52. 'Blue Onion' porcelain platter by Meissen. 42 cm.
This old platter was kept on a plate rack in my parents' kitchen and was lifted down when used for family gatherings. It was designed by Johann Joachim Kaedler in 1739 and is one of the most popular and copied patterns in the Meissen pattern library. It is thought to have been copied from a Chinese bowl made in the K'ang Hsi Period (1662 -1722). The original design was of peaches and pomegranates. When it was given to the Meissen painters in 1728 these fruits were not known to them and so the motif was changed to onions. Over the years the pattern was simplified to make it easier to paint.
The platter now sits on top of my kitchen dresser.
53. Parian plate, 32 cm diameter.
We found this plate in a junk shop when we were first married. The message, 'waste not want not' was entirely appropriate for our financial state at the time! It has the look of a Victorian collection plate, but as you can see, we use it to store the results of years of happy beach combing.
Now that you're past the 50 mark, I'm wondering what your next post-100 blog will be named.
ReplyDeleteParian was one of those 'Art for the people' materials that did no favours for artists. Your plate seems to be designed like a bread board. Arts and Crafts bucolic.
I've just bought a 1733, silver-plated brass platter Cher. How funny - I never normally buy that sort of thing, but it was just so cheap.
ReplyDeleteWell Rosemary I thought I found this blog all on my own but then I see Cro and Tom beat me to it. Still, I will stay and follow as these beautiful items you describe as not as common here in the US and reading your blog will help soften my rough Yankee edges.
ReplyDeleteNice clear photos. What camera do you use ?
I'm trying to put my objects in some sort of chronological order, Cro, but it's proving difficult and now that I'm over half way I'm in danger of not fitting in all the objects that I want to mention. I'm starting to see why our house is bursting at the seams! (I may have to cheat and bundle my objects in groups.)
ReplyDeleteThe difference between you and me, Tom, is that you know what you are buying. I haven't got the foggiest, I'm just heart over head.
Welcome Donna, and I hope you will enjoy my very motley selection of objects. I use a small Panasonic Lumix digital camera which fits in my pocket, model DMC-LX2. According to the manual it can do all sorts, but I am not remotely technical and just point and shoot, although i do then sometimes go on to crop in photoshop. Before this camera I had a much-loved Pentax MX, with separate screw-on telephoto, heavy as a bag of coal and now an obsolete technology!