Une chinoiserie insolite : étude d'un papier peint chinois

Abstract

Although Chinese wallpaper was appreciated by the 18th century Europeans, and can be found in a number of castles throughout Europe, it did not attract the attention that Chinese porcelain or lacquer did. The wallpaper example presented here is quite special in that it shows unusual scenes of Chinese rice cultivation, and silk, tea, and porcelain production instead of the common ornamental flower and bird motifs. Depictions of rice cultivation and silk production can be found in Geng zhi tu paintings and prints starting from the Song period. Representations of porcelain techniques and tea production, however, might date no earlier than the 17th century. The wallpaper of this study offers, therefore, probably one of the earliest examples. It is currently housed in Germany where it was transferred from one of the castles of Empress Maria Theresia of Austria who seems to have had a passion for things Chinese.