History of the Willow Pattern
The Willow Pattern is a distinctive and elaborate chinoiserie pattern used on ceramics, fabrics and wallpapers that became popular at the end of the eighteenth century with English ceramics artists who combined and adapted motifs inspired by fashionable hand-painted blue-and-white wares imported from China. The evolution of this style occurred at a time when mass-production of decorative tableware, at Stoke-on-Trent and elsewhere, was already making use of engraved and printed glaze transfers referred to as decals todays, rather than hand-painting, for the application of ornament to standardised ceramic products in porcelain and fine bone china. Many different Chinese-inspired landscape patterns were at first produced in this way on ceramics and the Willow pattern became the most popular with various permutations in production to the present day. Characteristically, the background colour is white and the image blue, but various factories have used other colours. Artist, Mariko Jesse offers a modern twist on the classic Willow Pattern with a series of artworks, giving her take on this classic design steeped in tradition. Respecting the traditional motifs of these Chinese inspired landscapes that became fashionable in Europe in the late eighteenth century, her layout is executed in a modern topographical design.
Silver Award Winning Design
Mariko’s uniquely contemporary cartographic green and gold Willow Pattern design lovingly depicts the wonders of nature in urban landscapes, from the Peak looking down to Central, Sheung Wan, Wanchai, Causeway Bay and across the harbour into Kowloon where we see the symbolic swallows representing star crossed lovers escaping to the hinterland. Garnering much critical acclaim, Mariko’s Green and Gold Willow Pattern won a Silver Award for surface design in the US. This first in a series of these exquisite designs with Kowloon, Stanley, Repulse Bay and Sai Kung coming soon as well as Shanghai and Greater China. The unique Willow Pattern, classic yet contemporary is timeless in every way and these elegant ceramics are a perfect addition to your home décor. Exquisitely packaged, the Willow Pattern series make for perfect gifts such as weddings and birthdays.
