How Europe Became Obsessed With Chinese Art (Chinoiserie)
Ching Lee Yim | The Collector | 2nd October 2025
A backgrounder. Silk road trade left a mark on Europe’s cultural imagination. Subsequently, maritime trade greatly increasing the availability of exotic luxury Chinese goods – especially ceramics. Chinoiserie became a thing among Europe’s well-to-do. Oriental motifs, such as flowers, dragons and pagodas, married well to rococo‘s decorative aesthetic. Of course, chinoiserie was part fantasy, Europe’s idealisation of Asian culture. Nonetheless, it is a cultural influence that endures.