Dish c. 1825

Curator: What a delicate little dream. A flowery daydream blooming right there on that porcelain. Editor: Indeed. What you’re describing is a “Dish,” circa 1825, created by Spode Limited. It’s a rococo piece made with painting, ceramic, porcelain, and a variety of mixed-media techniques. It's currently part of the Art Institute of Chicago's collection. Curator: Spode… Spode… that sounds like a name a mischievous garden gnome might have. And look at this flower! It's like a watercolor decided to become a sculpture. Editor: The flower is an Iris. Note how the artist used the symbol of the Iris which over time came to be associated with faith, hope, wisdom, courage, and admiration, it has its roots in ancient Greece where Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, acting as a bridge between heaven and earth. It's an emblem of transition and new beginnings. Curator: New beginnings... Perhaps it was a wedding gift! Look at that little handle, shaped like a leaf ready to flutter away. Everything is yearning, sweet and melancholic. I almost expect it to smell like a grandmother’s forgotten perfume. Editor: Note the elegant, curving lines, and the gold leaf. The Rococo style loves those flourishes! It echoes a certain desire for lavish beauty. A gilded cage maybe, depending on your point of view. The symbolism in Rococo decor, though lighthearted, speaks volumes about the anxieties and desires of that era's elite. Curator: Anxieties! Even in a teacup, there’s unrest. Perhaps all that loveliness is simply a really pretty scream into the void. Makes you wonder what they served on it, doesn't it? Maybe tiny cakes filled with subtle existential dread. Editor: Possibly! Looking closer at this artifact reminds me that beauty in objects such as these, are a way to eternalize fleeting moments, bridging historical eras to create enduring resonance in modern culture. Curator: Like pressing a flower between the pages of a book...a reminder, however fragile, that something lovely once was. And still is, here and now. Editor: Absolutely. The Iris on this porcelain dish becomes more than just a flower.