Orientalism in Design - Chinoiserie

The interest in the East was stimulated during the late 18th and early 19th century by objects imported from Asia and by newly-published books on India and China. The scenes illustrated in these volumes provided British designers and manufacturers with fresh sources of inspiration

The fashion for Chinese themes in decoration in Western Europe grew and as a term was called Chinoiserie. Western designers attempted to imitate the technical sophistication of Chinese designs with only partial success.

Artists took influences not only from the sophisticated Chinese designs but also from India and later Japan (Japonism or japonesque art movement) In many designs the interpretations crossed over to form juxtaposed finishes. These were seen in many forms amongst the fashionable British society including: fashion, ceramics, product design and even architecture. Below are examples or the good and bad imitations:

Most popular chinoiserie, refers to the imitation of ceramics especially Ming decorations from the early 17th century. The Chinese blue and white ceramics were incredibly popular and British potters were producing large quantities of inexpensive transfer-printed earthenware to satisfy the growing market. The Chinease design technique above actually shows a detailed scene of India a good example of the juxtaposed British designs.

To British designers the dragon was the ultimate symbol of China. The mythical beast occurs in various designs of the early 19th century, and continues to crop up as a symbol. As the Orientalism grew in fashion, British designs continued to use sterotypical scenes as a clever marking tool. Others included the willow pattern famous within British ceramic designs, as an invented scene or love story.

The Pagoda, Kew Gardens
Sir William Chambers

There was a fashion for Chinoiserie in English garden design in the mid 18th century. Sir William Chambers was a keen advocate. The Pagoda was completed in 1762 it was the tallest reconstruction of a Chinese building in Europe. The ten-storey octagonal structure is 163 ft (nearly 50 m) high. The original building was very colourful; the roofs being covered with varnished iron plates, with a dragon on each corner. There were 80 dragons in all, each carved from wood and gilded with real gold.

Purists, however, argue that pagodas should always have an odd number of floors. Kew's Pagoda tapers, with each successive floor from the first to the topmost being 1 ft (30 cm) less in diameter and height than the preceding one.