Victorian Chinoiserie Tray with Castle Howard Provenance

• Japanning - Japanning is the early eighteenth century technique used by European craftsmen to imitate the oriental style lacquer work that became popular in England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain in the 17th century.
  
  The lacquer used was based on the lac beetle dissolved in alcohol (as used in French polish) and differed from the Chinese lacquer which was based on tree sap.
  
  Each layer of the lacquer was allowed to dry and then sanded down. It was applied over cream, yellow, green, red, or black grounds. Japanning using gold leaf was also widely used with lacquer work. The technique can be found on bureaux, cabinets, chests, longcase clocks, and chairs.
• Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
  
  The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.
• Chinoiserie - Furniture and decorative items decorated in imitation of a Western interpretation of the Chinese style. The Chinoiserie style first became popular in the late 17th century, though there were frequent revivals, notably by Chippendale (hence 'Chinese Chippendale') during the Regency period, and the Anglo-Japanese style in the second half of the 19th century.
  
  The ubiquitous 'willow pattern' is the most common 'Chinese' theme used in porcelain, while on furniture the Chinoiserie style usually has black or red painted and lacquered decoration, though the hallmark of the furniture style is the use of fretwork in geometrical patterns, pagodas and other decorative forms.
  
  Japonaiseries, as the name implies, are motifs in imitation of the Japanese taste.
  
  See also "Chinese Chippendale".

This item has been included into following indexes:

• trays, material - other wooden types 112