这个图案是很典型的清道嘉的出口瓷图案,柳树庭院。willow blue. 日本,欧洲各国都有仿制。Blue Willow,属于Willow盘。之所以叫兰柳,是因为大部分此类图案的盘子都是青花的。
这个图案最早据说是一个英国人根据中国的一个古老爱情故事,模仿中国出口瓷设计的。说的是一对年轻人相爱,但遭遇家庭压力,最后变成比翼鸟双飞到一起的故事。在欧洲和日本广为流行,欧洲各国和日本都有类似的模仿图案。
其实除了blue willow, 还有其它颜色的,比如英国皇家皇冠瓷器厂出有同样图案的金柳(红釉描金)。
瑞典罗斯兰瓷器厂早期生产有类似的盘子,底款标了villov, 而不是通常的willow。
这类盘子有的挺贵,大多价格比较低。
之所以说是英国人先设计的这个图案,是因为这个英国人的名字和年代都基本确认,但没有证据表明中国有两个鸟的类似盘子早于英国的。
中国多个鸟的古盘常见,但不一定表达类似的故事。
后面附加一些资料供参考:
The Willow pattern, more commonly known as Blue Willow, is a distinctive and elaborate pattern used on ceramic kitchen/housewares. The pattern was designed by Thomas Minton around 1790 and has been in use for over 200 years. Other references give alternative origins, such as Thomas Turner of Caughley porcelain, with a design date of 1780. Willow refers to the pattern, a specific treatment, either applied transfer, or stamp, known as transferware. Background colour is always white, while foreground colour depends on the maker; blue the most common, followed by pink, green, and brown. Assortment, shape and dates of production vary.
[edit] 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 Chinese History: Willow plates are said to be a pictorial way in which members of the illegal Hung Society defied the Manchu rulers, whom they characterized as invading tyrants. Members of this illegal secret society celebrated their dead whom they called martyrs and reminded Hung members of their pledge to defend what they called Chinese and Buddhist values.
It is claimed that the Manchus destroyed all the original Willow Pattern plates. The design was supposedly smuggled into England in the 18th Century and reintroduced back into China in the 19th Century. Commercial production of the Willow Pattern is made by Famille Rose porcelain.
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).
The Secret Shaolin Message: The Shaolin Monastery is burned by the Imperial troops of the Manchu rulers, called invaders by Chinese nationalist and later communist factions. Souls of the dead monks take a boat to the isle of the Blest. On the bridge are three Buddha awaiting the dead souls: Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the Past; Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future; and, Amitabha, the Ruler of the Western Paradise. Beyond them is the City of Willows – Buddhist Heaven. The doves are the monks' souls on the journey from human to immortal life.
The teller narrates the tale while pointing to various designs on the plate.
Cultural impact of the story: The story of the willow pattern was turned into a comic opera in 1901 called The Willow Pattern. It was also told in a 1914 silent film called Story of the Willow Pattern. Robert van Gulik also used some of the idea in his Chinese detective novel The Willow Pattern.
The old poem: Two birds flying high,
A Chinese vessel, sailing by.
A bridge with three men, sometimes four,
A willow tree, hanging o'er.
A Chinese temple, there it stands,柳树纹样图案的真实出处是中国出口瓷研究的一个重要话题,而且版本众多。欧美的知识产权保护比较完备,所以历史文献上证据比较充分。
但是个人认为这个图案肯定是亚洲和欧洲相互影响的产物。下图是个人藏的同样图案的日本出口瓷,全手绘。底款“大日本熊?制”,估计断代是1850左右。
Built upon the river sands.
An apple tree, with apples on,
A crooked fence to end my song.