Page 77 - Collecting and Displaying China's Summer Palace in the West

62 Kate Hill
elements. In accord with these, the Chinese ornamentalist conceived a design on a
grid of triangles, placed motifs on it at regular intervals, then threaded them together
with a flowing line that introduced variation into the rigid structure, achieving even
tone. Jones reproduced numerous cloisonné pieces illustrating this approach. Prop -
osition 13 rejected realism: “Flowers or other natural objects should not be used as
ornament, but conventional representations founded upon them sufficiently suggestive
to convey the intended image to the mind, without destroying the unity of the object
they are employed to decorate.” 83 Jones’ choices also adhered to this rule. Leaves
and petals were flattened; depth was suggested by color and line, not an illusory light
source. This produced even tone throughout. Jones explained:

. . . in this style the Chinese have reached the extreme limit of the representa-
tion of natural objects. They have, however, in none of our examples, by light
or shade, endeavoured to express relief, though in many of the examples, it is
suggested both by colour and form . . . 84

He again praised Chinese colour: “There is nothing crude or harsh in any of their
compositions; the eye is perfectly satisfied with the balance and arrangement of both
form and colour.” 85 The many cloisonné plates suggest that this craft exemplified
effective use of the intense, clear colours Jones preferred, and mirrors the interest of
critics and collectors in this material.
Jones appears to have adapted Chinese motifs in textiles for Warner & Sons. Three
silks attributed to him in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) depict lotuses with
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the style and morphology of lotuses in Chinese Ornament (see Figure 4.5). Another
is in the Warner Textile Archive. 87 The V&A textiles show designs in bright colours
on grounds of black and iridescent blue; 88 the Warner piece is gold on burgundy.
Ming and Qing silks at the Palace Museum, Beijing, show comparable lotuses, 89 and
Morrison bought imperial silks at least twice; 90 but the delineation of the lotuses
and lack of textiles in Chinese Ornament suggest that painted enamel wares were
the sources. Three pieces with comparable lotuses appear in Fonthill sale catalogues
(see Figures 4.4 and 4.5.). 91 The evolving representation of the lotus was possibly
for Jones an ideal illustration of Proposition 13; typically it was pressed almost flat,
stylized but recognizable, with scrolling tendrils unifying the pattern.
The volume promoted harmonious color, flat design, and engagement with histori -
cal (non-Western) sources. It was also a design reform sourcebook: “a valuable and
instructive aid in building up what we all seek,—the progressive development of
the forms of the past, founded on the eternal principles which all good forms of Art
display.” 92 Though Waring urged an enameling revival, Jones instead reproduced
enameled ornament as flat patterns for manufacturers, along with underglaze blue
and red designs as inspiration for two-color printing. A wallpaper by Lewis Foreman
Day (1845–1910) for Jeffrey & Co. features a lotus pattern comparable to those on
imperial falangcai porcelains in Chinese Ornament. 93 Another Day wallpaper titled
“Mandarin” features a red and blue lotus scroll on a white ground comparable to
plates 3, 23, and 67. 94 Though its origin isn’t certain, Jones’ volume was likely kept
as a design resource in busy studios.
Minton clearly drew on Chinese Ornament for its cloisonné-style porcelains, some
attributed to Dresser. 95 A moonflask design from a gu in plate 33 is one of several
cases. 96 The appeal of cloisonné for Minton is clear: grounds of turquoise and pink