Bowl with cover 1715 - 1730

This covered bowl was made in Vienna out of hard-paste porcelain, but in imitation of Chinese styles. The bowl borrows heavily from East Asian artistic traditions. The scene painted on the side is strongly reminiscent of traditional Chinese landscape painting, and the materials used reference the history of the European appropriation of Chinese porcelain production. The bowl is a product of the 18th-century vogue for chinoiserie, a style of art which reflected Europe's fascination with East Asian cultures. Consider the social and economic conditions that drove the creation of this bowl. As Europe's merchant classes grew in wealth and power, so too did the demand for luxury goods. The bowl speaks to the ways that cross-cultural exchange and colonial power dynamics shaped artistic production in Europe. It asks us to consider the politics of imitation, and the ways that artists and institutions represent other cultures. To learn more, you might research the history of the Vienna porcelain factory, the rise of chinoiserie style, and the social history of 18th-century Europe.