Classic Furniture: Craftsmanship, Trade Organisations & Cross-Cultural Influences in East and West

This publication presents a selection of essays on Chinese and European furniture making, stylistic influences and workshop practices during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Single chapters focus on the similarities and differences in cabinetry in East and West, and the overwhelming impact of chinoiserie on the design of furniture in early modern Europe. Individual masterpieces by cabinetmakers in France, England and Germany further exemplify the wide-reaching effect of an 'exotic' stylistic vocabulary and the development of an eighteenth-century fashion in the decorative arts.