Years ago I was in a vintage shop where I saw a cup and saucer made of beautiful blue porcelain in an antique cupboard. I knew immediately that I saw something special. It was from the British brand Booths Real Old Willow. The refined image of the famous Willow pattern was beautifully displayed and finished with hand-painted gold edges.
I had heard of this brand before but never seen it in the Netherlands. This sparked my fascination with this brand and the Willow pattern in particular.
What is the story of the Willow pattern?
The 18th century Chinese Willow pattern is so called because of the willow tree that is depicted centrally in the scene. The performance is derived from several Japanese and Chinese fairy tales. The best known is the Japanese fairy tale: The green willow.
The story goes like this: long ago there was an important Chinese administrative official (mandarin) for the Chinese empire. He had a beautiful daughter, Koong-Se . Koong-Se fell in love with her father's bookkeeper assistant, Chang . Her father became furious because she was of a higher rank than Chang. He fired his assistant bookkeeper and built a high wall around his house to keep the loving couple apart.
He found a more suitable marriage partner for his daughter, a duke, and planned a wedding date. The two were going to get married on the first day of the willow blossom. The Duke arrived by boat carrying a chest of jewels for his new bride.
The night before the wedding, Chang sneaked inside the house dressed as a servant. He took Koong-Se with him, including the box of jewels, and they fled and got into the Duke's boat. Her father came running after them in anger, with a whip in his hand. The two managed to escape and sailed to an island where they lived happily together for many years.
Unfortunately, the duke discovered their hiding place, sent soldiers after them and murdered the two. The gods were so dismayed by this that they turned the two into turtledoves .
How did the Willow pattern become famous?
In the 18th century there was a great interest in Asian art in Europe. Mainly porcelain and especially blue porcelain was extremely popular. The pattern was probably designed for the British brand Spode in 1780, after which it became famous and was adopted by several porcelain makers.
At the end of the 19th century, the British brand Booths started making a new series of porcelain with the well-known Willow pattern. This series: Real Old Willow was marketed from the beginning of the 20th century. The series was produced until 1999 and has many variations that are sometimes hardly noticeable but say a lot about the period in which it was made.
How do you recognize the period of production of Booths Real Old Willow?
The series has approximately four time periods in which it was produced. Each period has its own characteristics.
Logo Booths Real Old Willow
Between 1906-1921 the brand's emblem, which was printed on the bottom, looked like this.
Gold edge
