A fresh look at our passion for blue and white
Ming Bling
Michelle Erickson’s assemblages of 18th century references are a wink at the rampant exoticism and Made in China aspect of revered porcelain objects. The Yorktown-based ceramicist’s work graces collections including the Yale University Art Gallery and is currently on view at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. MichelleEricksonCeramics.com
In his new book Flair, party planner and decorator Joe Nye shows us how blue and white porcelain elevates your table from the ordinary to the extraordinary. He demonstrates how the humble mum, carnation or gladiola from the local grocery store–when paired with a bit of Ming–is positively glamorous. JoeNyeInc.com
In his new book Flair, party planner and decorator Joe Nye shows us how blue and white porcelain elevates your table from the ordinary to the extraordinary. He demonstrates how the humble mum, carnation or gladiola from the local grocery store–when paired with a bit of Ming–is positively glamorous. JoeNyeInc.com
Victorians would have called it a “what-not”–the furniture form designed specifically to display bibelots and objets. Drexel Heritage’s Modern Ming Tiered Chairside Table is a nicely scaled frame for ginger jars or other chic collectables. Available retail and to the trade. DrexelHeritage.com
Dress up your house with cheap-n-chic Ming. Priced between $15 and $30, these petite giclée add a bit of affordable color pop to your life. Shop the collection, which includes pagodas, Chinese Chippendale chairs and figure studies–all in scrumptious sorbet shades–at the Pink Pagoda shop. Etsy.com
Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters who started Rodarte six years ago, turned out one of their most compelling collections for Spring 2011, drawing on porcelain motifs for their pieced silk gowns. Tooled wood shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood kick things up another notch. Rodarte.net
A century after the craze for Asian exoticism began, the love affair with blue and white porcelain is going strong. The March reopening of the Peacock Room in the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery, featuring an exhibit on “Chinamania” (the term the British press used to describe the 1870s craze for blue and white) along with wash drawings of vases by James Whistler, only deepens our passion. Intrigued by all things Ming, we survey modern twists on a classic Asian motif, at home and on the runway.
