September 17, 2006

"You know, I think I'd like to see a hippo on one of those." And one hundred and forty four pieces of individually painted Royal Copenhagen porcelain later, he can.

The photographer who provided the images has a blog so you can read about her travels to 101 zoos in 33 countries to provide the 3000 images that would then be sorted through to find the ones that would be painted. The reference to Catherine the Great implies that Flora Danica was chosen as the pattern. According to Royal Copenhagen "1790-1802: The Flora Danica Service A period of bloom follows. The manufactory’s clientele are predominantly the royal family and the nobility. Porcelain is a status symbol in the 1700s. Commissions for coffee and tea services, and large elaborate vases run to sums that today would be computed in millions. Porcelain was principally commissioned as gifts for family members and foreign monarchs. The works produced are richly decorated in multicoloured overglaze and delicately modelled details. The largest and most renowned of these commissions is the exquisite dinner service Flora Danica. It is commissioned in 1790 by the Danish king, according to legend, for Catherine the Great of Russia. Danish flora is reproduced on the porcelain copying the copperplates published in one of the Age of Enlightenment’s greatest botanical works, Flora Danica. When the service is delivered to the royal family, twelve years later, it comprises 1,802 pieces. The service is revived for the marriage of Princess Alexandra of Denmark to the future King Edward VII of England, in 1863. Flora Danica is still painted by hand today at Royal Copenhagen." this post not titled hippos on china for your reading enjoyment

posted by polychrome 18 years ago
  • Garage sales are the final stop before the trash can for heirlooms that have fallen from favor due to economics, space constraints or lack of attention. From the time the prior owner stopped caring until the moment that I purchase, the soul of the object has been disrupted. Luckily, it is easily resuscitated. Meaningful objects are easy to love. I've been trying to put that into words for years.
  • This excites me, deeply.
  • I believe in objects. Worn, proletariat, celebrated, tiny, grand, sitting on dusty shelves in suburban garages, rusty, forgotten, reviled, behind glass in museums, praised, mechanical, pristine, decorative, functional, authentic, playful, historic, perfect, personal and profound. Sometimes, when I am being difficult, I ask people, "when was the last time you bought an heirloom?" Evidently this article was written by me. [this is good] [I still don't know what the fuck the brackets mean, but this is good]
  • How rare.
  • I hunger for hippos.
  • I hunger for homuns. posted by hippoculus at 03:78AM UTC on September 17, 2006 On a bicycle built for two, Hal. But only in May.
  • Soooo... did the pack the china in Hippo-crates?
  • I would seriously like to hang with the owner of this site. More to the point, I'd like his four-step miracle process for wood.
  • Hard to imagine cooler employment than being paid to travel the world for a year photographing hippos.
  • MCT: Beat it outta him--how'd he do that? I lubs me some oak.
  • Hard to imagine cooler employment than being paid to travel the world for a year photographing hippos. How about being paid to travel the world for a year photographing red pandas? Eh, eeeeh?
  • Ok. Otters. Otters'd be good too.
  • Soooo... did the pack the china in Hippo-crates? *Hoots, high-fives other TUM fans in the bar*
  • What about bush babies, Islander? Don't forget the bush babies.