Polychrome Transferware & a Rural Scenes Fall Tablescape

I have a partiality to polychrome transferware, especially brown polychrome.  Two of my very favorite transfer patterns, Spode Byron and Royal Staffordshire Clarice Cliff Rural Scenes/AJ Wilkinson Pastoral Davenport are brown patterns with polychrome highlights. Polychrome is the transferware term which refers to a single color object that has been hand painted within the confines of the design and then glazed so that it is permanent.  It is speculated the polychroming, and clobbering were both developed in response to the cry by out of work artisans who had been replaced by transfer printing. 

I'm sometimes teased by Shawn and the kids because I will have finally gotten 8-12 full place settings gathered in my own collection when someone emails and asks if I have this pattern, and then I sell it.  A year ago an interior designer and collector of transferware inquired about the pattern and I wound up selling all of my dinner plates to her.  It took several months to replace my dinner plates.  I have finally made the decision to keep my set together.

I love everything about this pattern.  Each piece bears a different scene, bucolic in nature.  The border blends farming implements such as rakes, hoes, sheathes of wheat and a bee skep  intertwined amongst grapevines and ivy.  This pattern is available in blue, red, brown, brown polychrome, purple and black.  You can click HERE to see some of what is available in my shop in this pattern.

With Fall just around the corner I decided to set my table tonight with Rural Scenes.  

I began with a jacquard drapery panel in a sage-olive green which leaves a few inches of the dark wood table showing as it helped give a more warm, rustic feel to the overall table.

I created my centerpiece by bunching up a 63" gold damask window panel and gently tucking two dark green organza runners from Always Elegant around the edges, allowing it pouf up around the edges.  I then put two sprays of faux pheasant feathers, berries and greenery end to end and scattered preserved acorns atop and over the entire table.

I placed a small, scrolled iron plant stand at the center with a Rural Scenes charger on top.  I added a trio of varied sized Linden Fig candles from Zest Candles surrounding them with a pile of acorns.

The Linden Fig candles are absolutely beautiful filled with a white wax inside and then wrapped in an outer layer of brown that is intricately cut in filigree style allowing the white to show behind.  The effect is stunning!

I often use burgundy with these dishes to bring out those colors in the hand-painting but chose to keep my color scheme to browns and greens for tonights setting.

The beautiful bronze, hand beaded placemat chargers, also from Always Elegant are a perfect compliment to my dishes.

My flatware is Spode Woodland, each piece having a slightly different pheasant/duck/quail depiction.

I doubled up napkins using simple brown cloth and green organza (they match the garland).  The beaded napkin rings match the chargers.  They are all available from Always Elegant and are very reasonably priced and come in a wide range of colors and are beautifully packaged.  

As you know I love amber glassware.  I used Zest Candles tealights placed in several vintage juice glasses around the table to cast a soft, amber glow.  I recently discovered Zest Candles while shopping online. I burn candles frequently, sometimes for fragrance and often for ambiance.  I've tried three candle varieties so far and am really impressed with the way they burn.  The tealights are the only ones I've used which actually burn all the wax.  They create a soft, steady flow of candlelight and my large candle shipment was packed with the utmost care.

My green glasses are vintage thumbprint.  My whole family loves these glasses.  They just feel right in your hand.  I buy them whenever I can find them!  I've found some for as little as $1 a piece at yard sales. 

The amber goblets are newer.  I've had mine for about 10 years.

We did not actually eat from these individual covered acorn casseroles but at the last minute I thought they'd be perfect with this table setting.  I've been dying to use them but for now, we can just look at them! ;-)  I'm sure they'll be showing up in more of my tablescapes this Fall! Aren't they cute?

Now, I'm off to finish baking my Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken while you browse some more of the tablescape photos.

Dinner is served

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