Tankard with a Chinoiserie scene

In the 18th century, people in Europe were captivated by the beauty of exotic luxury items which the burgeoning international trade of the time supplied to royal and ducal courts and other wealthy customers. Exotic rarities from the Far East held a particular fascination, gossamer-thin, light, highly coloured dyed silks, snow-white polychromic porcelain and lacquer-painted pieces. People learned of Chinese culture through objects imported from there and from illustrated travel accounts by Jesuit missionaries. Since these products were highly sought after, European craftsmen also came out with luxury products in the Chinese style. The French word chinoiserie (a la chinoise) was used to distinguish these from original Chinese wares (de la Chine). For about fifty years starting in the 1670s, artists typically copied Far Eastern patterns. Between 1730 and 1760 Chinese- and Japanese-inspired imaginary oriental ornamentation dominated, and subsequently, up to about 1820, chinoiserie "appeared as a manifestation of romantic life". Much porcelain of this kind was made in the Meissen porcelain factory. Its highly talented painter and later director, Johann Gregorius Horoldt (1696–1775), was the master of applying diverse pigments on top of the glaze, and of painting Chinese scenes. His figures often appeared in Chinese costumes but with European accessories. The tea ceremony painted on the lid also has a European outlook, the posture and movement of the figures evoking the world of the court. The scene is framed with a profuse lace pattern painted in gold and crimson, to which tiny, finely-wrought monochrome binders were fitted.