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CEvansZA18
1 ×
R130.00
30 Jan 16:36
Willow pattern plate by Johnson Bros.
1 was
available
/ secondhand
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Rosebank, Cape Town
The seller allows collection for this item and will be in contact with the full collection address once the order is ready.
Ready for collection by Monday, 27 May.
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Product details
Condition
Secondhand
Location
South Africa
Product code
729
Bob Shop ID
57014058
A willow pattern plate made by Johnson Brothers. No Chips or cracks but there are utensil marks from use. Diameter 225 mm.
See the text below the pictures for information on the willow pattern.
To view the other items I'm selling, click here: http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/445258/doug4074
The legend behind the pattern
No one knows the exact origin of the Willow legend. Some say the Willow pattern legend was invented in England over 200 years ago to promote pottery sales of Minton's original willow pattern derived from an older Chinese design. The story usually runs as described below (with the frequent references to the figures in the plate design omitted). According to some, the original Chinese pattern Minton based his design on had no bridge with people on it, leading to doubt as to whether the stories connected with it came from China or England. Others say the legend was told in China more than a thousand years ago and brought to Europe from Eastern lands by the Crusaders. Regardless of the origin, the story, with variations, persists.
The Romantic Fable: Once there was a wealthy Mandarin, who had a beautiful daughter (Koong-se). She had fallen in love with her father's humble accounting assistant (Chang), angering her father (it was inappropriate for them to marry due to their difference in social class). He dismissed the young man and built a high fence around his house to keep the lovers apart. The Mandarin was planning for his daughter to marry a powerful Duke. The Duke arrived by boat to claim his bride, bearing a box of jewels as a gift. The wedding was to take place on the day the blossom fell from the willow tree.
On the eve of the daughter's wedding to the Duke, the young accountant, disguised as a servant, slipped into the palace unnoticed. As the lovers escaped with the jewels, the alarm was raised. They ran over a bridge, chased by the Mandarin, whip in hand. They eventually escaped on the Duke's ship to the safety of a secluded island, where they lived happily for years. But one day, the Duke learned of their refuge. Hungry for revenge, he sent soldiers, who captured the lovers and put them to death. The Gods, moved by their plight, transformed the lovers into a pair of doves (possibly a later addition to the tale, since the birds do not appear on the earliest willow pattern plates).