Chinoiserie

The Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace is rife with chinoiserie designs. King George IV was a keen patron of chinoiserie, and had many other rooms created in this style such as the Centre Room, also located in the East Wing.
A Vienna porcelain jug, 1799, decorated to imitate another rare Chinese product, lacquerware

Chinoiserie (English: /ʃɪnˈwɑːzəri/, French: [ʃinwazʁi] ⓘ; loanword from French chinoiserie, from chinois, "Chinese"; traditional Chinese: 中國風; simplified Chinese: 中国风; pinyin: Zhōngguófēng; lit. 'China style') is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music.[1] The aesthetic of chinoiserie has been expressed in different ways depending on the region. It is related to the broader current of Orientalism, which studied Far East cultures from a historical, philological, anthropological, philosophical, and religious point of view. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China (during the High Qing era) and the rest of East Asia.[2]

As a style, chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style.[3] Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Chinoiserie focuses on subjects that were thought by Europeans to be typical of Chinese culture.

  1. ^ "Chinois". The Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  2. ^ Beevers, David (2009). Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain, 1650–1930. Brighton: Royal Pavilion & Museums. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-948723-71-1.
  3. ^ Victoria and Albert Museum, Digital Media. "Style Guide: Chinoiserie". www.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.