… one of the artistic manifestations of Le Rêve chinois , which reached its height thanks to the feminine and domestic culture of tea drinking. Chinoiserie was a style inspired by art and design from China, Japan and other Asian countries … and refined women were contributing to the socio-cultural exchanges between East and West, between Oriental and European cultures of sociability. By combining European rituals of politeness with Chinese teaware, upper-class women were able to … those ‘who can enlarge their view to contemplate distant nations and remote ages’ 9 will pronounce positively on those cultures labelled as ‘barbarous’ departing widely from the European taste. In this encounter between East and West, …