The Porcelain Garden: Art in Everyday Objects
There are certain things you just don’t expect to see. Ever. Hillary delivering the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention, for example; the words “towering intellect” placed along side the name of Paris Hilton or the inclusion of Bayonne, New Jersey in a list of “Top Ten U.S. Vacation Spots.” If you see any of these things you know there has been a breach in the Time/Space Continuum and all heck is about to break loose! Therefore I feel it is my duty to warn you that I am about to use the words work of art and nightlight in the same sentence.

But before I do, let me tell you about another word, a word I recently learned from a unique company called The Porcelain Garden. The word is Lithophane. At first glance it looks like one of those mythical beasts that medieval travelers believed to inhabit exotic lands beyond vast and uncharted seas. The reality is quite different, but comes from an equally romantic imagination.

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Lithophanes are, in fact, beautiful transparencies rendered in layered porcelain. They are not medieval, but date from the year 1827 according to the literature provided to us by The Porcelain Garden. That’s the year in which French artists discovered that by shining light through a carving of varied thicknesses of porcelain a remarkably three dimensional image could be created.

This new process entailed engraving an image into soft, translucent beeswax, which was lit from behind. This allowed the artist to see the results of his work as he progressed. “A plaster casting was taken from the original masterwork and then a fine porcelain paste was pressed into this plaster mold. After drying, the porcelain plaques were fired to a temperature of 2300º F to achieve their extreme density and amazing translucency.”

When light was passed through the different thicknesses of this porcelain panel, a breathtakingly lifelike image in warm sepia was produced. So detailed were these illuminated artworks that they were often mistaken for photographs and became increasingly popular after the Civil War.

But times and tastes change, of course, and by the early 1900’s Lithophanes and the technique to create them, had all but disappeared. For most of the next eight decades to see an antique Lithophane you had to visit a museum or view a private collection.

But then in 1982 the brilliant artisans at The Porcelain Garden changed all that. This lost art form was rediscovered and the beauty of the Lithophane was reintroduced to the world. Today The Porcelain Garden is dedicated to the preservation of the Lithophane and the production of the most beautiful and haunting porcelain transparencies to be found anywhere in the world.

And where can you find these exquisite creations. At www.benegifts.com of course! Bene Gifts is proud to offer two of The Porcelain Garden’s most popular Lithophane designs: their Lithophane Nightlight and Lithophane Table Lamp, two beautiful and collectible ways to add light to your life!

But, I know what you’re thinking. “A beautiful nightlight? C’mon!” And you have every reason to think that way because for many of us the word nightlight conjures up the image of Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh grinning at us from a cheap plastic light switch. Not any more. When rendered by the remarkable artists at The Porcelain Garden even a mundane nightlight is transformed into a miniature work of art. Honestly. Just click on Lithophane Nightlight here at www.benegifts.com and see for yourself. Once you do, Mickey and Winnie will be but a dim memory!

Oh, by the way, I just used nightlight and work of art in the same sentence and the Time/Space Continuum is doing just fine.

Till next month,
John

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