Our Blue Onion Tableware~~A 279 Year Old Pattern

You could have knocked me over with a quill feather when I learned that my $10 thrift store find had its roots in the 18^th century. . .It was a pattern I had seen for years, but had no idea it went back so far. . .Commonly known as Blue Onion no matter what the factory marks indicated, the pattern dates back to 1740:

Blue Onion (German: Zwiebelmuster) is a fine porcelain tableware pattern for dishware originally manufactured by Meissen porcelain since the 18th century, but copied by other companies since the late 19th century as well. The "onion" pattern was originally named the "bulb" pattern.

While modeled closely after a pattern first produced by Chinese porcelain painters, which featured pomegranates unfamiliar in Saxony, the plates and bowls produced in the Meissen factory in 1740 adopted a feel that was distinctly their own. Among the earliest Chinese examples are underglaze blue and white porcelains of the early Ming Dynasty. The Meissen painters created hybrids that resembled flora more familiar to Europeans. The so-called "onions" are not onions at all, but, according to historians, are most likely mutations of the peaches and pomegranates modeled on the original Chinese pattern. The whole design is an ingeniously conceived grouping of several floral motifs with stylized peonies and asters in the pattern's center, the stems of which wind in flowing curves around a bamboo stalk.

 In the 19th century almost all the European manufacturers offered a version, with transfer-printed outlines that were colored in by hand. Enoch Wedgwood's pattern in the 1870s was even known as "Meissen". Before the end of the 18th century, other porcelain factories were copying the Meissen Zwiebelmuster. In the 19th century almost all the European manufactories offered a version, with transfer-printed outlines that were colored in by hand. (wiki)

Although the white ware decorated with cobalt blue underglaze most likely originated from an east Asian model, it exhibits a European rococo style. At first glance there is the impression of symmetry, but the motif is actually asymmetrical if you study it well.

The onion pattern can also be found in the rare colors of green, red, pink, or black patterns, but the blue and white is always my favorite. . .With its history of over 280 years, I think it deserves a place at our Ste. Genevieve home. . .and I’ll be looking for more in the future. . .You can bet on that. . .Click this to Read More. . .