Chinoiserie vs Rococo Interior

Chinoiserie was influenced by Rococo Interior — chinoiserie flowered as a Rococo decorating fashion.

The Chinese Cabinet, Nymphenburg Palace, Munich

Chinoiserie

The European fantasy of the East — lacquered panels, hand-painted pagoda-and-bird wallpapers, blue-and-white porcelain and fretwork, an imagined China for the salon.

  • Hand-painted papers and silks of pagodas, birds and blossom
  • Black, red and gilt japanned lacquer cabinets and screens
  • Fretwork and lattice, including Chinese Chippendale furniture
  • Massed display of blue-and-white and famille-rose porcelain
  • Bamboo (real or simulated) and pagoda-form canopies
Full Chinoiserie guide →
Hall of Mirrors, Amalienburg, Munich (Cuvilliés, 1734–39)

Rococo Interior

The intimate, asymmetric French salon of the Louis XV era — pastel boiserie, gilded scrollwork, shellwork curves and mirrored grace.

  • Asymmetric rocaille ornament of shells, scrolls and foliage
  • White-and-gold curved boiserie panelling with over-door paintings
  • Pastel palettes — rose, duck-egg blue, cream and gilt
  • Tall pier mirrors paired with curvaceous console tables
  • Cabriole-legged seat furniture and serpentine commodes
Full Rococo Interior guide →

At a glance

ChinoiserieRococo Interior
Era1670s–1900s1715–1770
DisciplineInterior DesignInterior Design
RegionFrance, Britain, Germany, United StatesFrance, Germany, Austria
FamilyChinoiserie, ExoticismRococo, Court styles
Formal traitsexotic, patterned, lacquered, fancifulcurvilinear, asymmetric, pastel, delicate

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