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.
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.