Mottahedeh Flower Plate

When this pattern, Ch'ing Garden, first came out, I was obsessed. Granted, I was probably about 15, but I asked my parents to PLEASE buy the set for their collection. I thought it was beautiful and so very interesting to look at. My favorite part of the entire pattern is the dessert plates. Four different designs of flower filled baskets...

I grew up around this pattern. My mother has stacks of it in her china cabinet, and it gets used regularly for family get-togethers, holidays, and big events. This pattern makes me think of my mother because she worked so tirelessly on perfecting it long before I was working for Mottahedeh. Maria Sibylla Merian's widely known 1685 volume of botanical...