Pomegranates - (Punica granatum)

The image of the Pomegranate has a long history in art and design so it's no surprise that Powell Bishop & Stonier would use it in some of their own transfer designs. The popularity of the fruit in artistic circles waxed and wained, but it would be fair to say that at the time this plate was made, it was on the "up". As mentioned in a blog posting a couple of days ago, Moorcroft used the fruit on his pottery, also, William Morris incorporated the fruit in several of his wallpaper and fabric designs and impressionist painters such as Paul Cezanne used it in Still Life studies.

The symbolism of the fruit is varied, but in general it is seen as a symbol of fertility and goodness because of its many seeds - it has held religious connotations in Medievil art and can be found in various depictions of the Madonna & Child. The design of this particular Oriental Ivory plate (below) appears quite traditional in form and layout - a central motif with a foliate border which contains some of the same elements as the middle image. What interests me, however, is how we can see at this period, transfer designs are becoming more and more stylised, almost "graphic" in their qualities - linear. Although this design is a long way off some of the deco fruit and flowers pieces some 35-45 years later, it shows the beginnings of a style that uses 'motif' to represent an idea - in this case, Oriental nature.