When I was at the farmer’s market today, I noticed the first peaches out. What a golden time of the year we are entering as the bounty of fruits and vegetables captivate us with colour, scent, and flavour! This got me thinking about porcelain produce, that is not to be eaten, but simply to look at and admire.

(Paris Porcelain Cabbage covered box)

In the beginning of the 18th century, the medium and artistry of porcelain caused a sensation when the formula was newly discovered at Meissen, Germany. The race to discover the formula of porcelain, or white gold as it was known, is a fascinating story wrought with treachery, bribery, murder, deceit, violence and tragedy. Prior to this, the only porcelain available was shipped from the orient with much difficulty and at great expense.

(Cabbage design plate by Meissen)

In this period, the height of prestige and elegance was to drink tea from porcelain cups imported from the orient, or at the beginning of the 18th century, from cups made of Saxon porcelain from Meissen. Many Royal houses began their own manufactories that exist to this day, such as Meissen, Nymphenburg, Derby, and Sèvres.

[Porcelain asparagus boxes by Herend (large) and Limoges (small)]

Because porcelain was a new medium, an air of inventiveness, whimsy, and charm is evident in many of the creations. Pieces were often incredibly detailed without concern for breakage or technical limitations. Porcelain firing was an unpredictable, difficult, and costly endeavour, and minute flaws such as glaze pops or firing cracks were often charmingly concealed with small ladybugs, insects, snails, or floral sprays.

(Leaf cachepot by Spode)

Table decorations and services of the rich and aristocratic were often decorated with pieces of porcelain that mimicked actual foods. Among these were tureens modelled as cabbages, tureens with lemons as finials, and plates formed as leaves with stems for handles. Porcelain vegetables such as bundles of asparagus or a melon were modelled as small tureens, saucières, or simply as decorative accents.

Ever since the 18th century, these delightful objets have been prized by connoisseurs and collectors alike. Famous collectors of these porcelain vegetables are designers Mario Buatta and Sister Parish, Andy Warhol It Girl, Brigid Berlin, designer-socialite Lady Mendel (Elsie de Wolfe), the Duchess of Windsor at her country mill house, and celebrity health guru/ nutritionist Gaylord Hauser.

(Porcelain vegetables in the chinoiserie secrétaire of the Duchess of Windsor in their country house, “Le Moulin de la Tuilerie,” The Mill, outside of Paris, photo from “The Windsor Style” by Suzy Menkes)

The antique models by Bow, Chelsea, Meissen, Mennecy, Worcester, and St-Cloud are prohibitively expensive and a lot of sleuthing is necessary to track them down at auction houses such as Drouot, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. But perfectly lovely examples exist in the modern day porcelain creations of Dodie Thayer of Palm Beach, Herend, Katherine Houston, Penkridge Ceramics of England, and Vladimir Collection. The prestige manufactory of Meissen will possibly re-issue special edition models based on 18th century originals, but be warned, they are limited and prohibitively expensive.

(Peapod by Katherine Houston)

If you are at all creatively inclined, you can even make your own. I’ve made a few myself at a ceramics studio. Start with a little blush coloured crab apple or a peapod…really very simple and fun to do.

Not only are ceramic vegetables appealingly decorative, they are a visible reminder of the natural world and how important it is to us. As we all move further away from meat based diets, ceramic vegetables seem that much more of a reflection of our lives. And in the last three generations, we’ve moved from agricultural, rural lifestyles, to crowded and polluted cities. Who doesn’t want to look at more refreshing green? Ceramic vegetables are wonderful! And they don’t need to be refrigerated.

These may not be eaten for dinner, but they are indeed a feast for the eyes!

A Tiffany Blue Design Library, GRATIS! By Square With Flair™

Who doesn’t love Tiffany’s? We always loved it, but it became even dreamier after seeing Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Who could resist the allure and mystique of the place? That big solid building on Fifth Avenue. Looks more like a dignified bank than a merchant of dreams. Who doesn’t want something of Tiffany’s in their life?

It started when I was a teenager in the 1970s, living in a small, remote, northern town and dreaming of New York sophistication and perfect taste. I’d save my allowance and send $2.00 to Tiffany’s in New York for their delicious little blue book catalog. It always seemed an eternity until they arrived, but they always did. How I pored over those charming little books for hours, days, weeks…for years! I collected one each year, and I studied them over and over. Boy, that was better than any fine arts course, and I’ve taken plenty of those.

Tiffany’s in those days, under design director Van Day Truex, had a level of connoisseurship and taste that has not been equaled. Over the years, the little books have become a little grubby, dog-eared, wrinkled, pages have loosened. But like the “Velveteen Rabbit”, oh so loved. I credit them with training my taste. This allowed me to spot many unnoticed treasures in flea markets and antique shops.

