The materials in this curriculum are designed for elementary and secondary teachers to prompt classroom discussion and learn about Asian influences in Europe in the 18th century through visual arts, language arts, and social science lessons.

The lessons investigate chinoiserie, the cultural and artistic trend that produced objects and paintings reflecting Chinese subjects and motifs. In its broadest sense, chinoiserie was meant to evoke the spirit and decorative forms of faraway lands as diverse as China, Japan, India, and the Middle East.

Lessons 1–4 of 4

Imagining China through Words
Grades/Level: Middle School (6–8)
Subjects: Visual Arts, English—Language Arts
Lesson Overview: Students will create a drawing from a written description and examine and discuss how European artists from the past created images of China that combined imagination with written descriptions and limited visual imagery.

New Forms from Old
Grades/Level: Upper Elementary (3–5)
Subjects: Visual Arts
Lesson Overview: Students will examine porcelain objects and see how their original use has been changed to create a new decorative object or an object with a new function. They will then take everyday utilitarian objects and re-create them into new objects that can be functional or entirely decorative.

Fusing Furniture and Asian Art
Grades/Level: Middle School (6–8)
Subjects: Visual Arts, History—Social Science
Lesson Overview: Students will learn how French artists used imported lacquer panels in their furniture. They will then explore Asian lacquer panels and create their own Asian-inspired lacquer panel design. Students will then trade their designs and incorporate their classmates' designs into a new furniture design.

The Poetry of Chinoiserie
Grades/Level: Middle School (6–8), High School (9–12)
Subjects: Visual Arts, History—Social Science
Lesson Overview: Students will examine works of art that incorporate Asian export objects, and then respond to them using Japanese haiku poems.

Lessons 1–4 of 4