The Sensuality of Rococo

When we compare Heinrici’s toilet box to a Japanese lacquered box made for the European market (fig. 23), we can see that the contours are quite different. Whereas the outlines of Heinrici’s design are curvilinear and flowing, the shapes of the Japanese box are straight and geometrical. There is also a big difference in design and decoration. The Japanese box is two-toned, with intrinsically detailed decorations of gold on a black lacquered base. Heinrici’s box instead focuses on the diversity of the inlaid materials, leaving the decoration of the landscapes on its surfaces plain and simplified.

When this toilet box was made, the ornate Rococo style was in its heyday in Europe, so the rather more rigorous shapes of the Asian square boxes were not considered to be as attractive. It seems that European artists preferred the more eccentric and sensuous silhouette of Rococo.