Chinoiseries at Iksel
An Echo from Chinese-European Encounters
Chinese art before the 20th century has been a recurring source of inspiration for Iksel, especially from an ornamental and decorative point of view. Chinoiseries were among the first decors that were painted in our studio in India, and came to constitute over the years a significant part of our collections.
Chinoiseries are a fusion of European and Chinese styles destined originally for the European market. This fashion began in the mid 17th century as Western Europe and East Asia came into closer commercial contact. This style blossomed in the 18th century at the height of the Rococo period and continued to be popular well into the 19th century. Beautifully applied to furniture and wall decoration as well as architecture and landscape design, they are an echo of a time when Europe was fascinated with the exoticism of Chinese culture without having a first-hand experience of it.
Chinoiseries count among the finest examples of artistic encounters between Europe and China, especially when it came to painting. They were produced either by European artists in the style of the Chinese or directly painted in Cantonese studios that specialised in export production for Western tastes. Interestingly, none of what are called “Chinese Wallpapers” were ever used by the Chinese themselves. These studios blended traditional Chinese painting with themes sometimes borrowed from European art. This meeting point of distant traditions resonates in most of Iksel’s collections.
You will find, hereunder, some examples of our Chinese inspired designs. Our architectural wallpaper Bamboo and its assorted ceiling, our decorative panels series Chinese Fantasy and 2 scenic decors : la Fête Chinoise, presented in our “Gardens and Landscapes”, and Eastern Eden, from our Archive Collection, opening a new “Chinoiseries Landscapes” theme, that will be revealed in our subsequent Newsletters.
The Iksel
