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
Ralph Rucci, Robb Report, 20 Apr. 2025
The clients’ own chinoiserie panels hold court with a pair of Max Ingrand wall sconces and vintage Patterson Flynn Martin chairs.
—Katherine Burns Olson, Architectural Digest, 24 Jan. 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
As with The Newbury, Champalimaud Design was in charge of the interiors that incorporate elements of both chinoiserie and early New England design.
—Shivani Vora, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for chinoiserie
Cite this Entry
“Chinoiserie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chinoiserie. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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