Virtual Travel and Virtuous Objects: Chinoiserie and the Country House

This paper described the key role of European illustrated books in creating and sustaining the image of China in the British consciousness. It also compares and contrasts the phenomenon of chinoiserie (or the taste for things Chinese) with the phenomenon of the Grand Tour (the practice among the British aristocracy and gentry to travel to Italy in order to sample its history, culture and landscape) and how they were both expressed and shaped through illustrated books.