Decorative furniture, blue and white plates, and colorful patterns featuring birds and butterflies: these are common design elements in European everyday life. 

And they have a name: Chinoiserie. 

But where does it come from? 

In the second episode of Traces of China, we explore the flourishing of Chinese artistic influence in 17th and 18th century France, particularly during the reign of King Louis XIV. 

We examine how Chinese art — and even architecture — became deeply embedded in the imaginations of the European elite.