Oriental Style is a broad term used in the antiques trade for decoration and objects inspired by, or imported from, the arts of China, Japan and other parts of Asia, and sometimes the Middle East. It covers both genuine Asian works, such as porcelain, lacquer, bronzes and screens, and the many Western interpretations of Eastern design made for European tastes.
European fascination with the East grew as trade with China and Japan expanded from the seventeenth century, bringing porcelain, silks, tea and lacquer to Britain and the Continent. Western craftsmen responded with chinoiserie, a fanciful style featuring pagodas, dragons, figures in landscapes, fretwork and imitation lacquer known as japanning, popular in the eighteenth century and revived in the Regency period. After Japan opened to trade in the 1850s, the Aesthetic Movement embraced Japanese influence, while Orientalist painters depicted North Africa and the Middle East. Today the term Oriental is often replaced by more precise descriptions, such as Chinese, Japanese or Asian, which are considered more accurate and respectful. Collectors distinguish carefully between genuine export pieces and European imitations. The style adds colour, pattern and exotic richness to period interiors and blends readily with English country house furniture.
