The mid-18th century saw the extraordinary rise in popularity of Chinese wallpapers in the British Isles-extraordinary because the taste for them spread so fast and so widely.
Chinese products like porcelain and tea had already been imported into Europe in substantial quantities since the 17th century and China was admired by Europeans as a sophisticated, stable and prosperous empire. But Chinese wallpapers made for the European market only emerged as a product in the 18th century, paradoxically in response to European-made, Chinese-style wallpapers. In this talk, Emile de Bruijn will unravel the mysteries of Chinese wallpaper, its imagery and its evolving role in British interiors.
