La Chine The 18th century China collection in the Dresden Kupferstich-Kabinett

Unknown, Chinese (Suzhou), A Draftswoman under a Tree, ca. 1650–80, colour woodcut, partly hand-colored.

La Chine. The China Collection of the 18th Century in the Dresden Kupferstich-Kabinett presents works that were acquired at the court of Augustus the Strong in the wake of the enthusiasm for China that prevailed across Europe in the early 18th century. The exhibition is the result of a three-and-a-half-year research project examining the diverse literary and art-historical references between the Chinese and Chinoisen works from the royal inventory of 1738. The Kupferstich-Kabinett’s collection of Chinese and Chinoisen volumes, scrolls and leporelli from the early 18th century is unique in Europe, and a selection of loans illustrates the diverse uses of graphic templates, for example in porcelain and decorative painting.