chinoiserie
noun
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In 1670, King Louis XIV had the Trianon de Porcelaine erected at Versailles. It was a small structure-a pleasure house built for the king's mistress-and it was decorated with chinoiserie and faced with faience tiles with a blue and white chinoiserie pattern. The building persists in history as the first major example of chinoiserie-the English word is borrowed straight from French, which based the word on chinois, its word for "Chinese"-but the trend it began long outlasted the building itself, which was destroyed a mere 17 years later to make way for the Grand Trianon. Chinoiserie itself was popular throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and enjoyed a brief revival in the 1930s. And people still enjoy it today.
Examples of chinoiserie in a Sentence
Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 2 Sep. 2025
This home became the touchstone for my personal selection and reference for my own life in terms of quality of furniture, objects, art, statuary, and fabric and of my deep association with everything chinoiserie.
—Ralph Rucci, Robb Report, 20 Apr. 2025
Yet by the mid to late 18th century, early Americans began to embrace upholstered furniture, silk window treatments, and elaborate wallpapers, ranging from damasks and chinoiseries to large-scale, non-repeating murals like those seen at the Schuyler and Van Rensselaer estates in New York.
—Cornelia Powers, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
So go ahead and hunt for silver Christmas tree figurines that pair well with your mercury glass or charming nutcrackers that match your chinoiserie collection.
—Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 10 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Chinoiserie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chinoiserie. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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