YAO BIAN JI / BLUE & WHITE, EVERYDAY
A motif to notice. A colour to live with. Start with one small piece, and make room for your own story.
COLLECTION NOTE / 01
Jingdezhen pieces, seen in their original recordings.
01 / MAKE IT YOURS
These are our styling suggestions: real object views paired with colour palettes. The surrounding objects are ideas, not items included in a purchase.
Try a blue-and-white accent beside a plain notebook and a warm wood surface. Give the silhouette some breathing room.
Choose by what you can see and what you enjoy. Historical motifs do not establish a maker, age or technique for a present-day piece.
BLUE & WHITE, EVERYDAY
Fish Motif Footed Porcelain CupActual recording still · styling suggestion
02 / FOLLOW THE CONNECTIONS
Museum and maker records show blue-and-white connections across places, materials and creative disciplines. Each example below links to its original record.
Historical exchange · sixteenth century onward in Europe / Cultural exchange
Blue-and-white travelled through trade, then changed through local materials and uses. The V&A describes both Arita adaptations and Chinese pieces shaped for European settings. Its history includes exchange in several directions.
Victoria and Albert Museum — read the source ↗1984 / 2005 designs · shown in 2015 / Porcelain & fashion
The Met’s 2015 China exhibition connected Chinese export-porcelain patterns with a 1984 Chanel gown by Karl Lagerfeld and a 2005 Roberto Cavalli gown. Here, a porcelain motif became the starting point for a different creative medium.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — read the source ↗Dutch design · collaboration from 2019 / Dutch contemporary design
In the Netherlands, Royal Delft’s collaboration with tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher began in 2019. A November 2023 announcement added three dragon designs for 2024, bringing Delft Blue together with the artist’s drawing vocabulary.
Royal Delft — read the source ↗V&A presentation · 2020 / Art & display
Shown at the V&A in 2020, Darren Waterston’s Filthy Lucre reimagined the porcelain-filled Peacock Room. The installation explored art, wealth and patronage, asking viewers to look again at the relationship between objects and their setting.
Victoria and Albert Museum — read the source ↗Examples are dated cultural references. The institutions and designers mentioned have no stated affiliation with this shop; these records do not establish a current trend or authenticate our pieces.
Read more about porcelain and cultural exchange ↗03 / THE ACTUAL PIECES
See the original stills and videos. These are contemporary objects selected from Jingdezhen; blue-and-white visual similarities alone do not identify a specific glaze or painting method.
A rounded, low-bodied porcelain cup with large butterfly motifs against a deep blue ground. Floral and small butterfly decoration is on the inside base, not on the upper inner wall.
Checking current availability…
See the piece and its original video ↗
A lidded, cylindrical porcelain teapot with a side handle and spout. White rabbit and plant motifs stand against a dark blue ground.
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See the piece and its original video ↗A footed porcelain cup with fish and aquatic-plant motifs around the exterior and a patterned rim band. A circular blue motif sits at the inside base, not on the upper inner wall.
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See the piece and its original video ↗YOUR EVERYDAY / AN OPEN INVITATION
Try it with an object you already own: a shelf, a desk, a corner you enjoy. Share your own photo with #BlueAndWhiteEveryday, or email us an idea for a future collection note. No purchase is needed.
Email your photo or idea ↗Send only images you have the right to share, and avoid private information. We would agree any public use and credit with you separately before publishing.
04 / YOUR IDEA, A NEW CONVERSATION
A colour palette, a gift occasion, a motif you love. Send a reference and a clear brief by email; we will first discuss what is possible.
Start a custom enquiry ↗Or find an idea for a gift ↗Historical facts link to the institutions that document them. Descriptions of our stock refer to its actual recordings. Styling exercises are our suggestions. We do not invent popularity, reviews, motif meanings or undocumented production details. Reviewed 18 October 2026.
Explore all sourced guides ↗