Regency Chinoiserie in Bamboo and Cane Armchair,
One from a Pair, Bamboo and Cane, China (Canton) For Export to the West, Circa 1800.

Fashioned from the ethereal materials of bamboo and cane, these delicate Chinese chairs from the Vestibule, were fashionable in Chinese style interiors of the late Georgian and Regency periods. The Prince Regent, later George IV, chose these Chinese Export chairs for his remarkable seaside palace, Brighton Pavilion, where the exotic décor created what might be described as an operatic set of fantastic designs.  The chairs are sometimes popularly called “Brighton Pavillion” chairs for this reason.

At Longue Vue they are the visitor’s first glimpse of “chinoisierie” designs, the westerner’s fantasy concept of Cathay, more of which may be seen in the Ladies Reception Room and the Dining Room.

The China Trade: Where East Meets West

Bureau (Desk) with Slant Front, unidentified softwood finished with Chinese lacquer, gilt, brass bail handles and hardware, China (Canton), 3rd quarter of the 18th century.

This “Queen Anne” style bureau in the Ladies Reception Room was made for export to the English market. As early as Marco Polo’s famed visit to Kubla Khan in the 16th century, the West has had a fascination for the exotic commodities of the East.  The European “East India” trading companies formed in the early 1600’s and brought an influx of Chinese and Japanese wares to Europe.  As guides for the craftsmen, the East India traders sent western designs and furniture to China where Chinese techniques and western styles were combined to create fashionable export wares.

The Longue Vue bureau is made with a Chinese Lacquer finish decorated with western style gilt motifs. This Chinese lacquer finish is made from the sap of the rhus vernicifera  tree that is indigenous to China.  The grey-colored sap, to which coloring agents may be applied, hardens upon exposure to the air. European craftsmen began to imitate the look of lacquer work using shellac in order to compete with the export wares. The Longue Vue China Trade bureau is a combination of western design and Chinese craftsmanship. Other touches of “chinoiserie,” the Westerner’s fantasy conception of Cathay may be seen in the Ladies Reception Room.