Singerie

Singerie, French for "monkeyshines" and a kind of chinoiserie, is a design motif in which monkeys join a fun-loving crowd of partiers. Like chinoiserie, it is supposed to provide a gently mocking view of the human condition.

Singerie became fashionable in late 17th-century and 18th-century France and is typically associated with Rococo decorative painting. A primary example of which is the breathtaking Grande Singerie, a recently restored boudoir in the Chateau de Chantilly.

What a great word, singerie! and a loan word at that. And one that is unfamiliar enough that I will continue to italicize it, even though I would not italicize more well-known loan words, like subpoena or faux pas.

To this day, we have sophisticated examples of singerie, in textiles, for example. Just take a look at Scalamandré's wonderful Chinoise Exotique.

But my earliest exposure was to popular singerie. I don't know how many yellow kitchens I went into as a child, on whose walls were a "praying hands" plaque or a Pennsylvania Dutch saying, "Too soon old, too late schmart." Similarly, there could be a monkey see, monkey do relief or a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil statuette.

Well, enough monkeyshines and on to more serious matters.

Detail of the allegory of the theater.

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