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Following the peak of their popularity in the West during the 1880s, Japanese designs continued to provide inspiration to the Art Nouveau movement at the turn of the twentieth century in Europe and the United States. Royal Doulton, which was founded in 1815, produced this “Spray” pattern in the 1880s, likely inspired by Japanese mon (紋). Mon are decorative crests traditionally used to identify a Japanese family. One of the exhibited plates also feature hanging wisteria. A symbol of longevity (fuji, 藤), wisteria has been grown for thousands of years in Japan and the motif often appears on kimono, and many forms of Japanese art. See “Japonisme: A Passion for Japan” on display, post-security, in Terminal 2 and online at: https://bit.ly/JaponismeSFO This image was posted on November 28, 2022.