Wall sconce with flower sprays and a pavilion in a fenced garden c. 1730

This is a wall sconce, made from faience around the early 1700s by Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier’s factory. The porcelain is decorated with flower sprays and a pavilion in a fenced garden. During this period, Europe was captivated by Chinoiserie, a decorative style that reflected a fascination with East Asian cultures, but often relied on fantasy rather than reality. This wall sconce, with its idealized pavilion scene, embodies this trend. What we see here is not an attempt at cultural understanding, but an embrace of exoticism which served the desires and fantasies of the European elite. Consider this object in the context of global trade networks and colonial power dynamics: it serves as a reminder of how the aesthetic appreciation of one culture can be intertwined with the exploitation of another. This object testifies to the complexities of cultural exchange, where admiration can coexist with misrepresentation.