Washington Winter Show 2018

47 Aside from aesthetics, the story of chinoiserie is also a story of economics, and here ceramics are a perfect case study. From the onset of large-scale ceramic manufacturing in Great Britain in the mid- 18th century, the various potteries were in constant competition as they sought to imitate and replicate not only the composition of Chinese porcelain but also the decorative motifs found on these imported wares. Perhaps Charles Caleb Colton said it best when he noted in 1820 that, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” 3 The British potters began creating their own motifs, including the Willow Pattern, that imitated the designs found on Chinese vessels. And like any fad, the Willow Pattern made its way into the popular culture of the era. The fabricated folk tale of the Willow Pattern was further developed into a play and later a one-act comic opera that premiered in London at D’Oyly Carte’s Savoy Theater in 1901. 4 The development of the transfer-printing process further revolutionized the industry, making it possible for a small factory to churn out a staggering quantity of identically decorated pieces at significantly lower costs. 5 This new technology eliminated the need for the legions of painters who had previously applied designs brushstroke by brushstroke, and the cheaper production costs made it possible for the newly emerging middle classes to acquire full dinner services of blue and white. 6 These popular wares were also exported to the United States and British colonies around the world. In 1819, former President James Madison wrote the U.S. Consul in Liverpool, James Maury, noting that “Mrs. Madison wishes you to send her a Crate of Blue Ware of handsome pattern, well assorted.” 7 The resulting service that was shipped to Montpelier, Madison’s Virginia estate, was Davenport’s Bamboo & Peony , a service with decidedly eastern themes yet manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent. Pieces of this service have been found in great quantities during the archaeological excavations at Montpelier. The primary import of the China Trade was tea, and all manner of tea-drinking accessories were produced with decorative themes reflecting the beverage’s eastern origins. Silversmiths in London and later in the colonies began producing tea and coffee pots as well as tea caddies adorned with pagodas and other oriental motifs. In many cases, the furniture on which the tea was served or the chairs that held those who consumed it showed direct Chinese influence, Fig. 2: Bracket clock with works by London clockmaker John Taylor, ca. 1765. Image Courtesy of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Julian Wood Glass Jr. Collection. Photo by Rick Foster. even when they were products of a London or Philadelphia cabinetmaker. One source for the cabinetmakers was actual Chinese- made furniture imported to London and other metropolitan areas as part of the China Trade. A source with wider reach was the pattern book, such as Thomas Chippendale’s first edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director (1754), which featured nine chair designs in what he described as “the present Chinese Manner.” 8 Chippendale’s text and other pattern books, such as William Chambers’s Designs of Chinese Buildings (1757) and New Book of Chinese Designs (1754) by Edwards and Darly, popularized these designs and