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Always
the allure of the other, of what lies on the other side of the
mountain. Or within the Great Wall. The Orient,
mysterious and beckoning, has fascinated the West forever.
Tales of the Silk Road evoked images of a luxurious lifestyle, of
sumptuous palaces and exquisite fabrics. It's the same
splendor that enticed Marco Polo and those who followed in his
peripatetic footsteps.
Beginning
in the sixteenth century, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British
merchants vied for control of the lucrative trade with the
East. And there was the accompanying aesthetic delight in
things Chinese - the perfect green glaze of an antique celadon
vase, the lines of a Ming chair, the detail of miniature jade
carvings, or the subtle perfection of the brushstrokes of a
Chinese calligrapher. From this passion arose the style
known as chinoiserie. The term chinoiserie
refers to Western artistic traditions that incorporate designs,
colors and artistic references from China, and also includes
influences from Japan, Thailand, and other Asian countries. Chinoiserie
could be faithful in its reproduction, or reflect the arts of
China in its asymmetry of form, in its whimsical depictions of an
imaginary Orient.
Chinoiserie
became popular in the 17th century and reached its apogée by the
mid 18th century. In France, Watteau created delicate
panels, Berain designed remarkable exotic tapestries, and Boucher
painted sumptuous idylls, all in chinoiserie style. Chinoiserie
was incorporated into wallpaper, furniture, porcelain, clothes,
and architecture. Lavish Chinese-themed Costume Balls were
thrown at Versailles and Louis XV commissioned rooms that were
entirely covered with ornamental chinoiserie-styled
paintings in the Chateau de Chantilly. Chippendale designed
lacquered tea tables and cabinets while Dutch potters and
porcelain makers across Europe adopted Chinese designs.
Eventually chinoiserie merged with the equally ornate style
known as Rococo.
In
a sense, chinoiserie unabashedly expresses the idea that
interior decoration is, after all, that strange place where
fantasy and reality meet - in the creation of the space, the
world, one inhabits. Today, one could get a pair of Fu-dog
bookends at CB2, snag one large statement piece at an estate sale,
or just read all about it in Dawn Jacobson's Chinoiserie.
Buy:
Fu-dog
Bookends, CB2
Read:
Chinoiserie,
Dawn Jacobson
Visit:
Pearl
River Mart, 477 Broadway in Soho
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