Period: Regency
Maker: Josiah Spode
This highly imaginative Spode pattern is known as the Banana Tree. It is an artistic interpretation of the gardens of Chinese or Japanese literati.
A stylised banana tree curves round the left side of the saucer, and on the inside of the tea and coffee cups. The banana tree appealed to Chinese and Japanese poets for the melancholy sound of raindrops splashing off its large leaves. This was not the same banana tree that supplies the fruit we buy in vast quantities but musa banjoo or the Japanese banana tree (believed to have originated in China’s Sichuan Province). Japan’s most celebrated poet, Basho, is named after a banana tree or basho (芭蕉)* The eight-petal flower in the centre of the saucer, and on both the inner and outer sides of the cups, is the water lotus, a Buddhist symbol of purity as it emerges unstained from roots in the muddy waters of attachment and desire.
The palette is the standard ‘English Imari’ trio of cobalt blue, iron red and gold, and some design elements, such as the stylised banana tree and lotus flower, are derived from imported Chinese and Japanese porcelain. However, their inspired application is a tribute to Regency artistry and originality.
SPODE and the 2214 pattern number are painted on the bottom.
We are also listing a Spode ‘Hydra’ jug, a dessert dish and a coffee cup and saucer in the same pattern.
Condition Perfect, mint.
Saucer diameter: 14.2 cm
Teacup height: 6.6 cm; width across handle: 10.4 cm
Coffee cup height: 7.2 cm; width across handle: 9.2 cm
Weight: 253 g
Medium: Bone china (porcelain)
Origin: Stoke-on-Trent, England
*See my blog, Basho and the banana tree; Kan’ei-ji’s bell and revolution
For background on the Spode factory, see Spode and Copeland in Makers & Artists
