- Stunning photo! - Green Wellies
calligraphy
This old porcelain cup and saucer belonged to my mother's aunt. Were
she alive today, she'd be 114 :) She was a very adventurous woman who
traveled widely, nursing in India and visiting Kashmir. I have
photographs of her on horseback in India, and also standing beside her
black Austin 7 car.
Wishing I knew her more about her travels, as I have several of her
"Chinese" possessions, but no idea when she acquired them.
If anyone looking at this can tell me if the characters have a
meaning, I'd love to know.
Comments and faves
Stezzer, Green Wellies, Yoko ❥ (Paulina), arlies_girl, and 27 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Stezzer (27 months ago | reply)
This is lovely. If you don't find out by next week I have a friend in college I can show this image to ^_^
Green Wellies (27 months ago | reply)
What a fascinating story about your aunt. How wonderful to have had such a strong, courageous and adventurous woman on your family tree.
*my first car was a black Austin A40 that I bought with money I'd saved babysitting the neighbourhood children...but I've never been to India!
salbug00 (27 months ago | reply)
Wow! What a beautiful shot. Love the light coming right through the flowers. And the little cup and saucer have such an interesting story.
kelly*n (Flair4hair) (27 months ago | reply)
Beautiful composition and light! :)
Katie-Rose (27 months ago | reply)
Gorgeous!
Lovely flowers.
s. o n g (27 months ago | reply)
Lovely image.
萬 means ten-thousand. 壽 means long life. So both characters together refer to longevity.
penwren (27 months ago | reply)
Wow! @s e l e n a o n g, so quick and so interesting, thank you. I have always wondered! My brother reads some characters, but didn't recognise them. I will need to shoot the other side to get the rest, and the top of the saucer ... it may take a while. I'll contact you when I do it. Many thanks.
arlies_girl (27 months ago | reply)
lovely memory and treasure...beautiful photo
ner_luv © (27 months ago | reply)
Lovely composition ! beautiful shot ! thanks for sharing !
Majlee (27 months ago | reply)
Show and Tell - Lovely, pen !
Debbie Stanger (27 months ago | reply)
Such a lovely history............great image!
neatmummy (27 months ago | reply)
Interesting caption, it makes the photo much more interesting than it would be without it. :)
~Roxanne~ (27 months ago | reply)
Such beautiful pottery and an interesting history behind them. Lovely shot, pen!
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Seen in my contacts' photos. ( ?² )
Magpie's Fancy (27 months ago | reply)
I just love the light in this, Pen. And the background about your great aunt makes this photo all the more lovely! So glad you found someone who can read the characters. x
stokesley77 (27 months ago | reply)
Very pretty, penwren, and an interesting story. Hope you manage to uncover more of it's history.... :-)
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Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
ganobristol (27 months ago | reply)
Lovely delicate flowers that match the cup so well. How wonderful to have old photos of your aunt.
kathmo (27 months ago | reply)
lovely photograph - we also have a great aunt in the family who traveled in India and China. Like you have photos, which one day I will get round to posting, and lots of memorabilia.
akiko@flickr (27 months ago | reply)
Beautiful light ! Lovely shot !
The Kanji characters are 萬寿. It means "celebrates the long life".
This is pronounced Manjyu in Japan.
萬 = 10,000
寿 = a matter for congratulation
寿 is also used for the meaning of long life.
UGArdener (27 months ago | reply)
An amazing story - and something to treasure!
Leonardo Martins (27 months ago | reply)
Bring me softness... ;¬))
sofia bray (27 months ago | reply)
Nice picture, description and finding to have someone on your contacts that could explain the symbols to you (and us)... Lovely light, penwren...
*christine** (27 months ago | reply)
A beautiful keepsake with an interesting story. I'm so glad you have been able to learn the meaning of those characters. I think it adds to the charm!
penwren (27 months ago | reply)
Thank you very much everyone, for your comments and faves, you really do brighten the day! I'm amazed and excited that within a few hours, 2 contacts had translated for me. Thank you Flickr, and huge thanks to @akiko
and @s e l e n a o n g .
I realise that the four motifs are repeated on the saucer, so I'll shoot an aerial view soon. I wish you could feel the lovely texture of the hand-painted decoration, and see the transparency of the porcelain.
All these references to long life make me smile, and are more appropriate than you imagined. My great aunt lived to 98! (1896 - 1994)
She was always very proud of living through so many British monarchs. Born in Queen Victoria's reign, then Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, GeorgeVI , and ElizabethII. Quite an achievement, and certainly worth celebrating :)
gardenchien (27 months ago | reply)
what a delightful photo and story - She must have been quite a great character to know!
therebentine (au four et au moulin ...) (27 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called joli quotidien , and we'd love to have this added to the group!
cjm-ellipse (27 months ago | reply)
Très belle composition, toute en douceur...
Cette photo a été vue et appréciée sur:
JOLI QUOTIDIEN
Less Ismore (27 months ago | reply)
very interesting and so great that you found the meaning of the symbols through flickr ...love that !
AlexEdg (26 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called AllEdges Still Life, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
j.towbin © (26 months ago | reply)
How wonderful...the photograph itself, the story of your aunt and the fact that there are so many people on Flickr who can help with translations. BTW, the lighting is perfect.
tinahkansson (26 months ago | reply)
beautiful
TutkuTokol (23 months ago | reply)
Hello! Your beautiful photograph invite by Oriental Stylism
Please join to our group & add your photograph.
Stratillus (22 months ago | reply)
What a beautiful picture, made all the more so by your story about your Great-Aunt!
Bertie Bassett25 (16 months ago | reply)
I love your little commentss almost as much as your photographs. Lovely lighting.