Suzhou Woodblock Prints of Beautiful Women in Central Europe during the Rise of the Chinese Fashion
Suzhou Woodblock Prints of Beautiful Women in Central Europe during the Rise of the Chinese Fashion

Summary/Abstract: This article introduces a relatively large collection of hand-coloured woodblock prints of beautiful Chinese women that once decorated the Chinese room at Žleby, Bohemia. Their recent rediscovery in Slatiňany, where they were moved after the room had been dismantled, triggered a search into theirorigins and characteristics. Judging from the historical context and from their imagery, the prints were produced in Suzhou and can be dated to the last decades of the Kangxi era (1664–1722). They are also significant as tokens of the East-West artistic exchanges on multiple levels: from borrowed techniquesof shading and perspective on the one hand, to their use as models for chinoiserie in rococo art on theother. Some of the images are unique, while some are identical with those seen in Suzhou prints preserved e.g. at other sites and collections in Hessen, Lower Saxony and Bavaria. The date of their acquisitionor installation helps us to understand the spread of the so-called Chinese fashion in this partof Europe.

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