Me old China

I quite often start a post stating that such and such originated in China, and it should come as no surprise with this one, to state that blue & white china came from...well, China.

From Henan province to be precise, and as early as the C9th. By the beginning of the C17th it was being exported to Europe. The manufacture of blue and white china in Europe itself started at the beginning of the C18th, at Meissen, and these were strongly influenced by the wares from China itself; strange how who copies whom has done a complete loop in so many other products today.

The trompe l'oeil design in this room is obviously influenced by European designed blue & white, (most likely the Willow pattern produced by English potters in Staffordshire), and I think it creates an amusing backdrop, although I'm not entirely convinced about the somewhat inelegantly hewn furniture within it, but let's ignore that for these purposes.