I am very attached to my vintage Tiffany catalogs, after all I grew up with them, and they in a way, educated me. Thirty-five years later, not only do they continue to be an invaluable design resource and inspiration, but they are charmingly decorative, giving a nice hit of robin’s egg blue, wherever they reside. And, they have become an investment. Recently, older copies from the 60s and 70s have sold for over $100.00 each on the Internet and from fine antiquarian book dealers. Something told me, so many years ago, they would become priceless!

Looking at the 1968-1969 Tiffany Blue Book catalog, I marvel at their classic sterling flatware, which at that time they also offered in exquisite vermeil (gold plated sterling silver).

The delicious wild strawberry bracelet of coral, gold, enamel, and diamonds, looks as tempting as it did 40 years ago, and will no doubt look 40 years from now.

The chinoiserie bamboo sterling tea set is so delightful and graceful; one wonders why they don’t reissue it.

And then….there is that heavenly blue used on the catalog, and the gift boxes. That certain colour of blue might as well be code for, “Special, beautiful, memorable, and joyful.” The blue itself has permeated my dreams and desires, and shown up in vintage and antique pieces I’ve collected over the years: 1960s cafe racer style leather motorcycle jacket that brings about embarrassing numbers of compliments,

the old Christian Dior V-neck sweater (in 1970s acrylic that everyone thinks is cashmere!),

a miniature Louis XV commode, and the wonderful aqua ground continental porcelains of Limoges, Nymphenburg and Meissen.

Faithfully, I continue to collect Tiffany’s catalogs. They no longer charge for them, now they are gratis! We live in much more democratic times I suppose. They are still excellent, but not nearly as rarefied. Tiffany no longer carries merchandise by other manufacturers, and now everything is of their own design and label. They used to carry Rolex, Patek, Royal Crown Derby, Spode, Meissen, Flora Danica of Copenhagen, etc. But no longer. Still wonderful, but lacking the cachet of the Van Day Truex era. But who knows, years from now, the Tiffany’s blue book of the 21st century may also be as collectable and sought after as the old ones now are. In a grouping they still make a wonderful design statement! I highly recommend going in and getting one each season.

Incidentally, the catalogs of many other design houses, such as Hermes, also become valuable in time. Quality always retains value. A thing of beauty is a joy forever….

Characteristic of great hostesses and hosts is originality in the presentation of food and refreshments. Jackie Kennedy, Pauline de Rothschild, the Duchess of Windsor, and nowadays Martha Stewart, set luncheon, tea, and dinner tables, in unique and memorable ways.

Recently perusing the heavy auction catalogs of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, I was impressed by the number of different services and dishes the Duchess used for her famous dinner parties and carefully conceived table settings. Price was not necessarily a consideration; she had everything from inexpensive, cheerful, Italian peasant pottery to museum quality Meissen and Sèvres porcelain. She was aware that simple meals can be made extraordinary by unusual presentation or variations, and monetary value did not always guarantee the desired chic effect.

One of my favourite pieces of china to use when entertaining and serving is the breakfast cup. One seldom sees them any more. These jumbo cups and saucers hold a more generous, almost double, capacity. They avoid the preciousness of the regular teacup which sometimes seems too formal or outdated for our casual lifestyles. In the era of supersizing, this cup impresses guests as generous and luxurious. I pick mine up at antique shows, or eBay, where typically they are much less expensive than new pieces. As they were intended for breakfast, the most casual meal, they are most often earthenware, and were made by manufacturers such as Burleigh, Johnson Brothers, Doulton, Royal Worcester, Spode, and Wedgwood. If china or porcelain is one’s preference, breakfast cups exist in fine Limoges porcelain or the prestige bone china of Royal Crown Derby.

If you are having a brunch or afternoon tea, or really anytime tea or coffee is served, breakfast cups are wonderfully pampering. They also mean the hostess can be more relaxed because she has to fill them up less frequently! The wide and generous under saucer easily accommodates cookies, biscotti, cucumber sandwiches, or small slices of cake.

While casual circumstances often permit the use of mugs or “beakers” as they are disparagingly named in the U.K., mugs present the problem of where to place the wet, dripping spoon, don’t hold a finger sandwich, and certainly don’t look elegant.

Lastly, for an original, memorable, and amusing touch at a meal, the breakfast cup may be used as a good size bowl during the soup course, and is wonderful for this purpose, either with or without a spoon.

Most commonly, breakfast cups seen at antique shops and shows are in classic monochromatic Staffordshire transfer ware in pink/red, blue, or brown. This gives a wonderful effect similar to the classic French Toiles de Jouy. I find the pink-red great for spring, summer and Christmas. Brown looks rich and warm for fall and winter, especially by the fireside. Classic under glaze blue, as seen in the blue willow pattern, looks crisp and delightful for any season.

Next time you see the long forgotten breakfast cup at a tag sale, pick it up and give it a test run. You’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Square With Flair™