I Made a Treasury!: Chinoiserie

In my college days I took Asian Art History class to fulfill my humanities requirement. (That sounded like a lot more fun to me than 'Intro to Anthropoligy'.) It surprised me to learn a lot of what I considered "Asian" art are actually European and American interpretations of ancient Chinese art. It was a huge trend back when the mythical East was considered a magical land, not the other side of the world. Genuine Chinese art and earthenware sold like hot cakes with the rich. Enterprising artists did their best to mimic this popular style. Hence the French term for the movement, Chinoiserie. It's "like Chinese", but that doesn't mean it is Chinese in origin. Congratulations to everyone that made it in the listing and the alternate candidates!

Click here to visit the 'Chinoiserie' Treasury