Chinoiserie At The Factory

Western art had been dominated for centuries by the balanced classical styles originally
developed in ancient Greece and Rome like these ruins of the famous Library at Ephesus.

However, starting in the 17th century, Europeans of taste clamored for objects decorated in the
Chinese style.  People were fascinated by the new imports showing Chinese landscapes and
types of dress, a mixing of different scales and perspectives within the same image, and a
preference for asymmetry.  The French coined the name chinoiserie for this fad, which is still
popular today.

At Niermann Weeks all our chinoiserie finishes derive from an 18th century English screen
painted in the Chinese style.  A real screen coming from China at that time would have rare,
expensive, and hard to obtain, so European artists made a good living imitating the style and
making it more accessible.  Joe got our screen in Memphis in the late 1970s.  The screen is
extremely fragile and so we have it hung in the office; an office cabinet in front of it, keeps
people at a distance.  The English craftsman was as expert in the final lacquer coating as a
Chinese master would have been, and the lacquer is cracking and flaking away all over its
surface.

We have developed from this antique our standard Chinoiserie Screen with four panels, but
right now we are working on a customer’s custom order. His screen differs from our standard by
adding another two panels in width and another 18″ in overall height to each panel. This is the
sort of challenge that makes an artist’s day.

David developed a master cartoon for the custom screen and then used a colored pencil to
outline his design on the black boards.  He’s now laboriously painting the decorative images,
using a palette of only two colors: gold accented by Chinese lacquer red.

Our antique screen has inspired many other chinoiserie products over the years.
A standard Chinoiserie Cabinet

A custom cabinet in white and gold as well as another in red and gold

A custom Bowfront Commode in a brown/black with reddish gold accents

A Chinoiserie Tulipiere that comes standard in black and gold.  A tulipiere was another fad
dating from the 17th century, as Europeans first were introduced to the then exotic blooms of
tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths. Again we can thank the French for the word tulipiere to
describe a specialized vase in which to display these fabulous flowers.

At home my tulipiere is in white and gold; it sits on a cabinet in the living room and will probably
never hold a flower.  It could though, as each of the wells can hold water.
Each rim is also pre-drilled with holes in which the place the stems.

Jul 02, 2009 | Categories: Design Dispatches, Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »