2025 Bursary Recipient: Xiaofan Zhang
Xiaofan Zhang, Merryl Huxtable Award Winner for 2025, talks about the engagement between Chinese wallpaper producers and the British market they served
This project constitutes a central component of my doctoral research at the University for the Creative Arts, UK. It examines the wallpaper in the Chinese Dressing Room at Saltram House in Devon, owned by the National Trust.
Produced between 1750 and 1760, this wallpaper exemplifies an early stage of Chinese export design from the Suzhou production system, distinct from the later, more extensively documented Guangzhou styles. It reflects a specific moment of aesthetic exploration and cross-cultural interaction, during which Chinese producers and British consumers tentatively engaged with each other’s visual and cultural frameworks. Focusing on this period of “tentative encounter,” my research investigates how cultural identities and social expectations shaped the production, circulation, and reception of this material object.
My academic background, shaped by exposure to diverse cultural contexts, has informed my approach to this study. While pursuing a degree in oil painting at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts in China, I engaged with the histories of both Chinese and Western art. This foundation was expanded through a Master’s degree in Fine Art Practice at Glasgow School of Art, which broadened my understanding of artistic practices.
These experiences have led me to undertake doctoral research at the University for the Creative Arts, with a focus on art and cultural studies. In this work, I seek to explore connections between different cultural perspectives, using Chinese wallpaper as a medium to examine historical dialogues.
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This study employs a multidisciplinary methodology, combining archival research, material analysis, and cultural theory to analyse the complexities of the wallpaper’s design and purpose. By studying the relationship between Chinese artisans’ production methods and British consumers’ interpretations, the project aims to clarify how evolving visual expectations were negotiated across cultural boundaries. The results will include academic publications, an online exhibition, and community workshops intended to enhance understanding of early Sino-British artistic interactions.
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Ultimately, this research contributes to scholarly discussions on globalisation, material culture, and cross-cultural aesthetics by demonstrating how objects like Saltram’s Chinese wallpaper illustrate early global exchanges. It highlights the ways in which art objects can reflect and negotiate cultural differences, offering new perspectives on the history of artistic interaction between East and West
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The research bursary will primarily fund the cost of on-site research visits to Saltram House, Felbrigg Hall, and Belton House, to enable detailed examination of Chinese export wallpapers. These visits are crucial for analysing material composition, production techniques, and regional stylistic variations, and will allow me to engage with National Trust staff to clarify provenance and conservation history. I am grateful to the Wallpaper History Society for their support.
Xiaofan Zhang