The Gardens Trust’s second series exploring how gardens and flowers have influenced and inspired other arts and crafts turns to ceramics. This lustrous material was invented centuries ago in China and has long been regarded as rare, beautiful and highly sought after, and by the 18th Century the secret of making and firing this material had been discovered in Europe. Porcelain provided an ideal background for painted decoration, and botanical designs and landscapes provided a rich source of inspiration. Three of our talks provide a brief chronology of floral images and themes on porcelain from the symbolism of Chinese peonies to the botanical depictions of ‘Sir Hans Sloane’s plants’. We also look at the eighteenth century fashion for illustrating topographical views on ceramics, including the iconic Green Frog Service and the depiction of the circuit created at Hafod, as well as other picturesque views, all of which have provided objects of great beauty, usefulness and prestige, as well as being an invaluable tool for the modern researcher.
This ticket is for the entire course of 6 sessions. or you may purchase a ticket for individual session, costing £5 via the link HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week.
In 1710, after years of experimentation under the patronage of the Elector of Saxony Augustus the Strong, scientists and potters at Meissen discovered the ‘Arcanum’ – the secret of making porcelain. This ‘white gold of Saxony’ together with the innovative skills of the factory’s artists and the brilliance of its colour palette earned Meissen fulsome praise as the most prestigious factory in Europe. Its splendor and magnificence were later eclipsed by Sèvres under the patronage of Madame de Pompadour. At both factories, skilled porcelain painters were inspired by the botanical delights of 18th Century gardens. Flower-painting enriched imposing vases or grand services for dessert. At Meissen, the clothes of finely modeled porcelain figures were strewn with flowers, simulating embroidered silk. Other European factories included the du Paquier workshop in Vienna and the Vincennes factory – the precursor of Sèvres – famous for its exquisitely modelled trompe l’oeil flowers. The lecture concludes with the magnificent Flora Danica porcelain service from Copenhagen.
