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📚 From the 17th century onwards, Chinese and Japanese art and ornamentation influenced the design and decoration of interiors and gardens in Britain and Ireland. The importation of Chinese and Japanese luxury goods—lacquer, porcelain, embroidered silk, wallpaper, etc.—allowed designers and homeowners to incorporate these objects into their interiors. The East India Companies also commissioned objects from Chinese and Japanese artisans, incorporating European forms and Western patterns.

However, British designers and artisans also created their own fanciful interpretations of Asian styles and forms, often mistaking the original meaning or purpose behind the designs. These Western-created hybrid styles have been known as chinoiserie and japonisme and remain popular in decoration and design. Over the centuries, even as China and Japan became better known to Europeans, the fictional idea of what is ‘oriental’ remained prevalent in Western design.

Emile de Bruijn, will explore the impact of Chinese and Japanese material culture on British historic houses and gardens, based on the research he undertook (and the photography that was commissioned) for his new book Borrowed Landscapes. De Bruijn will illustrate how elements of Chinese and Japanese culture were admired but often misunderstood by Western craftsmen. He will also show how resulting designs were both idealized and desired, while dismembered and caricatured. Finally, he will explain how the collection of Asian objects in British and Irish country houses and the use of Asian design elements in Western furniture was not just about appropriation but also reflected admiration and an attempt by designers to appeal to the senses and admiration of the beholder.

💻 LIVE
Thursday\, April 4 \| 2:00 p\.m\. \(ET\)
Online via Zoom Webinar

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Branwynne Kennedy

Royal Oak Anglophiles Boston

Art & Culture

Architecture

Anglophile

History

Historic Preservation

Historic Buildings

Historic Locations

Art Walks and Tours

British Culture

England

Historical Tours

British

Cynthia Lupo

Marie

Leslie 

Laurel

Tracey Anderson

marilyn

Daphne

The Influence of China and Japan on the English Country House

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Royal Oak Anglophiles Boston

The Influence of China and Japan on the English Country House

Royal Oak Anglophiles Boston

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