From the curious to the “artinatural”: the meaning of oriental porcelain in 17th and 18th-century English interiors

Abstract

The present article seeks to analyze the presence and the symbolical meaning of oriental, and in particular Chinese, porcelain in English interiors in the 17th and 18th centuries. It examines how porcelain, through its dual status as both a natural and artificial artifact, and its exotic association with the Far East, contributed to the development of the rococo in the decorative arts in England and became a metonymy for women and the female material world.

Keywords

• porcelain
• rococo
• chinoiserie
• China
• tea
• curiosity