Chinoiserie (17th – 18th Century)

Chinoiserie is a term borrowed from the French that indicates the European fanciful interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions. Products imported from China and Japan were extremely fashionable: this led Victorian craftsmen to create their fanciful versions of designs from the far East, a mysterious and exotic place.

Nostell Priory, State Dressing Room
Nostell Priory, State Dressing Room

image source : https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/87eddc81-ac7a-4f17-abf9-22ffd10cf942 by David Dixon


History

In the first decades of the 17th century, European craftsmen began to reproduce on their products decorative forms found on cabinets, porcelain vases, and embroideries imported from China. It started in Britain and Italy but truly spread from France when Louis XIV ordered a major chinoiserie interior scheme for the Le Vau’s Trianon de porcelaine at Versailles, in 1670-1671.

Austrian coffeepot; circa 1720; hard-paste porcelain; 17.8 × 15.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#/media/File:Coffeepot_MET_DP166663.jpg

The Chinese Garden, a chinoiserie painting by François Boucher; 1742

image source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#/media/File:Le_Jardin_chinois_(detail)_by_Fran%C3%A7ois_Boucher.jpg

Since Jean Pillement published the influential collection of prints – A New Book of Chinese Ornaments – in 1755, more and more objects featured fantastic landscapes with animals such as dragons and extravagant birds. They paired exceptionally well with the lavishly exaggerated Rococò designs in vogue at the time: asymmetry and dynamic lines of these two styles were often combined in interior decoration.


Porcelain and ceramics

European designers copied Ming-style blue-and-white patterns onto jars, vases, and tea sets. These objects were primarily used for storage but, when imported to Europe, they took on their reputation as a decor classic: the culture of drinking tea required an appropriate chinoiserie mise en scène, especially for the elité class women such as Queen Mary or Queen Anne.

Coffeepot with Chinoiserie Figures in Landscape
Coffeepot with Chinoiserie Figures in Landscape

image source : https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/6862be6c-00c4-4505-9410-f14ee251918f

Coffeepot with 'Hausmaler' Decor
Coffeepot with “Hausmaler” Decor Coffeepot. manufactured by Meissen Porcelain Factory and Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. 1725–1735

image source : https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/4bf37ed2-a4c6-4e4e-86f9-af347f8f7995


Lacquered wood and faux bamboo

File:England Chinoiserie style writing desk 01.jpg
England Chinoiserie style writing desk

image source :https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/3c0e65e4-96ca-404d-970e-b36ae9434497 by Anonymous (England)Unknown author

Traditional Asian lacquerware pieces are true works of art and require immense skill to craft. To achieve lacquer’s signature shine, a piece of furniture must be coated with numerous layers of tree sap. Once the glossy finish has been completed, lacquer pieces are often further embellished with hand-painted scenes, inlaid details, or intricate carvings.


The main motifs of the Chinoiserie style

  • Foo dogs are domesticated lions that date back thousands of years to Imperial China where they were used to guard palaces and temples. They are typically represented in pairs—one male and one female—to signify the balance of yin and yang.
  • People in Chinese clothes are often featured: sometimes these figures were copied directly from Chinese objects, but more frequently they originated from the designer’s imagination.
  • Pagodas are an integral part of East Asian architecture, assimilated in China thanks to the spread of Buddhism.
  • Dragons symbolized strength and good luck in Chinese mythology and folklore.
  • Nature scenes, including lush garden vignettes with pavilions and floral themes, were used in many designs amongst the houses of the upper European class, especially for handmade wallpapers.
The botanical gardens at Kew, established in 1759 by the Dowager Princess Augusta whom employed the architect William Chamber.

image source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#/media/File:Kew_Gardens_Pagoda.jpg

A Vienna porcelain jug, 1799, decorated to imitate another rare Chinese product, lacquerware

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie#/media/File:Museo_delle_porcellane_di_Firenze,_porcellane_viennesi_a_cineserie,_1799,_02.JPG


How did it Become a Fashion?

The rising of the chinoiserie is due to the growing interest that Europeans began to develop during the 17th century towards eastern cultures. Its acknowledgment derives from Orientalism, which studied the cultures from the Far East of the world, from a historical, anthropological, and philosophical point of view. It was also fuelled by the spreading of collecting, especially focused on eastern products and architecture.


Info sources:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/style-guide-chinoiserie/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoiserie

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