For as long as I can remember, blue and white porcelain, like this stunning 500 year old blue and white imperial vase that dates from the Ming Dynasty period [ which sold for 21.6 million dollars during a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong and is the most expensive piece of blue and white porcelain ever sold at auction ], has been a favorite of every collector and design lover I know.
Having just returned from a trip to the Texas Hill Country, where the bluebonnets are lining every roadside and stretching for as far as the eye can see, it struck me that the ancient artisan painters of chinese blue and white porcelain were more than likely inspired, too, by the flowers and colors of nature that they saw all around them.
Today’s luxury interior designers are still inspired by blue and white porcelain, as you can see in this beautiful outdoor living room designed by famed designer, Mary McDonald, below. [ If you'd like to read an in-depth educational history of Chinese blue and white porcelain, please click here. ]
As I witnessed Texas’ state flower, the bluebonnet, entering its full glory as I drove through the Hill Country I wondered, did the ancient Chinese artists witness similar scenes of rolling hillsides sown by nature with fields of blue violet flowers like the one below?
This moonflask vase below, dating from the Qianlong Dynasty period was made sometime between 1736 and 1795. Created in pink and blue enamel with white porcelain, it was sold during a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong in 2010, for 16.5 million dollars, to an undisclosed buyer. Isn’t it breathtaking?
If the buyer of this piece had been me, this blue and white Chinese porcelain moonflask vase would have a special place of honor in this bookcase, in this pretty room {love C. Spitzmiller’s lamp! } designed by Maria Greenlaw and Suzanne Caldwell of Design House of The Hamptons. Swoon!
Or maybe I would have created a special niche for it, in this gorgeous dining room, designed by Eliza Gatfield.
Although the last, large photo below of the world famous lavender fields at Tasmania’s Bridestowe Estate, by Gerd Ludwig for National Geographic, is stunning, you don’t have to travel so far to relax, enjoy, smell and be inspired by the colors of lavender and bluebonnets.
While Texas’ bluebonnet fields are blooming now, Texas’ world famous lavender fields will be in full bloom shortly, by the end of May, as this first picture, taken outside of Fredericksburg, Texas, shows.
Looking to explore the Texas Hill Country and enjoy a special summer vacation with your family? The 10th annual Blanco Lavender Fest takes place June 13th-5th. For more details, click here. It’s a wonderful time where everything , under the Texas sun, that contains lavender can be absorbed, smelled, and enjoyed! It’s a feast for the senses.
And, if you feel a need for blue and white chinese porcelain coming on and also love chinoiserie, another design motif that’s a favorite of both mine + Leslie Hendrix Wood, you’re invited to shop at the Pink Pagoda, here.
Modern day porcelain artists are just as inspired by this perennial design favorite and color scheme as were the ancient Chinese masters.
Can’t you just smell the deep beauty of this?
What spring colors in nature inspire you the most?
for
Leslie Hendrix Wood
Decorator
Chancellor Interiors
Midland, Texas
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Founder, Editor In Chief
Hadley Court
Gracious Living. Timeless Design. Family Traditions.
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Image credits not noted in main post: 1, 3, 4, 7
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