Page 4 - Women Collectors and the Rise of the Porcelain Cabinet (Collecting history in Europe)

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Fig. 3 behind 663 porcelain objects, there does not appear colouring. This blue-and-white colour scheme was
Anonymous, The toilette of to have been a specifi c room at that time for the accentuated with gold embellishments. Inside the
Cupid, France, c.1680. Fan,
gouache on leather, with display of porcelain. It was only after her death that building this colour scheme continued with tiled
tortoiseshell sticks and her son Frederick IV (1671–1734) and his wife Louise fl oors, mirrors in lacquered frames, lacquered
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guards. Victoria and Albert
Museum, London, inv. no. of Mecklenburg (1667–1721) planned to use their furniture, fabrics and stucco ornaments: even the
T.155-1978. This fan probably inherited porcelain to fi t out a porcelain room at window frames were painted with blue-and-white
depicts the Appartement des Rosenborg. patterns. 34
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Bains at Versailles, which
was given to Madame de
Montespan in 1684. Experiments with new architectural styles were also The palace soon came to be known as the Trianon
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being conducted at the French court (Fig. 3). In de Porcelaine, although it had originally been called
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1670–71 Louis XIV had a maison de plaisance erected the Pavillon de Flore. The construction of this small
in the park at Versailles for his offi cial maîtresse en palace is generally regarded as marking the start of
titre, Madame de Montespan (1641–1707). This small chinoiserie in France; it is said to have been modelled
pleasure palace served as a private retreat for the on the Chinese imperial palace and porcelain pagoda
King and consisted of one main and two secondary in Nanking and the faience appearance is interpreted
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pavilions as well as two side courtyards, each with as refl ecting the fashion for porcelain.
a pavilion, and was famed for its faience décor.
Contrary to popular belief, however, the exterior Remarkably, however, there was no mention of any
façades were not tiled. Both the gambrel roofs and the Asian porcelain in connection with the Trianon
numerous large vases on the roof balustrade, as well and the tiles were mostly produced by French
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as the gables and window surrounds, only purported manufacturers. The shape of the decorative
to be made of ceramics. The roof was in fact covered vases were European; most of the patterns and
with blue-and-white painted lead sheets and the vases embellishments such as birds, fl owers and cupids
were made of sheet copper with imitation faience reveal Turkish or Moorish infl uences, and the

174 CHINESE AND JAP ANESE P ORCELAIN FOR THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

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