Garden seat

Title
Garden seat
Year/Period
19th century
Region
Staffordshire, England
Dimension
Gross Measurement: 49 cm
Accession No.
2014-00473

This octagonal garden seat is decorated with panels featuring chinoiserie-style figures rendered in pastel hues. These transfer-printed scenes are a sharp contrast to the boldly-patterned vermillion background that is also interspersed with cloud scrolls. Such barrel-shaped seats replicate the stools that were used in Chinese gardens and courtyards during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is also an example of the chinosierie style that was in vogue in Britain, especially around the mid-18th century. Using bold colours, the potters have reinterpreted the Chinese motifs (cloud scrolls and cracked ice pattern) in a dramatic manner that makes this a whimsical example of Asian-inspired English ceramics.