Fired Up in Blue & White
In the manner of Asian blue-and-white export porcelain,
with a motif likely of English origin
Porcelain, circa 1760–1820
Private collection
Setting the Mood on the Plate
At the center of the design, two men sit side by side, sharing a quiet moment in a perfectly classical blue-and-white landscape. Nothing stands out — their presence blends naturally with the friezes, stylized branches, and soft cobalt shadows. In a lively household, this plate would have sparked laughter, innuendo, and a few raised eyebrows — the kind of piece one pauses over before passing it around for a closer look.
An Invitation to conversation… or « more, if the chemistry’s right »
Within a full service, it became a social playground: perfect for starting a lighthearted chat, slipping in a hint, or letting the conversation drift into more daring territory once the wine was flowing. Without ever pushing too far, the design offered discreet complicity, entirely at ease within the blue-and-white aesthetic Europe adored.
Two Gentlemen, One Plate
The scene catches two muscular men just before things get serious — or delightfully light, depending on the mood. Sitting close together, one resting his arm casually across the other’s shoulder, their whole body language makes promises no Blue Willow landscape ever dared hide beneath its glossy glaze. Over the immaculate porcelain, an intimacy warms gently, and one can guess a little of what’s unfolding beneath those modest draperies.
A (Very) Logical Place in the History of Export Porcelain
We sometimes forget that the great blue-and-white adventure began as a cross-continental love affair: from the 16th century onward, Europe fell for Chinese porcelain — its flawless glazes, its finesse, and that cobalt blue capable of making any European potter blush¹.
At first, everything was imported as-is — “don’t touch, it’s perfect.”
But before long, European clients got a taste for custom orders².
And the workshops of Jingdezhen, wise but wonderfully efficient, replied:
“Of course. What else would you like?”
The result: thousands of hybrid pieces — Chinese in form, European in imagination… and occasionally a little bold in their requests.
In this wide marketplace where one could order anything — from family crests to pastoral scenes a bit too clean to be true — nothing would have prevented gentler, more human, or slightly freer compositions.
Except, of course, for the moral prudishness of the time.
And that’s exactly where this plate belongs: in the space of commissions that could have been made if someone, somewhere, had dared to request a scene where men are clearly doing many things together… but obviously not going to war.
Curiosity Piqued?
1. Robert Finlay, The Pilgrim Art: Cultures of Porcelain in World History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010).
2. Rose Kerr and Nigel Wood, Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 12: Ceramic Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).