Chinoiserie

by Dawn Jacobson

Chinoiserie - the distinctive taste for decoration and architecture based on Chinese design - has its origins in the age-old fantasy of 'Cathay', the mysterious land of the East. This beautifully illustrated book shows the development of the style from its very beginnings, demonstrating its continuous influence in all of the decorative arts. With sumptuous photography showing all aspects of Chinoiserie, the book clarifies the ways in which the exotic East was incorporated into Western taste, in a way that still is relevant to all those involved in interior decoration today.

Genres: Art, China

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

“As a striking example of how influence passed backwards and forwards, from East to West and back again, consider the role of the pug dog. The pug had never been modeled in porcelain by the Chinese, although the breed was native to China. The animal was considered adorable in Germany: a mops was the fashionable accessory in Dresden in the 1740s. Porcelain pugs were modeled by Kändler, the greatest porcelain master at Meissen. The Meissen mops was imported to China, and then copied by the Chinese—for export only of course. Their own interiors were far too chaste to support such triviality.”