modern chinoiserie.

Chinoiserie, is a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", and refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences.
It is characterized by the use of fanciful imagery of an imaginary China, by asymmetry in format and whimsical contrasts of scale, and by the attempts to imitate Chinese porcelain.


Various European monarchs, such as Louis XV of France, gave special favor to Chinoiserie, as it blended well with the rococo style. Entire rooms, such as those at Château de Chantilly, were painted with Chinoiserie compositions, and artists such as Antoine Watteau and others brought expert craftsmanship to the style.


Pleasure pavilions in "Chinese taste" appeared in the formal parterres of late Baroque and Rococo German and Russian palaces, and in tile panels at Aranjuez near Madrid. The whole Chinese Villages were built in Drottningholm, Sweden and Tsarskoe Selo, Russia.


Thomas Chippendale's mahogany tea tables and china cabinets, especially, were embellished with fretwork glazing and railings, ca 1753 - 70, but sober homages to early Qing scholars' furnishings were also naturalized, as the tang evolved into a mid-Georgian side table and squared slat-back armchairs suited English gentlemen as well as Chinese scholars.


Not every adaptation of Chinese design principles falls within mainstream "Chinoiserie." Chinoiserie media included "Japanned" ware imitations of lacquer and painted tin (tôle) ware that imitated Japanning, early painted wallpapers in sheets, after engravings by Jean-Baptiste Pillement, and ceramic figurines and table ornaments.


The earliest appearance of a major Chinoiserie interior scheme was in Louis Le Vau’s Trianon de porcelaine of 1670–71 (subsequently destroyed), built for Louis XIV at Versailles.


The fad spread rapidly; indeed, no court residence, especially in Germany, was complete without its Chinese room, which was often, as it had been for Louis, the room for the prince’s mistress (e.g., Lackkabinett, Schloss Ludwigsburg, Württemberg, 1714–22).


Chinoiserie, used mainly in conjunction with Baroque and Rococo styles, featured extensive gilding and lacquering; much use of blue-and-white (e.g., Delftware); asymmetrical forms; disruptions of orthodox perspective; and Oriental figures and motifs.


The style—with its lightness and asymmetry and the capriciousness of many of its motifs—also appeared in the fine arts, as in the paintings of the French artists Antoine Watteau and François Boucher.


Perch loves Chinoiserie! The Kartell Mademoiselle Chair is the perfect interpretation of Chinoiserie done in a fresh and modern way, yet it mixes well with antiques and more traditional forms.

Perch Wish List of Chinoiserie:

• Mademoiselle Chair.
• Foo Dog Blue & White (we have a pair)
• Foo Dog Celedon
• Antique Chinoiserie Chair (we have a pair)
• Red Japanned High Boy
• Blanc de chine Chinese Lady
• Thomas Paul Melamine Plates
• Swedish Blue Pagoda Style Cabinet
  

Find it all on our web site HERE