Yoshio Kanamori

In the late 19th and early 20th century, France developed an enduring passion for Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship. Not only did this interpretation of Japanese culture — which became known as Japonisme — infuse fresh energy into French art and design, but it also radically transformed how Europeans, and subsequently the world, would come to understand visual culture. 

Until 1853, Japan had been closely guarded against foreign visitors for over two centuries. However, American Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Japan that year and initiated the first of its treaties with the United States and Europe, thereby opening its borders and giving the West its first-ever look at Japanese design. 

For the next few decades, taken with Japonisme, sophisticated collectors in Paris, New York and elsewhere gorged themselves on lacquered screens, celadon ceramics and netsuke ornaments, along with artworks depicting various aspects of Japanese life. The East Asian country’s influence on Europe, particularly France, contributed to one of the most creatively prosperous periods in history, leaving an imprint on the Impressionist, Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, and inspiring artists like Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh as well as luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. Japonisme emerged at the time when the ornate Renaissance Revival style was the most prominent mode of decorating in Europe, and Japanese aesthetics seemed strikingly modern and elegant in comparison. 

In addition to everyday practical objects from Japan, such as vases, tableware and decorative boxes, Japanese art, especially Japanese woodblock prints by masters of the ukiyo-e school, caught the eye of many artists — particularly those in the Art Nouveau poster community in 1880s Paris. The luscious organic colors associated with traditional Japanese design, motifs like cherry blossoms and carp and the vivid patterns found in woodblock prints, silks and more were adopted and appropriated by painters as well as ceramicists and those working in other fields of the decorative arts. Today, demand for Japanese lacquerware — furniture, trays, writing boxes, screens, incense burners — from the Edo period (1615–1868) and the late 19th century continues to be very strong among collectors.

Find a collection of antique Japonisme furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

From Japanese handmade earthenware pottery, originating circa 14,500 B.C. and adorned with elaborate corded patterns known as jōmon, to natural elm case pieces and storage cabinets built in Qing dynasty–era China to mid-century Thai rice-paper charcoal rubbings, antique and vintage Asian art and furniture make for wonderful additions to all kinds of contemporary interiors.

Eastern elements elevate any home’s decor. Introduce zen sensibility to your living room, dining room and bedroom with the neutral color palettes and the natural materials such as rattan, bamboo and elm that we typically associate with traditional Asian furniture. Decorative handwoven embroideries and textiles originating from India and elsewhere on the continent, which can be draped over a bed or sofa or used as a wall hanging, can be as practical as they are functional, just as you wouldn’t seek out Japanese room-divider screens — often decorated with paintings but constructed to be lightweight and mobile — merely for privacy.

With everything from blanket chests to lighting fixtures to sculptures and carvings, it’s easy to tastefully bring serenity to your living space by looking to the treasures for which the East has long been known.

For British-born furniture designer Andrianna Shamaris, the Japanese concept of beauty in imperfection isn’t limited to her Wabi Sabi collection. She embraces it in her New York City apartment as well. In the living area, for instance, she retained the fireplace’s original black marble while swathing its frame and the rest of the room in bright white.

“We left the fireplace very clean and wabi-sabi, so that it blended into the wall,” says Shamaris, who further appointed the space with a hand-carved antique daybed whose plush pillows are upholstered in antique textiles from the Indonesian island of Sumba.

In the growing antique and vintage Asian art and furniture collection on 1stDibs, find ceramics from China, antiquities from Cambodia and a vast range of tables, seating, dining chairs and other items from Japan, India and other countries.