Travelling and Exoticism / Orientalisms

What these phenomena reveal is the duality of these encounters.

Europe’s imitation and reinterpretation of Asia which emerged in the 17th century finally gave rise to a “taste for the Orient” in the 18th century, a craze that crisscrossed Europe from St. Petersburg to Lisbon and from London to Aranjuez and Naples. Chinoiserie was part of this process. By the 19th century the “Orient” had been re-oriented in the eyes of Europe to embrace not only the “Far East” but also the “Middle East” and North Africa. Eastern Europe had been in contact with the “Orient” long before, however, because of its geographic proximity; a similar story applies to the Iberian Peninsula and the “Arab world” also. What these phenomena reveal is the duality of these encounters; not only by the interactions between Europe and different cultures and civilizations, but also how Europe projected itself.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Biblioteca Joanina da Universidade de Coimbra1728Parish of Sé Nova, Coimbra, Coimbra, PortugalIn Coimbra University library the chinoiserie motifs on the bookshelves entice the visitor with a taste of exoticism while the allegorical ceiling paintings recall the globalised world built under the Portuguese. On the wall facing the door is a portrait of King João V by the court painter G. D. Duprà.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Middle room balcony railings 1724Interior, Biblioteca Joanina da Universidade de Coimbra Parish of Sé Nova, Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Middle room balcony railings 1724Interior, Biblioteca Joanina da Universidade de Coimbra
Esterházy Palace1750s; 1762–1780sFertőd-Eszterháza, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryThe Esterházy palace complex is a maison de' plaisance that was redesigned by Nikolaus Esterházy between 1750 and 1780. The palace was the centre of Hungarian chinoiserie, and the opera house and marionette theatre were exquisite parts of the complex. Franz Joseph Haydn was head of Prince Nikolaus's orchestra for 30 years and lived at the palace.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Esterházy Palace1750s; 1762–1780sFertőd-Eszterháza, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryIn the 18th century the palace was famous for its exquisite furnishings, including silk tapestries, ornate boiserie panels and wall-paintings; chandeliers, clocks, ceramics, books, carpets, furniture and paintings; chinoiserie, including furniture, ceramics and also blue-and-white wall-paintings, wallpaper and Chinese lacquered panels.
Esterházy Palace1750s; 1762–1780sFertőd-Eszterháza, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryJapanese ceramics.
Esterházy Palace1750s; 1762–1780sFertőd-Eszterháza, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryJapanese ceramics.
Esterházy Palace1750s; 1762–1780sFertőd-Eszterháza, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryChinese-lacquer panels.
Church and Convent of S. Gonçalo17th and 18th centuriesAngra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalThe single nave has two overlapping choirs separated from the church by an oval frame. The decorative scheme includes azulejos and oil paintings from the late 17th and early 18th centuries and a Rococo main altarpiece. The convent includes the southern and northern cloisters, dating from the 16th century and the 17th century respectively.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Church and Convent of S. Gonçalo17th and 18th centuriesAngra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalThe Upper Choir has an oratory, an 18th-century organ and choir-stalls and chinoiserie decoration on the arch-vault that opens into the church.
Church and Convent of S. Gonçalo17th and 18th centuriesAngra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalChinoiserie elements on the arch-vault of the upper choir.
Church and Convent of S. Gonçalo17th and 18th centuriesAngra do Heroísmo, Azores, PortugalChinoiserie elements on the arch.
Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau1670–1680; 1698; 1700–1737; 1853–1856Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou, Moravia, Czech RepublicCount Questenberk travelled around western Europe and planned to model his residence on the palace at Versailles. Its Baroque reconstruction was by the Austrian architect, J. Prandtauer, and included a garden in the French style. In the 18th century the château functioned as a centre for high culture with a large library, a gallery, a theatre and a musical ensemble.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Sala Terrena1714Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou ChateauJaroměřice nad Rokytnou, Moravia, Czech Republic
Count’s Study1729–1737Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau
Ambassadors' Room1754Queluz National Palace, Queluz, PortugalThe Palace of Queluz was a project undertaken by Infante Dom Pedro (later King Pedro III, 1717–86) from 1747 until 1786 to transform his former summer manor into a Royal Palace. In the "Room of Vases" are enormous Chinese porcelain vases and smaller, similarly Oriental vessels. The ceiling paintings and the ogee arches hold allegorical motifs and chinoiserie.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Corridor of Sleeves1784 (tiles of the upper part)Queluz Royal Palace, Queluz, PortugalThe polychrome tile-panels covering the upper walls depict the Four Seasons, the Four Continents and scenes from classical mythology, with singeries and chinoiserie with figures in Oriental costumes.
Tile Canal of the Jamor river18th centuryQueluz Royal Palace, Queluz, PortugalThe canal, decorated with azulejos panels, was originally located close to the "Chinese House" decorated in chinoiserie. The Queen's chamber orchestra would have played on summer evenings inside or outside the house while the royal family drifted in boats on the mirrored waters of the canal, lit by torches, and reflecting the azulejos.
Oriental influence on the royal collectionsQianlong period, 1738Queluz Royal Palace, Queluz, PortugalThese Fountain and Basin from the Qing dynasty depict narrative scenes are named The Doctor's Visit to the Emperor, by a drawing of Cornelius Pronk (1691–1759). Hired by the Ducht East India Company he painted imaginary scenes from China, where he never went, to be furtherly copied by oriental artisans to whom a large scale of dinner sets was ordered for the European market.
Vase with coverLate 17th century Museum of Arts and Crafts
Zagreb, North-West Croatia, Croatia
The vase, produced in Delft, belonged to countess Jelisava Drašković. The shape and painted plant ornamentation in blue, red-brown and green is of Oriental inspiration. It is signed in red-brown: "APK" (in ligature) and engraved "X".