As global trade increased in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, more Europeans became enthralled with visions of Cathay, as China was popularly known. Chinoiserie, the ornamentation featured on the tapestries and door in this installation, is an enchanting decorative motif depicting imaginary and whimsical interpretations of life in Asia. An 18th-century European concept, chinoiseries typically present exotic figures clothed in flowing robes and elaborate headdresses, and situated in fantastical landscape settings. Whether these figures represent people of China, India, the Middle East, or Japan is often difficult to determine; they are a mélange of peoples referring not to geographical and cultural boundaries so much as to a general concept of Asia. A blend of factual travel accounts, atlases, myth, and fantasy, the scenes in these four tapestries from the museum’s collection offer a wealth of iconographic images to study and explore.
Audience of a Prince (detail), commissioned in 1717, Judocus de Vos, Flemish, Brussels, 1661-1734, wool, silk, metallic threads, 146 7/16 x 58 1/4 in. Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts, Anonymous, General Acquisition Fund, Mildred King Dunn, Richard and Betty Hedreen, Decorative Arts Acquisition Fund, Margaret Perthou-Taylor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Art Acquisition Endowment Fund, Ann Bergman and Michael Rorick, Mr. and Mrs. David E. Maryatt, 2002.38.4. Photo courtesy Galerie Chevalier, Paris.
Mexican and Latino Art Museum | San Francisco | In Association With The Smithsonian Institution - Th
Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D
San Francisco
Europe Imagines the EastSeattle Art Museum Main address:
Seattle Art MuseumWells Fargo Center1300 FIRST AVENUEWA 98101Seattle, United statesSeattle Art MuseumWells Fargo Center1300 FIRST AVENUEWA 98101Seattle, United statesAs global trade increased in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, more Europeans became enthralled with visions of Cathay, as China was popularly known. Chinoiserie, the ornamentation featured on the tapestries and door in this installation, is an enchanting decorative motif depicting imaginary and whimsical interpretations of life in Asia. An 18th-century European concept, chinoiseries typically present exotic figures clothed in flowing robes and elaborate headdresses, and situated in fantastical landscape settings. Whether these figures represent people of China, India, the Middle East, or Japan is often difficult to determine; they are a mélange of peoples referring not to geographical and cultural boundaries so much as to a general concept of Asia. A blend of factual travel accounts, atlases, myth, and fantasy, the scenes in these four tapestries from the museum’s collection offer a wealth of iconographic images to study and explore.
Audience of a Prince (detail), commissioned in 1717, Judocus de Vos, Flemish, Brussels, 1661-1734, wool, silk, metallic threads, 146 7/16 x 58 1/4 in. Seattle Art Museum, Gift of Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts, Anonymous, General Acquisition Fund, Mildred King Dunn, Richard and Betty Hedreen, Decorative Arts Acquisition Fund, Margaret Perthou-Taylor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Art Acquisition Endowment Fund, Ann Bergman and Michael Rorick, Mr. and Mrs. David E. Maryatt, 2002.38.4. Photo courtesy Galerie Chevalier, Paris. Book tickets
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