to imitate the artifacts was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century.
B: They did not inspire imitations of Western designers, artists and crafters until it was the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Here, it lacks a clear antecedent.
