China: ‘The Chinese Market’- a wool and silk tapestry by French artist Francois Boucher, c.1767-9.

This exotic scene from China features market traders beneath a pagoda selling silks, birds, spices, porcelain, fans and other Eastern riches. Wealthy shoppers appear in fine robes, escorted on rickshaws. Interestingly, a camel is depicted with a howdah and a parasol for the use of a rich merchant.

Boucher never visited China. It is thought he produced this tapestry on a Beauvais loom by replicating designs from imported Oriental porcelain and from sketches drawn by Dutchman Arnoldus Montanus during his voyage to Japan in the 17th century.

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Pictures From History