The Extravagance Factory

For the first time, a major exhibition will explore the dialogue between two productions that marked the decorative arts during the Age of Enlightenment. Presented in the prestigious large suites of the château which also date from the 18th century and enhanced by a spectacular setting designed by Peter Marino, this exhibition will be an opportunity to admire pieces of a rarely achieved technical skill and luxury, combined with the gaiety of the century of art de vivre.

This was the case in both Dresden and Chantilly, where our two prince collectors resided. The exhibition will display a selection of the most beautiful examples of Asian porcelain acquired by Augustus the Strong that are still kept in Dresden. And, for the first time, some of the most important Chinese and Japanese porcelain pieces which were at Chantilly until the French Revolution will return to the château, to the very place where the Prince of Condé had displayed them so tastefully!

The aesthetic developed at Meissen and Chantilly resolutely pointed towards the Far East: these manufactories played a prominent role in the development of Chinoiserie in the decorative arts. As an exotic material par excellence, porcelain was one of the main vectors of this style. Both at Chantilly and Meissen, strong reference was made to Japanese productions of the Kakiemon style, with their stylised Japanese motifs, arranged without any symmetry or perspective, highlighting the porcelain’s whiteness.

Animals were not to be outdone: porcelain monkeys will return to the monkey room while a menagerie of extraordinary porcelain aviaries will surprise and arouse wonder in visitors.