CHINOISERIE PAVILION

Chinoiserie Pavilion

Garden elements designed to represent another age or culture have been one of the most productive inspirations for original designs, even though they are often produced without any real knowledge of the original culture. A significant example is the passion of eighteenth century, Europeans for everything oriental. In the absence of real examples or knowledge they invented items that they thought looked Chinese, Japanese, Indian, or Persian or a mixture of these cultures. In the process a 'Chinoiserie' design vocabulary developed that was substantially a work of the imagination. It became popular throughout Europe and some British colonies. This important influence on garden design is represented at Hamilton Gardens in the Perfume Garden by the Chinoiserie Pavilion.
 
The design of the Chinoiserie Pavilion is based on an important, small, historic building called the 'Chinese House' originally located in an area called 'the Elysian Fields' at Stowe in Britain. It was built in 1738, which makes one of the first 'Chinese style' building in England. It appears the building soon fell out of favour or fashion because it was shifted to Wotton in the 1750's, where it remained for the next 200 years, until 1957 when it was shifted again to Harristowne House in County Kildare, Ireland. The National Trust purchased the building in 1992 and after 240 years, recently it was carefully restored and returned to near its original site in the Elysian Fields at Stowe. The National Trust used the firm of 'Bush & Berry Conservation' to undertake the restoration who have generously provided plans and photographs from that restoration for use at Hamilton Gardens. Emile de Bruijn of the National Trust was particularly helpful with the project.
 
The Friends of Hamilton Gardens sponsored the Chinoiserie Pavilion with the support of contributors, such as the Scottwood Trust. Many of the funds were specifically raised through an auction of artwork donated by some of Hamilton's leading artists.
 
The Chinoiserie Pavilion was built by David Bowden, the craftsman responsible for construction of the Japanese and Chinese Pavilions, the Millmead Pavilion and the Russian Bell Tower at Hamilton Gardens. The Green Frog Sign Co reproduced artwork and the bronze fish were reproduced by John Taris
 
The original plans of the Chinese House at Stowe were adapted by local architect Mark de Lisle. However the designer of the original Chinese House is thought to have been either the garden designer William Kent or the owner of Stowe himself, Lord Cobham. Cobham's cousin, Sir William Temple published a famous essay in 1692 called 'Upon the Gardens of Epicurus' , which promoted a largely imaginary Chinese design for which he invented the name 'Sharawadgi'.
 
At Hamilton Gardens the original Chinese House design has been adapted with a large opening, which has turned the building into a small stage. While a stage was not the function of the original Chinese House, it was quite common to create Chinese or Chinoiserie stages in gardens, one of the few surviving examples being located in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen. These stages may have influenced the later Chinoiserie theatres that were still being built in the 1930's.
 
The gaily-painted detail on the walls of the Chinoiserie Pavilion was an adaptation of the paintings on the original Chinese House. According to Daniel Defoe, the painter of the original Chinese House was thought to be Francisco Slatea, an Italian who worked in England from 1719 painting artwork on houses. The artwork itself is from the Regency period  artists' conception of Chinese art. For example, the vases filled with flowers were based on the Shang dynasty bronze and stone pots, called gu, which had found their way to Britain. The pictures of a group of elegantly dressed ladies are based on the patterns on Chinese porcelain and painted wallpapers and the coiled dragons were copied from imported porcelain and lacquer. These dragons were a particular favourite of George IV, who was said to have inspired the corpulent men in the other pictures; although it is more likely they were general interpretations of Buddhist and Daoist characters.  
The Chinoiserie Pavilion represents an important period in the story of gardens; a time when the European imagination was fired with the romance of the East.