Then & Now | How the West fell in love with Asian culture – when tea, silk and porcelain were seen as status symbols
From the craze for Chinese tea and Indian textiles to Japonisme, ‘fads’ have connected the East with Europe and the United States for centuries
Crazes for the material culture of far-off societies periodically transform the world. Responses to these market-force requirements were slower centuries ago, given slower transport links over great distances and more primitive means of communication. Nevertheless, products hitherto unknown, or reserved for the wealthy, eventually became mass-market within a few decades.
The first Asian craze to become widespread in Europe was that for Indian manufactures, in particular textiles, which took off in the latter part of the 17th century. From about 1660, as the effects of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia series of treaties took shape, steadily rising levels of material prosperity across Europe followed on from political stability and the end of decades of religious-based conflict.
The quality of Indian textiles was high; the colours and designs were unusual, and a wide variety of silk- and cotton-based fabrics were produced. European manufacturers could not even begin to compete on price or quality; from the 1720s onwards, prohibitive tariffs and direct prohibition of imports – a trade war, in other words – saw this craze swiftly decline for lack of affordable recurrent supply.
Among the greatest cross-cultural crazes the world has ever seen was the 18th-century European mania for Chinese goods; modern Hong Kong exists as a direct consequence. Tea was popular, of course, but so were items such as silk, porcelain, fans, lacquer and enamel ware, all of which were imported into Europe and North America in massive quantities. Anyone with the financial means would have a Chinese room; few sizeable English country houses or French chateaux from this period are without one.
After the 1868 Meiji Restoration, in Japan, and the new era of international openness that followed, a craze for anything Japanese swept the Western world. Initially known as Japonisme – the trend was initially French influenced – it saw a powerful impact of Japanese artistic and cultural influences on the West, far beyond what is usually recognised today.
