What's the story on willow pattern plates

Q. What's the story
A. Are you sitting comfortably Then I'll begin. Once upon a time, a young Chinese girl was betrothed by her mandarin father to a rich but elderly merchant. But the girl had already lost her heart to the young man who worked as her father's secretary, so, on the day appointed for her wedding, the young lovers eloped. They fled across a bridge, pursued by the girl's father, and escaped in a boat to the young man's island home. They were soon caught and threatened with death for their crimes, but the gods took pity on them; the lovers were transformed into turtle-doves and flew away together.

Q. So it's an ancient Chinese tale
A. No. This story - the details vary in the telling - is often presented as an ancient Chinese legend, but was in fact invented around 1800 by the Regency equivalent of an advertising copywriter to explain the basic elements of an extremely successful design for decorating pottery, the 'Willow Pattern'.

Q. What does it look like
A. Traditional Willow Pattern has a pagoda or tea house centre right, a bridge with two or three running figures on it on the left, a boat above the bridge, and, beyond that, the youth's 'island home'. Two doves fly above the scene and in the foreground are two trees, one fruit tree - variously described as a cherry, an apple or an orange - and a willow. A densely patterned blue border surrounds the picture.

Q. So the design was Chinese
A. Again no. Or at least not really. Though many of the motifs were copied from Chinese painted porcelain, the Willow Pattern was essentially an English creation. Caughley Works in Staffordshire are credited with first using it in transfer-print form in 1780. The famous Spode factory produced the definitive version around 1810.

It's a classic example of 'chinoiserie' - a term covering the use of oriental motifs in all areas of the arts - and of all porcelain designs none has had the same enduring appeal. In the 19th century, more and more potteries bowed to public taste and produced versions of the pattern. Some of these were more or less straight lifts from Spode, but there was great scope for variation, in the number of birds and people shown, in the shape, size and position of the trees, pagoda and boat and in the decorative border, which often incorporated non-oriental motifs.

The great majority of wares were transfer-printed in blue, though prints in other colours, a few pieces painted in underglaze blue and polychrome versions of the pattern were also produced. This latter was largely a speciality of US potteries and is not often seen in Britain.

Q. Is my granny's Willow Pattern serving-plate worth anything
A. Unlikely. Willow Pattern wares from the 19th and 20th centuries survive in huge numbers and aren't at all expensive, unless they bear the mark of a rare or important maker or are made from porcelain. They can turn up almost anywhere, including car-boot and jumble sales, flea markets, junk shops, antiques fairs and markets, house sales - where you may find a complete service - and, in the case of rarer items such as cow creamers, in auctions and specialist dealers.

Q. So it can be collectable
A. The pattern is widely collected, particularly in the USA, where there are several flourishing collectors' clubs. People tend to specialise in collecting a particular period or a particular type, just porcelain or bone china, say, or only serving dishes or tea sets. Some want only colours other than blue, and others concentrate on just one variant of the pattern.

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By Simon Smith