A few great shrine sale finds and a good friend’s decorating plans got me to thinking about blue and white porcelain again last night – as if that is an uncommon thing for me to think about…
I had long been saving photos of groupings of porcelain on brackets or corbels, a classic way to present a collection en masse. For example, this 1959 photo of Jayne Wrightsman’s Palm Beach library designed by Maison Jansen, with a grouping of what looks to be Meissen figurines.
Figurines not withstanding, Asian porcelain, whether Chinese or other, blue and white or polychrome, tends to be the most commonly presented in this fashion. Aerin Lauder inherited this collection as well as the house from her grandmother Estée…
…and it still looks fresh today in that East Hampton home.
Carolyne Roehm went completely blue and white in her bedroom, even painting the brackets to fit in with the decor. Can’t imagine doing this in Japan, as the earthquakes would be sure to give you an unpleasant surprise one night.
Thomas Burak went with an all out chinoiserie theme in this Bridgehampton bedroom, pagoda bed, and all.
And another view.
Designer Mary Watkins Wood simplifies the look with a white background, white linens and white brackets, using mainly Chinese ginger jars. I think Japanese jubako (stacked lunch boxes) would give a similar effect. Gotta love that fantastic Portuguese bed!
Did Dallas store owner Betty Gertz have this niche custom designer for this amazing grouping of Chinese vases or was it already there? The vases themselves are Ming dynasty antiques, part of the Hatcher trove. Now how’s that for provenance?
I had never seen this show house hallway by Mary McDonald before – thanks to Jennifer at The Peak of Chic for the photos.
I love the blue and white against the grey.
Not limiting the post to blue & white, here Robert Goodwin uses a collection of Blanc de Chine figurines in a similar fashion. The fabulous wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain.
Miles Redd turns up the modernity a notch in this celadon dining room with a grouping of simple celadon vases on plainer matched brackets.
Here Oscar de la Renta does the same with coral in his Punta Cana home.
And perhaps the most tongue in cheek is this simple bathroom with the grandest of porcelain displays.
My question for you readers, is whether you like this look? Do you find it traditional? Elegant? Fussy? Do you like the brackets to all be the same? Or a variety? Painted like the wall color, contrasting or gilded? I am thinking on it too, considering it for an upcoming project…
Related Posts:
Colors of the Rainbow…Blue and White Porcelain is Neutral
Image credits: 1. via The Peak of Chic, , 2-3. Elle Decor, 4. Veranda via Chinoiserie Chic, 5. via The Enchanted Home, 6. House & Garden via Chinoiserie Chic, 7, 11-12. House Beautiful, 8. scanned by me from magazine tear sheets, but credit unknown, 9-10. via The Peak of Chic, 13. via Habitually Chic, 14. Martha Stewart Living via The Enchanted Home.
The celadon pieces and the coral are just amazing. I think my cats would be leaping to sit on these unfortunately.
So Steve, you are not a fan of the blue and white? Too literal perhaps?
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Way too fussy for me, loved your comment about the carolyne Roehm bedroom, they would have to be superglued on to the corbels in Japan to prevent any unpleasant surprises in the night as you put it! That said, I love the blue and white, no surprises there.
I love the idea of hanging collections and will do something similar with my 20 something pair of geta I’ve collected however hanging porcelain is too fussy for my more eclectic taste. When I was first married I hung a collection of porcelain plates from my husband’s boarding school – thinking that’s what wives do. But pretty quickly I realized that look wasn’t for me. However many of your examples are lovely and I’m sure would make a room pop.
Too fussy for me, too. I love the look of collections, but I think it’s the combination of the intricate scones AND the porcelain that puts it over the top in my opinion. Most of them look way more design show home v. real life residences, with the exception of Aerin Lauder’s.
Makes me dizzy looking at these collections arranged like this – just a bit too much for my taste.
I love it but – I also love less is more, so Id go simple and use the same style bracket, with variation in size, depending on wall size. Keep color to one- whatever the wall color, or go natural, ultimately believe they shouldn’t compete with the items displayed upon them. In the case of Blue and White, it could either be a blue wall with blue brackets or a white wall with white brackets as far as I can imagine, and depending on what sort of statement and style of house….. are we talking beach?
I too love blue and white…..with everything! But, all this wall stuff makes me nervous, especially with a husband who is the proverbial bull in a china shop. A couple of wall
Brackets with china would suffice and I like better (and feel more decure) with plates and shallow bowls I’m a wall grouping.
I had to laugh when I read the comment about the earthquake. I can’t tell you how many times I see stuff on design blogs and think — not here, no way.
We had two pictures fall and break in the last earthquake and now I won’t have anything that isn’t very securely hung by the beds.
Love the blue and white. I agree that the blue and white the the ornate brackets is a bit much, but I do love it (surprise, surprise) paired with strong black. (Oh that bed!)
Camille
This is the second time I have written this! It i OK! It is so important to me…..I have come back! (I was not ‘signed in’ or something)
This is what I said!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of these pictures….all of these examples of “brackets” and how they completely “make” a wall! Totally.
Brilliant……all of them! The matching ones…..I adored……”celadon” totally divine Miles Redd!
Yikes!!! the blue and white Carolyne Roehm…….
Oscar knows just exactly what to do with an oval entry stair hall!!!
Yikes again!!! With a curving wall……a challenge!
(just happen to have it in the house I am doing in Santa Barbara with our daughter! )
The mixture of brackets…..divine!! The same brackets Divine!!
The brackets all the same! Divine! the brackets all different! Divine!
I am making a “bet” This post will exceed all others on “Pinterest”!!!
I am only allowed to bet a “cookie”!
Let me know!
Completely brilliant post. The best I have seen ever on the subject!!
BRAVO!!!
Oh my Lord, I forgot to say! California has terrible earthquakes!
They invented “earthquake clay”! It is this stuff that you anchor the bracket and the object,,,,and unless the wall falls down….it is safe!
All over my house….”earthquake clay”!! That is all you need!
Is Blanc de Chine Chinoiserie? | Tokyo Jinja
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