Schoorsteenmantel met vazen en oosterse scènes 1708 - 1724

Johann Adam Delsenbach created this print of a mantelpiece with vases and so-called ‘oriental scenes’ in the eighteenth century. As printed images proliferated, they offered new ways to share and standardise interior design. The mantelpiece itself is adorned with rococo flourishes and classical allusions: a canvas for ornamentation. Yet, the image’s real interest lies in the panels to its right. These 'oriental scenes' reflect Europe’s growing fascination with Asia. The Dutch East India Company’s trade brought new goods and visual cultures that became fashionable amongst the wealthy. But these scenes also reveal how the ‘Orient’ became a screen for European fantasies, full of exoticised figures and landscapes. As art historians, we must explore the social and economic conditions that shape artistic production and reception. Archival research into trade records, social histories of collecting, and studies of decorative arts can reveal the complex ways that art is tied to global exchange and cultural imagination.