Title: Placing China at the Courts of Europe, 1700-1800
Duration: 5-6 September 2024
Institutions: The Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz and the Institute of Art History of the University of Vienna
The conference aims at investigating the intentions and rationales behind the inclusion of Chinese-inspired spaces, structures and designs into programs of representation at European courts during the 18th century.
When Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, added Chinese-inspired state rooms, a pagoda, a tea house and bridges to his sprawling garden realm, he followed a practise widely employed at courts of the German states, Austria, and across Europe.
Chinoiserie was of such importance that it was used by his political allies as well as rivals, by conservative and progressive rulers, and in both protestant and catholic settings. While the centrality of China to elite representation of the time has been noted often, so-far its significance remains opaque. The conference, a collaboration between the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz and the Institute of Art History, University of Vienna, aims at investigating the intentions and rationales behind the inclusion of Chinese-inspired spaces, structures and designs into programs of representation at European courts during the 18th century.
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