Stand by Me

Nic Saintey, Head of the Ceramics Department, considers the so-called Three Friends of Bamboo, Pine and Prunus that often appear painted in Blue on White on Chinese porcelain.

A Chinese porcelain plate painted with The Three Friends.

Why is painting of Bamboo, Pine and Prunus a popular motif on Chinese Porcelain?

All too often nowadays friendship is seen through the fickle lens of social media and is measured in terms of numbers, something many of you might consider doesn't really amount to true friendship. But what does constitute a true friend, what are the qualities one looks for in a friend? The Chinese certainly had a view.

A common motif on Chinese porcelain especially that painted in blue on white depicted Bamboo, Pine and Prunus, the so called three friends of cold winter. First mentioned by Tang poets in the 9th and 10th century, they were admired as they remained constant during the winter and early spring months when most other vegetation had withered away.

Pine with its evergreen needles and Bamboo with its evergreen leaves are emblematic of longevity and steadfastness and the flowering Winter Plum or Prunus is allegorical of sturdy independence as it chooses to flower when nothing else does. They are symbolic of endurance and discipline - although they are different they stand together, the pine robust against the wind and the bamboo bending, but never breaking.

It is said that the Three Friends also represent the three main religions of China Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism and the latter considered the Three Friends to represent the highest scholarly ideals of a Confucian gentleman that of perseverance and moral integrity. Perhaps one should just accept the aesthetic beauty of pine, bamboo and prunus when they are painted in association, certainly their very nature seems to lend itself to the artist or calligraphers brush with their simple straight foliage and angular branches. What more could you ask of any true friend other than they stood by you when times were hard and everyone else had gone, perhaps that is why the Three Friends have remained a popular motif on Chinese porcelain and painting for over a thousand years?

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About the Author

Nic Saintey Ceramics and Glass Nic Saintey has been a director of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood since 2003 and heads up the Ceramics and Glass Department. He is part of the team specialising in Chinese ceramics and works of art. Nic's first career was in the Armed Forces where he served both as a military parachutist and paramedic. He joined a firm of Somerset auctioneers in early 1995 and Bearnes during a period of expansion in June 2000. His effervescent nature, sense of humour, broad knowledge and experience has seen him appear as an expert for BBC television programmes. He undertakes regular talks to both academic and general interest groups talking on subjects as diverse as Staffordshire pottery and pop culture, Chinese porcelain and the troubled relationship between Britain and the Orient, the English drinking glass and the Donyatt potters. He is an occasional contributor of articles for national and local publications and is equally fascinated by the stories attached to pots as he is about the objects themselves. His personal interests include Oriental and domestic pottery, but especially that produced in the West Country. Accompanied by his Lurcher Stickey, he is a keen Moorland walker (but only in the winter), an increasingly slow runner and a chaotic cook who always eats his own mistakes and, yes of course, he collects pottery!

Forging Ahead with Mr Samson - Edme Samson Misunderstood or Just a Dodgy Faker? was written on Monday, 5th January 2015.