Innovation with the times​​​​​​​​​

History of Chinoiserie

The East India companies started trading in the 17th century  and by the beginning of the 18th century Europe was fascinated by all things from the orient. European artists started to go to the Orient and paint watercolours and publish books of hand-coloured aquatints, which enabled people to see for the first time the man-made structures as well as the flora and fauna and landscapes of the East. Around 1700 the first wallpapers were bought back from China by the East India Company and soon became known as 'India' papers.

Between then and the early 19th century most of the crowned heads of Europe had created their own Chinese interiors to house the collections of Far Eastern artefacts brought back by the East India Company and other traders and adventurers. Drottningholm, The Brighton Pavilion,  Charlottenburg and Oranienbaum are some of the palaces where you can still see these wonderful papers.

we is continuing this tradition of using Chinoiserie that reached its height around 1760 when Thomas Chippendale purchased Chinese wallpapers for the interior of Nostell Priory in the North of England.

jameite papers are all hand-painted. It is almost impossible to reproduce the exact colour shown although we always try to achieve the best match possible. Variations within and between panels in both the background and the design colours should be considered to be one of the charms and qualities of our papers and not a defect.