Chinese Whispers

Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930 at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

Don't miss a new exhibition at Brighton Museum that shows how Chinoiserie has provided a backdrop for women behaving badly across the centuries!

Mountainous landscapes and fanciful pagodas
In a chinoiserie interior, fantastic mountainous landscapes with fanciful pagodas and fabulous birds are peopled with exotically clothed mandarins and haunted by dragons and phoenixes.

Brighton's flamboyant Royal Pavilion provides a suitably hothouse flowering of the style and provides the inspiration and focus for this major exhibition.
 
The story of chinoiserie
China has fascinated the imagination of the West for centuries. The story of chinoiserie in Britain is a dazzling example of contact between two very different cultures. English merchants who traded with China returned with silk, porcelain, tea and lacquer. These fabulous objects inspired local craftsmen to produce their own fantastical pieces using the fanciful imagery of an imaginary China.

Chinese Whispers runs from 3rd May to 2nd November 2008 at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

Tickets for Chinese Whispers at Brighton Museum cost £5 (adult) and £3 (conc). Children up to 15 go free. Combined ticket for Chinese Whispers at Brighton Museum and Royal Pavilion costs £12 (adult), £5.1 - child (5-15 yrs), £8.50 (conc).