Gathering from the past advice by the professor, I am advised to change the object that I have previously chosen (“At-home dress, 18th century”). As my group is focused on Chinoiserie in the bedroom space, I have tried researching for other objects to choose from. Instead of dresses, I decided to look at other textiles such as curtains, carpets, upholstery, etc. I have decided to choose the following as my new Chinoiserie object:
Pair of side curtains of a bed
Early 18th century, probably French
Linen, embroidered with wool and silk
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1953
The Museum of Metropolitan Art
This pair of side curtains, embroidered with chinoiserie designs, would have decorated the sides of a European state bed usually reserved for important guests. The decorative style reflects a romantic view of China derived from illustrations in books by Western travellers. The floral motifs, figures dressed in vaguely Chinese garments characterized by the wide-sleeve and the over and under skirt, fantastic creatures such as phoenixes and dragons highlight the interest in the theme of fantasy and the exotic. Bizarre silks are a style popular in Europe during the late 17th to early 18th century yet its precise origin is still undetermined. The style “bizarre silk” is characterized by the bold colours, large-scale, and asymmetrical patterns of silk fabrics featuring stylized leaves and flowers. Asymmetry, a characteristic prevalent in Chinese design and architecture is distinct from Europe’s artistic style focused on balance and order. These early chinoiserie embroideries display an attempt to capture the aesthetic of disorder that Europeans were intrigued by.
References:
Pair of side curtains for a bed. 18th century. Linen, embroidered with wool and silk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Web. 2nd November 2015.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/227617
A lovely choice in object!
You have provided us with the context and the function of this object along with the subject matter.
But, the information seems to be directly taken from the Heilbrunn Timeline and it has not been credited. Moreover, if you are citing a textual source, it is always better to paraphrase rather than copy word to word and risk plagiarism.
Thank you for the reminder Miss Sujatha! I have now paraphrased and edited the object label above to avoid plagiarism and also to add more details. I have also included the reference in the post.