Three Designs for Wall Sconces in the Chinese Taste, Plate 48 in One Hundred and Fifty New Designs
1756â57
Classification
furniture
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase through gift of Agnes Miles Carpenter
Accession Number
1962-191-22
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 18th British design with *Three Designs for Wall Sconces in the Chinese Taste Plate 48 from Thomas *One Hundred and Fifty New* (1756–57). English artist and carver Thomas Johnson (1714–1778) created this printed plate as part of a influential pattern book, offering craftsmen intricate templates for wall-mounted light fixtures. Though the medium remains under study, these designs exemplify the decorative arts of the Georgian era, blending functionality with opulent ornamentation. Johnson's work captures the mid-18th-century craze for Chinoiserie—a fanciful Europe...