Oriental Showmen - FODO, FODOS, FODON

A Pair of Cups created in Vienna, Austria in the early 19th century inspired the FODO – Oriental Vendors Herend sets. Initially the motifs on european porcelain pieces were copies of their Far-Eastern models, but while the characteristic Chinese and Japanese motifs usually carried a symbolic meaning, the makers of their European counterparts used them purely for decorative purposes. This style, known as Chinoise was widely used in art and design. The rim of each snow-white piece, the cup, pot, sugar bowl and milk jug handles, the lid knobs and the spouts of the pots are lavishly guilded, and the dishes are adorned with various combinations of six Chinese figures, six exotic birds and dragons and plants in a gold-speckled background.

As the most important porcelain supplier of the Imperial Court in the second half of the 19th century, the Herend Porcelain Manufactory was authorised by Emperor Franz Joseph to use the patterns of the ViennesePorcelain Factory after it was closed down in 1864. However, Herend artists did not simply adopt these motifs, but reinterpreted and adjusted them to their own painting style, as evidenced by the FODO – Oriental Showmen / Oriental Vendors pattern.